[3] The album cover features Randy Newman in a business office, wearing face makeup (an obvious parody of Kiss), with dollar signs painted over his eyes, appearing to poke fun at the commercialization of rock music.

[7] Prior to its release, Newman called Born Again "a larger insult"[4] than his 1977 hit single "Short People", but following the record's disappointing reception, he later reflected, "The mistake I made was that to do this, people have to know who you are in the first place.

Stephen Holden, writing for Rolling Stone, criticized the album for its "snide" and "nihilistic" tone.

[9] The Globe and Mail wrote that "Newman's knife gets a little sharper every time—he's tired of double and triple meanings and he intends to peg things clearly on one level—without co-opting the humane character of his enterprise.

"[10] The New York Times concluded that "there's a tinge of anger in Mr. Newman that, curiously enough, precludes his songs from seeming like cheap shots.