Sometimes it always feels like Randy Newman gets the last laugh, and frankly that's the way I like it. Newman wasn't really the kind to get incredible sales numbers in the way that contemporaries like Harry Nilsson could, but what he has in return is a sharpened wit and sense for irony and commentary. His previous album 12 Songs made little headway in the charts, but received praise at every corner for its rootsy rock inspiration and sarcastic style. Sail Away is, in many ways, an entirely different beast, and yet it shares many similar characteristics to his previous work in terms of observational wit and cynicism. Instead of roots-rock, though, Sail Away is filled with baroque stylings and lush production, similar to his debut, but far more assured and fitting for the compositions in question. Rooted in the great American tradition and taking keys from jazz, classical, ragtime, and a small hint of rock at points, Sail Away is a masterpiece of the singer-songwriter craft from one of the most singular men to ever do it.
Newman always had a heavy element of ridicule and cynicism to his songwriting, and if juvenile material like "Davy the Fat Boy" off his debut wasn't evidence enough, than I don't know what is. Even with all that in mind, something about the material on Sail Away feels like the true realization of this skill and ability, and never before has Newman's character-piece style of writing been so effective. "Political Science" is one of the greatest examples of this with its lyricism about dropping "the big one" on the world to make it all "another American town," and the narrator's point-of-view is excellently written to be as mockable as possible - it's brilliantly tongue-in-cheek, down to the song name. And that's only the beginning, from the bizarre perversion of "You Can Leave Your Hat On" to the slave-driving narrator of the album's title track who sings of being "happy as a monkey in a monkey tree," Sail Away is painted in negative characters and satirical portraits, all of which seems to perfectly marry with the jazzy musical inspiration and Newman's nasally Orleanian singing. All of it comes together to almost form a mockery on American life, from the simpler way of living on "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" to the heavy religion of "He Gives Us All His Love". Whether or not it's all intentional is hard to say, but Newman's deriding style at least makes for a great sense of cohesion across the album.
It's also worth mentioning that it's not just the songwriting that is excellent - everything about the structure of the album is executed creatively and near-flawlessly. At just 30 minutes and 12 songs, Sail Away is all killer, no filler, and has such a brilliant flow from one moment to the next that you'll be clamoring to hear it all again. The arrangements are also the most lively and playful that Randy Newman has done yet, and their energy perfectly matches the energy of the song, such as the bouquet of horns on the Sinatra-inspired "Lonely at the Top". Randy Newman also brought back Lenny Waronker to handle production, and the record's clean sound is a hallmark of his excellent job here - even in comparison to the dynamic stylings of 12 Songs, Sail Away is an excellent sounding album, and may very well be Waronker's best work with Newman. This was also the first Newman studio album produced by Russ Titelman, and the production duo of Waronker-Titelman would produce every one of Newman's studio albums up to the 80s. Newman's liberal use of styles also makes Sail Away a diverse and tight listening experience, whether he's alone at his piano for songs like "Simon Smith" or "Dayton, Ohio", or he has an ensemble of strings like on the gorgeous "Old Man", or he has a small backing band on moments like "Last Night I Had a Dream" or "You Can Leave Your Hat On", Sail Away is bouncy and dynamic through and through.
Sail Away was my first Randy Newman experience, and even after hearing everything he's done up to Trouble in Paradise (that includes the soundtracks, as well), Newman's brilliance seems to culminate on Sail Away. Not only is Randy's dynamic sounding satire on the American way of life and culture cunningly written, but it's excellently sung, beautifully performed, masterfully produced, and tightly sequenced to the point where not once in the album's running time does Newman stumble or fall. It's a continuously clever and confident album through and through, and to this date stands as one of the greatest singer-songwriter albums to be released. An essential album for anyone's listening, and the perfect snapshot of Randy Newman's inventiveness and exception.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Sail Away.
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