Randy Newman comes across as more confident, if not more paranoid and strange on
the 12 Songs album as compared to his previous, self-titled release. Here, he also deserted the orchestral arrangements and plays with a small backup band of some solid names in the industry. Songs like "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield," which explores arson as an aphrodisiac and "
Lucinda" in which a college girl is about to be run over by a beach-cleaning vehicle, show Newman at his weirdest and perhaps most loveable self.”Mama Told Me Not to Come” was later made into a big hit by
Three Dog Night.
