Born Again

Randy Newman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 1989)
• Original Release Date: 1979
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner/Reprise/Maverick
• ASIN: B000026E7W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,594 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Out of print in the U.S.! While he is best known in the millennium for his award winning soundtrack work, singer/songwriter Randy Newman was one of the most critically adored singer/songwriters of the '70s and '80s. 1979's Born Again followed his hit album Little Criminals and while the album was a success on many levels, it flew in the face of commercial fashion and he successfully alienated his new fans (while thankfully pleasing his long-term fanbase). While there was not hit single like the previous year's 'Short People' or '83's 'I Love L.A.', Born Again is still a fine addition to his influential catalog. 11 tracks including 'It's Money That I Love', 'The Story Of A Rock And Roll Band', 'They Just Got Married' and more. Warner.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's money that matters?, October 16, 2004

By 

ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Born Again (Audio CD)

In the liner notes for the recently re-issued "Ragtime" sountrack, Newman makes a confession: "I made 'Little Criminals' when I ran out of money and had to work". From that point on, Newman's albums contained production that more or less reflected the era. 1977's "Little Criminals" sounds like an album from 1977 (of course, having members of the Eagles perform backing vocals emphasized this to a hyperbolic degree). "Born Again" sounds like an album from 1979, and its follow-up "Trouble in Paradise" sounds like a 1980s album, and so on up until 1995's "Faust". This isn't to fault Newman at all, but merely to point out that Newman's music took a not so subtle production turn in 1977, for better or worse. Perhaps Newman allowed the record labels to have more control over his product purely out of necessity? Regardless, Newman's albums didn't suffer much, if at all, from the more mainstream production they received throughout the 1980s.

The extreme synthesizer that invades some of the tracks on "Born Again" may shock some who only know Newman's earlier work. It's not bad or unlistenable, just jarring at first. "Born Again" departs from Newman's previous efforts in many ways, and the synthesizer presents only one example. The almost complete lack of orchestra is probably the second most salient change. Newman hadn't abandoned orchestra to this extent since 1970's "12 Songs". That may have been a money saving move (orchestras aren't for the frugal) or Newman simply wanted to experiment with synthesizer as an alternative. Either way, its absence shapes the distinctive sound of "Born Again".

The opening track, "It's Money That I Love", justifies the existence of the entire album all by itself. It's one of Newman's best songs (he included it on 2003's "The Randy Newman Songbook Volume 1"), though the heavy synthensizer may make some recoil at first. In "Mr.Sheep" Newman paints probably the cruelest portrait ever of another human being. The narrator of the song jeers and sarcastically insults "poor Mr.Sheep" to a painful degree. Be prepared to cringe. "Ghosts" is a classic Newman ballad. It would fit nicely in any of his best albums. The song evokes the question "are these ghosts still alive or not?" Newman takes on intolerance to homosexuality for the first time in "Half a Man". And then there's "Pants". It features the most obtuse and obnoxious synthesizer on the entire album. But it's really really funny. It may be one of Newman's funniest.

It's not too hard to see why many consider "Born Again" to be one of Newman's worst albums. In it Newman experimented, played with his style, and diverged somewhat from his previous albums. Newman fans will still love it nonetheless. It represents the turning point for Newman's projects that ended with 1999's amazing "Bad Love". Can this phase be explained by the aforementioned simple confession that Newman had to start working? Hard to say. Either way his fans still benefitted.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but still pretty good., June 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Born Again (Audio CD)

"Born Again" is Randy Newman's follow-up to "Little Criminals" and it's big hit single, "Short People." It continues in the same vein as "Criminals," in that the songs are set against a more '70s rock backdrop. At the time of it's release, it was dismissed by critics (and Newman himself who called it simply a "comedy record") who accused Newman of pandering to a younger demographic with more "Short People"-esque lyrics designed to "outrage." Looking back, the album is not really that bad at all. The worst one can say is that Randy's targets this time out are a bit obvious (corporate drones, pretentious rock bands, etc.) and that the whole affair, while containing his typical sardonic lyrics, lacks the poignancy and warmth Newman often brings along with the biting humor. But, even weaker Newman contains fine music and a couple of guffaws. It may not be "Sail Away" or even "Bad Love," but how many albums are? If you like Randy, you will like this title. If you're just discovering him or only know him from his work on soundtracks, start elsewhere ("Sail Away," "Good Ol' Boys") and work you way towards this title. All in all, a pleasant offering from one of the great singer-songwriters of his generation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mini Masterpiece!, October 5, 2010

By 

Michael Neiss (Princeton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Born Again (Audio CD)

From the opening chords of Sail Away in which Randy Newman translates the deplorable and tragic conditions of the Atlantic Slave Trade into a Travelogue worthy of Arthur Frommer, it was perfectly clear that Newman not only reveled in his reputation as a musical shape shifter (comfortable in any musical genre) but was unafraid to speak the unspoken and bring real truth to power.

Fast forward seven years and we arrive at one of Newman's most maligned recordings, 1979's Born Again - a misunderstood, minor release that has him uncomfortable in the rock star afterglow of his out of nowhere ride to the top 40 on the stubby little legs of his novelty hit, Short People. As a follow-up, an artist as mercurial as Newman would probably be repulsed by a "slightly taller people" sequel and go completely out-of-body - embracing and experimenting with synthesizer and electronic orchestra laden production techniques that were so prevalent in the popular muzak of the time.

Consequently, every song on this pristine recording is written from his world-weary comfort zone - the money chase, suburban conformity, homophobia and imbecilic exhibitionism are all cleverly ridiculed and lacerated under Newman's jaundiced eye and set to music against a late 1970's wall-of-sound that might have been de rigueur for Boston or Kansas but unintentionally hilarious when set against Newman's sardonic landscape.

For those who cry foul due to some very pointed and cruel lyrics - you are undoubtedly not listening to the personal soundtrack of the modern 13 y/o - where f-bombs explode like Chinese pyrotechnics and misogyny flows like Red Bull. By comparison Born Again seems almost quaint but is nevertheless tough, trenchant social commentary. If you were expecting Short People II, put that dwarf down and pick-up one of Randy Newman's most unheralded (and enjoyable) releases. A mini masterpiece that is still capable of hitting a nerve today! Highly recommended.