Sail Away is an album by Randy Newman, released in May 23, 1972. It was produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman and issued on Reprise Records. While all of its songs were written and composed by Newman, several had already been recorded by other artists. In 2000 it was voted number 582 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2012, it was ranked number 322 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Music and lyrics
As with all of Newman's early albums, several of its songs had been previously recorded by other artists. In this case, "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" had been a UK hit for Alan Price in 1967, and "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" had been recorded by Billy J. Kramer as a single in 1969 and by Harry Nilsson on his 1969 album Harry. Newman himself had also previously recorded "Last Night I Had a Dream" as a single, issued in September 1968. The version heard on Sail Away is a re-recording with a notably different arrangement. "You Can Leave Your Hat On" was later recorded by Joe Cocker in 1986 and this version was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film 9½ Weeks starring Kim Basinger. A version by Tom Jones appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 filmThe Full Monty. "He Gives Us All His Love" was also initially written and recorded by Newman in a sparser and slower arrangement for the 1971 filmCold Turkey. The film issued no soundtrack, and the first commercially available recordings of this song were issued by Sundance and Ed Ames. The song "Lonely at the Top" was written specifically with Frank Sinatra in mind, although he never recorded it. Newman himself had already released it on his previous album, Randy Newman Live.
has said that this album profoundly affected him at the time of its release, briefly keeping him from sliding further into depression and mental illness. In particular, Wilson noted that he listened to Sail Away "over and over" while physically writing down the lyrics which became the "Mount Vernon and Fairway " suite from the 1973 Beach Boys album Holland. "Burn On" is heard over the opening credits of the 1989 movieMajor League. According to the film's director, David S. Ward, he chose the song because it was the only one he knew of that was about Cleveland, Ohio, which is where the movie takes place. The chorus of the song, "burn on, big river, burn on," refers to when the Cuyahoga River caught fire due to pollution in 1969. The song "Old Man" can be heard at the closing credits of Noah Baumbach's 2017 filmThe Meyerowitz Stories.
Track listing
Personnel
Randy Newman – arranger, composer, piano, vocals
Ry Cooder – slide guitar on "Last Night I Had a Dream" and "You Can Leave Your Hat On"
