Randy Newman's third studio album Sail Away was released in 1972. It was released to generally positive reviews and was his most commercially successful at the time. Now, it is generally considered one of his strongest albums and was included on Rolling Stones' most recent publication of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
I was happy to suggest that some of Newman's lyrics from his previous 12 Songs had no useful take-aways because the music and humor was perfectly crafted and the songs' subjects were less consequential ("Suzanne" and "Mama Told Me Not to Come"). Now, he approaching his subjects--politics in particular--more head-on, which suggests he wants his audience to take these lyrics vey seriously. That's problematic because his lyrics haven't become more thematic and, to me at least, a political song must be enlightening in some way. True, it's funny to suggest that we drop "the big one" on everyone who despises America and the idea of a slave-trader painting a beautiful picture of America to Africans is fittingly uncomfortable, but what good are they if neither go any further? I'm similarly underwhelmed by some of the non-political lyrics, such as "Lonely at the Top," which was better on Randy Newman Live and probably isn't good enough to be on a studio album. About half of the melodies share the buoyant bounce that made 12 Songs such a charming and sophisticated album but the rest suffers to some degree from all-too-serious lyrics or melodies that feel a little heavy or forced. B+ [Later: A-]
