Sail Away

Randy Newman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KBX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,288 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy as a Monkey in a Monkey Tree..., April 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sail Away (Audio CD)

"Sail Away" is such an amazing album- lyrically & musically. The arrangements on this record compliment Mr. Newman's compositions better than on the two previous albums. Though those albums are brilliant, Mr. Newman has been learning with each release. Sometimes less is more- like on "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear." Piano and voice- that's all that is necessary on this song. It comes across much better than the Harry Nillson version that has a more complex arrangement, but ultimately- is less effective than Mr. Newman's "simple" recording. Everything is accounted for on this 1972 album. There are the slow-burning late night odes, the tongue & cheek jazzy numbers, and the "lazy Sunday afternoon" songs. This is not a religious album, but God looms above the majority of the tracks- surfacing in sarcasm as a vindictive entity in "God's Song(That's why I love mankind)" and then the opposite in "He Gives Us all His Love." Every aspect of this album deserves to be experienced. You will always find something new here, and Mr. Newman is always ready to play and sing at the push of a button. Buy this disc and press that button.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Album Will Make An Intellectual Out of You, January 6, 2000

By 

Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sail Away (Audio CD)

Randy Newman is a master of irony. He created symphonic sweep compositions reminiscent of the film soundtracks composed by Alfred and Lionel Newman (runs in the family), then slowly dismantled it like a Jenga game with clever, cutting lyrics. This served him well in the many film soundtracks he scored, and especially well in "Sail Away," his best album and one of my "Desert Island Discs."

You've heard many of the songs here before. The lazy "Dayton, Ohio, 1903" was in a lemonade ad. The solemn "He Gives Us All His Love" ran over the final ironic scene of the 1970 film satire "Cold Turkey." "God's Song" received a bluesy treatment from Etta James, and the stomping "You Can Leave Your Hat On" has been covered by vocal studs Tom Jones and Joe Cocker (Jones'in "The Full Monty"). None of them beat Newman's versions here (although you wonder how Sinatra would've done with "Lonely At The Top," which was written for him).

No less than Brian Wilson wrote the whole of an extra 45, "Mount Vernon and Fairway" on the Beach Boys' "Holland" LP after hearing these songs. Check "Sail Away" for yourself and see how smart you feel afterward. This album is a keeper.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Piece of Work, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sail Away (Audio CD)

Wow. This album is what songwriting is all about. I ownnearly all of Randy Newman's CDs and I just keep returning over andover again to this one (which was, ironically, the first one I bought). The sense of intimacy you get listening to this album is overwhelming...the production of the disc is such that you feel as if you're right next to him in his living room, listening to him play just for you. "Sail Away" contains all the best of Randy Newman's melancholy and cynicism, without the distracting hoo-ha of his later albums, when he discovered electronic synthesizers. A perfect album for watching the sun set and reflecting on the ways of the world before you go to sleep. Any fan of genuine songwriting would do well to pick up this phenomenal CD.