Customer Reviews

Sail Away

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Randy Newman is in a class all his own. That's not to say he's the BEST of the best, but he certainly is a raging iconoclast. I mean, a portly, curly-headed, Jewish-raised Californian who arranges for orchestra, writes for children's films, and sings songs about short people, L.A., good old boys, God, and dancing bears... what? Despite its unconventional exterior the music of Randy Newman is some of the funniest, most intelligent in the pantheon of rock/pop/whatever you want to call it.

Although not his earliest, Sail Away was Randy Newman's first album to generate a deal of noise - it remains a favourite of fan and critic alike and to this day his most consistent seller. There's probably a reason for that: namely the quality of this record. Newman has never given in to songwriting formulas or "conventions", staking out territory where his contemporaries seldom tread. So you don't get the archetypical "silly love songs" or teenage angst so common in rock & roll - you get self-deprecating ironies, tales of African slave recruiters, and Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear, among others.

This idiosyncrasy ranges from the dismal to the ribald and hilarious, and everywhere in-between. For instance, God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind) is a bleakly insightful take on religion; the equally incisive Political Science a side-splittingly funny slice of "foreign policy" courtesy one of Newman's trademark wackos. From a technical standpoint all the performances are outstanding, including the virtuosity of Ry Cooder and Randy Newman's own skills as a pianist among others. His voice may be limited, but he makes the best of it in his deadpan delivery. He's also always utilized orchestras in a unique way - you'd never be able to mistake one of his instrumental passages - and they blend totally naturally into the fabric of the music here. Not an easy task; just ask ELO's Jeff Lynne, one of the few songwriters out there whose orchestral arrangements complement the songs as perfectly as Randy Newman's.

As for the bonus tracks, the two original cuts (Let It Shine and Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong) are both excellent (albeit short), as are the alternate takes; the early version of Sail Away is particularly welcome.

Is Sail Away Randy Newman's best album? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But I can tell you what it IS: it's comical, it's perspicacious, and, most importantly, it's massively entertaining. So whether you're a newcomer, a longtime fan, or just somebody looking for a bit of good music, you can't go wrong.

After a few albums of searching for a sound, Newman experimented and finally found his sound on "Sail Away". He experimented so much, in fact, that "Randy Newman Live" was released as a stopgap in 1971;it also previewed 2 songs from this album in stripped-down piano-only versions. The "alternate" take of the title track on this reissue shows just how much Newman experimented. Pounding anthemic rhythyms gave way to more lush but not overstated arrangements. The final release was very much worth the wait. Newman brings orchestra back into the fray after completely abandoning it on "12 Songs" (most likely the abandonment came as a result of the use - and sometimes abuse - of orchestra on his debut album). Newman's piano and the orchestra meld wonderfully in the mix. Some of the arrangements are downright amazing (especially on the title track and "He Gives Us All His Love"). Thematically the album could not be more diverse: God, death, politics, satire at a Swiftian level, sex, and success. Newman's ability to communicate cynical satire in a way that takes itself seriously without seeming self-righteous is displayed all over this album. When he's funny he's also profound. "God's Song" is hilarious while at the same time chilling. The same could be said for the sadly still all too relevant "Political Science". In the midst of these songs, the serious numbers are almost shocking. There probably hasn't been a more candid song about death and belief than "Old Man". Newman claims that audiences have walked out on this one, so he's stopped playing it. It's a great song, but yes, an absolute downer. "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" evokes the era the song is set in complete with breeze and front porch swing. "Memo to My Son" is an absolutely hilarious song about parenting; the character in the song promises to show his son how smart he is, and then rattles off cliché after cliché. "You Can Leave Your Hat On" has become a very recognizable song, maybe one of Newman's best known songs (even for people who have no idea who Randy Newman is).

The bonus tracks on the reissue are interesting: "Let It Shine" is an upbeat and happy song more akin to Newman's movie soundtracks of late. It was written for a sitcom that apparently never aired, which explains the mood. "Maybe I'm Doing it Wrong" was included on "Randy Newman Live"; this is the studio version complete with orchestration. The rest are demos of songs on "Sail Away". All are good tracks that complement the album well.

It's no surprise that this album is considered a classic by many critics. It's one of Newman's best, and one of his best-sellers. A good album to introduce someone to Newman's music. It was the first Newman album I heard, and I've been a voracious fan ever since.

Hats off to Rhino, for reissuing this masterpiece in such marvelous fashion. Regarded as one of Newman's most perfect efforts, it's now better than ever, with a stunning remastering job, way-improved packaging and five bonus tracks. A humorous forward from the man himself is the icing on the cake, but if I ever meet him in person I'm going to say, "Hey Randy! Great art is not always immediate and hugely successful. In fact, it pretty rarely is. You're make a great living. Artists from Harpers Bizarre to Etta James and many more have covered songs from this record. Bask in the glory of your artistic success and be happy!" Much has been written of the content of the lyrics and "messages" contained on this album; suffice to say, it's a thought-provoking album. Even a song that seemed as lyrically minor as "Simon Smith" was recently revealed to me as a parable concerning the doors that open to a good gimmick. The bonus tracks do add something - two previously unreleased studio tracks plus three earlier versions of tracks from the album, including "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and "Sail Away". The demo tracks appear to give some indication of Newman's manner of writing and recording; I've always considered Newman's self-deprecation to be kind of a dodge (can't blame him for being sick of answering the same questions over and over), so it's nice to see at least this much of his methodology exposed. "Let In Shine", the first bonus track, functions as a sort of an alternate upbeat coda to the album. It's all fine . . . buy and enjoy!

Randy Newman is an America original. He is one of our greatest singer-songwriters, whose trenchant humor, biting social satire, eclectic compositions and intelligent lyrics have set him far above the pack for decades. Musically adept and diverse in style, Newman has dozens of albums and hundreds of songs in his discography. He has composed movie scores including "Ragtime," "The Natural," "Parenthood," "Awakenings," "Toy Story," and "Pleasantville." His work in the film industry earned him 16 Oscar nominations including his first win for "If I Didn't Have You" from the film "Monsters, Inc."

"Sail Away" is one of my favorite Newman albums (1972), and one of his first. The title song is most powerful. Backed by a full orchestra, the track's wonderfully gentle melody provides a dark contrast to the disquieting voice of a slave trader convincing Africans of the bounty America has to offer. "Ain't no lions or tigers - Ain't no mamba snake/Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake/Ev'rybody is as happy as a man can be/Climb aboard little wog -Sail away with me." Yep! "It's great to be an American!" In the same vein, "Political Science's" casually genocidal American leader has ambitions of making major changes in the world. "Boom goes London and boom Paree/More room for you and more room for me/And every city the whole world round/Will just be an American town." 1972??? The more things change the more they stay the same.

Newman wrote the sardonic "Lonely at the Top," for Frank Sinatra. "Listen all you fools out there/Go on and love me--I don't care/Oh, it's lonely at the top." He thought Sinatra would love it. Old Blue Eyes did not. So Newman recorded it himself.

The terribly poignant "Old Man" never fails to move me. And the bitter, ironic "God's Song," makes some pithy statements about organized religion. "Memo to My Son" is a paean to parents everywhere - or perhaps the empathy here is for the kids. "Burn On," reminds me of the time Cleveland's Cuyahoga River caught fire. Seriously, I was there. Talk about water pollution! You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a mid-tempo erotic rock song that later became a hit for Joe Cocker.

"Sail Away" is an impressively even album. The music is simply wonderful. And the remastered reissue has an additional 5 bonus tracks. If you're a Randy Newman fan, you can't go wrong with this one.
JANA

This is the album that made me worship Randy Newman. It is definitely for thinking people. I have bought every album since but this one remains my favorite.

Randy Newman has written many brilliant songs, but SAIL AWAY may well be his finest album. The 2-minute "Political Science" is certainly one of his greatest achievements, and the song is just as timely now as it was in 1973. What makes the lyric so great is that it distills exactly what so many Americans think about the world. It could be your friendly next-door neighbor, who seems like a perfectly nice person until you stumble into a political discussion, and then you realize that he is an immoral monster. It seems to me that "Political Science" should be the national anthem -- it's what large numbers of Americans really think, and if they disagree then they should be forced to change the attitude as well as the policies before they change the song.

I would like to include the entire lyric, but here is a sample:

"We give them money, but are they grateful, no they're spiteful and they're hateful. They don't respect us, so let's surprise 'em, let's drop The Big One and pulverize 'em."

"Boom goes London, and boom Pay-ree, more room for you and more room for me. Every city the whole world round will just be another American town, oh how peaceful it will be, we'll set everybody free ... They all hate us anyhow, so let's drop The Big One now."

Is Randy Newman being too sarcastic, too harsh? Just look at the anti-French movement among the republicanus neanderthalis recently -- "nuke France and gimme some Freedom Fries with my burger" -- and it seems clear that if anything he is too kind.

Thank goodness for Randy Newman in times like these. Along with Mose Allison, Stan Ridgway (see my 7/29/04 review of his brilliant latest, SNAKEBITE), and a few other mavericks, he understands America's dark side well enough to deflate its pretensions and hypocrisy with humor, from the inside.

You can learn everything about how to make a record from this album. The care and precision put into this record are present everywhere. A handful of the songs are simply amazing, but even on the less than stellar songs every note in the arrangements has a purpose. During a time when most singer/songwriters were just worrying about "the message" Newman was concerned about the music. And it shows. Then there are the songs, the mordant ones at any rate, which are just plain brilliant. This is intelligent pop music with New Orleans stylings and a thick thread that reaches back to the piano based ballads of people like Fats Waller. Newman is an American original.

Someday (and I know that this day will come) some hapless politician is going to use "Sail Away" as his or her campaign song. It's a composition that sounds as American as apple pie, full of warm humility and earthy passion, with spare and elegant instrumentation and a delicately beautiful (but undeniably majestic) melody. Newman's vocals are passionate and emotive, his lyrics dreamy and hypnotic. He paints a utopian vision of America, one that echoes with age-old ideals ("In America every man is free") and evocative imagery ("Ain't no lion or tiger, ain't no mamba snake/ Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake"). It's the kind of thing that can win elections. Presuming, of course, that one doesn't examine the lyrics too closely. Do that, and you'll realize that silly old Randy is singing in character, playing a smooth-talking slave driver convincing Africans to get on the boat with him.

Randy Newman was a master of dark irony and intellectual trickery, and Sail Away is one of his greatest triumphs. The above-mentioned title track is one of his most brilliant and mean-spirited pranks, not only for its skillfully disguised duplicity, but also for how earnest and compassionate Newman's character sounds. The song could easily move some misguided patriot to tears, and strike an equally unaware cynic as a piece of jingoist propaganda. Which is what makes it a masterpiece: It flawlessly (and mercilessly) satirizes the blind, unthinking, if-you're-against-the-war-you're-against-the-troops sort of nationalism that patriotic fervor often degrades into. Newman was a patriot, but he didn't let it cloud his judgement, and "Sail Away" is a gorgeous demonstration of that fact. "Political Science" has a similar (but more explicitly satirical) message. It's a brief, charming, catchy little pop ditty in which Newman (again in character) proposes that America nuke just about every other nation off the face of the earth as a solution to overpopulation and anti-U.S. sentiment. Only Australia will be spared our wrath ("Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo").

Elsewhere, Newman lends his dark vision to the spectre of aging ("Old Man"), fame ("Lonely At The Top"), sex (the bizarre, hilarious "You Can Leave Your Hat On"), and nature ("Burn On," which works because it's hypnotic, because the lyrics are full of imagery, and because Randy sounds adoreable when he says "Cuyahoga River"). "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" is one of the most devastating songs ever written, a dark meditation on man's relationship to God that offers little comfort to our species. "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" is a brief, gorgeous paean to a simpler time, and "Memo To My Son" is a barbed ode to parenthood.

Cynicism and irony included, Sail Away is a brilliant album, a collection of smart, scathing pop songs. Like Elvis Costello and steely Dan, Randy Newman only seems clean and innocent...

Had forgotten about randy over the years. Heard "leave your hat on" on the radio and pulled up the play list on the internet. It is one of the sexyist songs I've ever heard. I was pleased to find how large a range randy has with his music on this cd; tending a bit toward the early 20th century in flavor and sounding a little like leon russell. love it! Will be adding more of his music to my collection.

Randy Newman / Sail Away (bonus tracks CD): The tongue-in-cheeked one releases a Masterpiece of subtle social comic folk. No one writes like Randy, and no one can sing um like Randy. This is a Masterpiece album. Five Stars.