Normal (Martin Mull album)

Normal
Studio album by
Martin Mull
Released1974
GenreComedy
LabelCapricorn
Martin Mull chronology
Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture in Your Living Room!
(1973)		 Normal
(1974)		 In the Soop with Martin Mull
(1974)

Normal is an album by the American actor and musician Martin Mull, released in 1974.[1][2] He supported it with a North American tour.[3]

Production

Mull was influenced in part by the many hotel and motel lounge singers whom he saw while touring; his initial guitar influences included rockabilly, R&B, and Steve Cropper.[4][5] He used 43 musicians during the recording sessions, including Pepper Adams and Chuck Leavell.[6] "Jim 'n I" is about a separated Siamese twin who misses his brother.[7] The title track is a narrative about a hippie who decides to become a typical Heartland American.[8] "The Blacks Are Giving Me the Blues" pokes fun at white vocalists who attempt to imitate Black singers.[4] "Wood Shop" is about a man whose talents peaked in high school.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarHalf star[10]
Robert ChristgauD+[11]
The New Rolling Stone Record GuideStar[12]

The New York Times called the songs "loony tunes", and noted that Mull was not a satirist but rather someone who "is not only poking fun at what already is laughable but spoon-feeding a self-satisfied audience spoiled enough to enjoy being spoon-fed."[7] The Philadelphia Daily News said that "the songs are hilarious, even though Mull ... is not as funny recorded as he is live."[13] The Houston Post stated that the album contains "mildly sardonic lyrics and MOR musical backgrounds."[8]

The Richmond Times-Dispatch compared Mull to Will Rogers and Mark Twain, stating that Mull had the same way of getting "a message across in a kindly way, accompanied by a sleepy smile"; the paper also admired his "flat, Midwestern drawl [that fits] perfectly his rambling sagas of boredom, frustration and flatulence... Everything about Martin Mull bespeaks a carefully crafted mediocrity."[14] The Chicago Tribune called him "a sort of colossal combination of the off-beat dark visions of Randy Newman and the insanity of Jonathan Winters".[6] The Record opined that Normal reflects "a vision of life as Americans live it but often don't realize it."[15]

AllMusic concluded that many of the songs "feel like cheap shots at easy targets."[10] Robert Christgau dismissed the album as "not funny".[11]

Track listing

Side I

  1. "Normal"
  2. "Wood Shop"
  3. "Dialing for Dollars"
  4. "Woodstock Samba"
  5. "Rome and Bored"
  6. "Flexible"
  7. "Jim 'n I"

Side II

  1. "Drunkard's Waltz"
  2. "The Blacks Are Giving Me the Blues"
  3. "Birthday"
  4. "Jesus Christ Football Star"
  5. "Ego Boogie"
  6. "You Play Rhythm"

References

  1. ↑ McClintock, Tom (March 29, 1974). "But all is not old...". Courier-Post. p. 38.
  2. ↑ Smith, Ronald L. (1992). Who's Who in Comedy: Comedians, Comics, and Clowns from Vaudeville to Today's Stand-ups. Facts on File. p. 346.
  3. ↑ Mack, Patty (May 16, 1974). "Patty's choice...". Times-Union. Rochester. p. 1C.
  4. 1 2 Campbell, Mary (April 16, 1974). "Mull's humor flatters audience". Daily Sentinel. Rome, New York. AP. p. 13.
  5. ↑ Forte, Dan (December 1977). "Pro's Reply". Guitar Player. Vol. 11, no. 12. p. 6.
  6. 1 2 Van Matre, Lynn (April 21, 1974). "Mulling over the latest mayhem". Chicago Tribune. p. 6.11.
  7. 1 2 Edwards, Henry (April 28, 1974). "Their Satire Is Kid Stuff: Pop". The New York Times. p. 26D.
  8. 1 2 Claypool, Bob (April 14, 1974). "Records". Spotlight. The Houston Post. p. 33.
  9. ↑ Shertzer, Jim (April 21, 1974). "Martin Mull: Normal". Winston-Salem Journal. p. C7.
  10. 1 2 "Normal Review by Bill Cassel". AllMusic. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Martin Mull". Robert Christgau. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
  12. ↑ The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 349.
  13. ↑ Aregood, Rich (April 13, 1974). "A Sudden Glut of Good Albums". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 9.
  14. ↑ Thames, A. B. (April 17, 1974). "Martin Mull: Laid-Back Jester". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. C15.
  15. ↑ Macaulay, Allen (April 23, 1974). "Record Roundup". The Record. p. A25.
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