Track Listing

1. Have You Seen My Baby?
2. Let's Burn Down the Cornfield
3. Mama Told Me (Not to Come)
4. Suzanne
5. Lover's Prayer
6. Lucinda
7. Underneath the Harlem Moon
8. Yellow Man
9. Old Kentucky Home
10. Rosemary
11. If You Need Oil
12. Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17646 in Music
• Brand: Newman
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
With 1970's 12 Songs, Randy Newman eschewed the string-driven expanse of its self-titled predecessor for unorchestrated solo and rock quartet arrangements (Ry Cooder, Clarence White of the Byrds, and Jim Gordon of Derek and the Dominos are among the sidemen). If anything, the lyrical perspective on these songs is stranger (and certainly more paranoid) than on any other collection the singer/songwriter has ever done. "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield" explores arson as an aphrodisiac. In "Lucinda" the narrator pleads in vain for his California golden girl ("in her graduation gown") to get out of the way of a beach-cleaning vehicle. "Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues" is a free-associating shuffle that manages to evoke Bing Crosby, Sonny Boy Williamson, and the Rolling Stones for no logical reason. 12 Songs sold nearly as pitifully as Randy Newman, but one of its tracks--"Mama Told Me Not to Come"--lined Newman's pockets when it became a No. 1 hit for Three Dog Night in the summer of 1970. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Newman breaks out...
This album has none of the insecurity of Newman's first release "Randy Newman." On that album, Newman relied heavily on walls of orchestra for backing. On this album, Newman abandons the orchestra almost with a vengence. This album is made up mostly of songs with a small band. There is heavy slide guitar on some tracks thanks to Ry Cooder, and some of Newman's best songs are here.

The obvious one is "Mama Told Me Not To Come" which Three Dog Night took to the top of the charts. The version on "12 Songs" is vastly superior, and considering that song's success it's surprising that more people didn't seek this album out at the time. Sales were poor in general.

"Old Kentucky Home" is one of Newman's best and funniest songs. It also is a harbinger for a future project of Newman's: the American South (he would deal with this topic 2 albums later).

When introducing "Yellow Man" on "Randy Newman Live", Newman describes the song as "a pinhead's view of China." It is just that. This is Newman's first foray into the world of singing about racial sterotypes - references to rice and excessive frugality abound. It is an easily misunderstood song, and similar in theme to some songs that would get him in trouble years later. It's not as outright offensive as some of his later treamtments of racism, so it's harder to catch the joke.

Newman also takes on a rare cover: "Underneath the Harlem Moon." This song also includes at least one racial slur, and the lyrics are strangely absent from the CD booklet. With Newman singing - knowing what we know now - the song takes on an ironic twist. His method of not being afraid of racial sterotypes and parodying them in a subtle way, makes Newman a pioneer in getting these words and feelings into popular culture and thus into popular conscience. Rather than sweep them under the carpet in an "everything's ok" move, he faces them outright, puts them on the table and lets the listener come to their own conclusions. This method would reach its peak on "Good Old Boys" a few years later. "12 Songs" has a taste of what's to come.

Newman's voice is confident and pronounced on this album. His piano, sorely lacking on his first album, pounds wonderfully in the mix. "12 Songs" is well produced, well paced, and brilliantly written. It's no mystery why it makes so many "Best albums of all time" lists.

An extraordinary album that is blessedly short,
allowing you to play it more often. And you need to play it often because these songs are, simply, extremely complicated. Arsonist, stalker, lonely misogynist, well-meaning racist, self-involved redneck and huckster salesman are just the most obvious of Newman's many personas. The greatness is not that we come to understand these fringe voices, or even that they are granted their say, but that we are hard-pressed to recognize them at first glance. And even after we know exactly who it is we are looking at, we still find ourselves charmed. Beautiful music and ugly folk.

No sex, but drugs and rock and roll
This may be one of the most brilliant albums ever made, and when you consider that Randy Newman was, at the time, so strung out on one addictive substance or another that he has since admitted he has no recollection of MAKING this album, it's probably not the best thing to play for your kids if you're trying to talk them out of using drugs!

Indeed, I once saw Newman in concert and when somebody called out for "Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues," the strange, paranoid rant at the end of this album, Newman laughed and said, "No, I don't do that one ever since I quit taking drugs."

That said, the songs on this album will burn a hole in your soul with their ascerbic wit. "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield" is a favorite with me, as is the song about poor old "Lucinda," and then there's "Suzanne," "Have you seen my baby," and gee, just the WHOLE THING is wonderful. Highly, enthusiastically recommended...