Sail Away by Randy Newman

Here’s another album that was recommended to me. I never really listen to a lot of old-school music besides the music that my parents will play in the car all the time. Because of the sound quality of music in the past, I never really appreciated a lot of old-school music. If it’s something that I appreciate, it has to sound epic and build a legacy. And this album fulfilled all the requirements. This album is called Sail Away by Randy Newman and it was released in May 1972. The album has 17 songs in 30 minutes, which is pretty great for those who have a short attention span. Some of the songs on the album are just re-recordings with a different arrangement. For instance, “Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear” was recorded by Alan Price in 1967 and “Dayton Ohio - 1903” was recorded by Billy J Kramer in 1969. Even “Last Night I Had a Dream” was a song on his album that had a different arrangement than the single he released in September 1968. One song by Randy Newman called “You Can Leave Your Hat On” was later re-recorded by Joe Cocker in 1986 and found in the film 9½ Weeks. “He Gives Us All His Love” was written and recorded for the film Cold Turkey and recordings of the song were issued by the Sundance and Ed Ames. The song “Lonely at the Top” was written for Frank Sinatra even though Frank Sinatra never recorded it. All and all, the album sounds like a big sigh of relief. The lyrics on the album pertain to hope and the American dream. The song “Sail Away” pertains to the American dream where America is the land of the free. The darker meaning behind the song is the fact that the song is written through the eyes of a slave trader convincing African natives that America is great. The album brings political and environmental issues to the forefront. In the song “Burn On” it talks about the Cuyahoga River which runs through the city of Cleveland, Ohio caught on fire due to oil slicks and pollution. Because of this song there was a major environmental cleanup effort and the EPA started to exist. Everything in this album is like a victory lap. I especially love the composition from the strong horns to the attacking guitar sounds. It sounds epic, almost like you have become a fully realized person and you’re looking over the city. Honestly, I never knew the impact and legacy that went into this but once I started to realize how important this album meant to some people… It was able to warm my heart. Brian Wilson says this album kept him from sliding further into depression and mental illness and eventually helped him come up with lyrics for “Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale)” from 1973 Beach Boys album Holland. “Burn On” was played during the opening credits of the movie Major League. The song “Old Man” can be heard in the closing credits of the 2017 film The Meyerowitz Stories. What’s also more impressive is that all the lyrics are written by Randy Newman and he composed the whole album himself. With this album Randy Newman was able to create a legacy. In 2012 the album was ranked 322 in Rolling Stones’ 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album seems like a classic in so many ways.