After the song "Short People" finally earned Randy Newman the hit single he claimed he always wanted (and in perhaps the worst way possible), Newman told reporters that for his next album he was preparing "a larger insult." And sure enough, Born Again was packed full of losers and misfits for whom Newman's contempt was unmistakable; from a man who had found some measure of understanding in his tales of thugs, stalkers, and slave traders on previous releases, the unmistakable bile Newman summoned up on "Half a Man," "Mr.
Sheep," and "Pretty Boy" seems little short of perverse.
And while Newman indulges in his usual passion for social satire here, "They Just Got Married" and "It's Money That I Love" are so stunningly unsubtle you have a hard time believing they came from the same man who wrote "Sail Away" or "Kingfish" (though "It's Money That I Love" has a piano line that would do Fats Domino proud).
"The Story of a Rock and Roll Band" is a hilarious and deadly accurate parody of the Electric Light Orchestra (admittedly an easy target, but still beautifully executed), and the all-too-brief "William Brown" is a lovely vignette that wouldn't have been out of place on 12 Songs or Sail Away, but otherwise Born Again is the weakest non-soundtrack album of Randy Newman's career.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | It's Money That I LoveRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Pretty BoyRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Mr. SheepRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | GhostsRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:29 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | They Just Got MarriedRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | SpiesRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | The Girls in My Life, Pt. 1Randy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:42 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Half a ManRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | William BrownRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 01:53 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | PantsRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | The Story of a Rock and Roll Band | Randy Newman | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 35 mins | 80 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Bishop | Guest Artist, Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Michael Boddicker | Synthesizer |
| 3 | Valerie Carter | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Lenny Castro | Percussion |
| 5 | Skip Cottrell | Assistant Engineer |
| 6 | Ken Deane | Engineer |
| 7 | Howard "Buzz" Feiten | Guitar |
| 8 | Victor Feldman | Drums, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Percussion |
| 9 | Chuck Findley | Guest Artist, Horn, Trumpet |
| 10 | Vicki Fortson | Production Assistant |
| 11 | Margaret Gwynne | Assistant Engineer |
| 12 | Lee Herschberg | Engineer, Mastering, Mixing |
| 13 | Tom Knox | Engineer |
| 14 | Arno Lucas | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Randy Newman | Arranger, Composer, Fender Rhodes, Piano, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 16 | Andy Newmark | Drums |
| 17 | Penny Ringwood | Production Assistant |
| 18 | Mike Salisbury | Art Direction, Cover Design |
| 19 | Tom Scott | Guest Artist, Horn |
| 20 | David Sheilds | Bass |
| 21 | Russ Titelman | Producer |
| 22 | Carlos Vega | Percussion |
| 23 | Richard Wachtel | Guitar |
| 24 | Waddy Wachtel | Guitar |
| 25 | Lenny Waronker | Producer |
| 26 | Willie Weeks | Bass |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |