Holy Grail Away

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10

Randy Nnnnnnewman! ... You've got to love him! ... I mean, he might never dance on his piano, set his guitar on fire, or drown in his bathtub, but he is still awesome! ... As much as anybody on the planet might try, they'll never sound as old, experienced, and sincere as Randy Newman does. Not even Bob Dylan. It took me awhile to convince myself of that, but Newman dang-well can dig himself into your soul more effectively than Dylan does. They're both actually pretty much gods at that.

Anyway, the third Newman album, he doesn't try to pull any punches. He writes twelve songs here of varying genres. Some are ragtime, some are show-tunes, some are even rock-n-roll ... all of them are beautiful and touching!

Randy Newman will never be my favorite singer-songwriter (his tunes are nowhere near catchy enough for me to enjoy Newman as much as I ought to), but he certainly does manage to make my heart all tendery and stuff ... in other words, when I want to feel butch, I'll probably not listen to Randy Newman. But if I'm feeling all gooey and poignant, then Newman is a good idea. A very good idea. If you feel like listening to something that sounds genuine and is pretty much instantly likable (without necessarily having CATCHY songs), then put Sail Away by Randy Newman on TOP of your list. This stuff is good. It's also quite a bit better, sincerity speaking, than his 12 Songs album.

Sorry, that was an awful review, wasn't it! I'll close by saying: NEWMAN RULES! And I also think he deserves an Academy Award.

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 (A great collection of tunes by the future dude who keeps on showing up at the Academy Awards. This is a superb set of affecting songs for your souuuuuuuuuuul.)

Average Song Score: 9.0 (Great songs! There's nothing too exciting on here, which shouldn't be much of a surprise, but Newman is at his best as the sincerest of sincere singer-songwriters)

Album Tilt: 9.0 (This is a good album. I'm not really too eager to go out and buy it, but that's only because I'm a narrow-minded bigot.)

Artist Rating: 9.0 (Randy Newman can paint the ceiling of my Sistine Chapel any day of the week.)

Track Reviews

Sail Away 9/10

This is pretty awesome, actually. Randy Newman, here, seems to have come up with a nice melody and the orchestration seem to come up at the right place, at the right time, and at the right intensity. The song is rather bleak, but such is Newman's kinda poignant style, after all!

Lonely at the Top 9/10

Hey! Wait a minnit! This Randy Newman guy ... he's no rock'n'roller! Cripes! I should have known! ... Newman! ... That's it. I'm suppozta be reviewing rock-and-roll ... not this floopy ragtime stuff. Ragtime! What good is that stuff to anything, anyway? It was 1972 when this came out! Howabout some Glam or something! Am I the only one who thinks that Randy Newman would look hot in a Glam suit?

He Gives Us All his Love 9.5/10

Another totally NON-rock song ... (really, I'm kind of ticked off about that) ... Anyway, this is a totally short song, but it's so dang touching and soul-piercing that ... crap! I can understand why Newman didn't succumb to the evil temptations of Glamdom.

Last Night I Had a Dream 10/10

Hey! I had a dream last night, too! I dreamt that I was leveling a house with my telekinetic powers! ... Randy Newman apparently had a dream as well. And he made it into a pretty cool song. It's another totally engaging and cool song. And guess what? This is ROCK! ... Really, Nnnewman, rock is your friend when you use it.

Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear 8.5/10

Again, the whole rock-and-roll revolution failed to take effect in Randy Newman as he delivers another light and punchy ragtime tune. And he plays the piano with much professionality and one of his signature tunes.

Old Man 9/10

Old man? ... Man! Newman sounds like he's singing this out of his coffin! ... How is it that he sounds so danged old in these albums and he's only, like, thirty or something? ... This has got to have been impressive back then. It's not as impressive now, because he is old now, but ... back in 1972. Dude! This song might not sound like much, but ... ugh! Even without really paying attention much to the lyrics, it pierces through my heart. This sounds so danged sincere! Only Randy Newman can get away with flying colors while singing such boring songs! That's an accomplishment to behold.

Political Science 9/10

Political science sucks! ... (I mean the class, not the song.) The song is pretty cool. It's much more upbeat and partyful. It's still in the ragtime, show tune swing of things, but that doesn't stop it from being SOLID. This song is so good, I only wonder why he doesn't write songs for the movies.

Burn On 8.5/10

He must have wrote this at a feminists rally. (Whaaaahaaaa! I love bra burners!) ... Actually, that's not what this song is about. Even though the song is very pretty indeed, it doesn't effect me quite as much as the other songs. ... But ... this is still Randy Newman. This guy has Bob Dylan beat on the sounding-sincere level ... and I previously thought that Dylan was unbeatable in that respect.

Memo to My Son 9.5/10

I really like the groove here! ... I mean, it's not the grooviest of groove, but for Randy Newman, this is one of his few songs with an awesome groove. Also ... this is probably ROCK, so that's always an awesome thing. ... All of that aside, this is another pretty song. Pretty pretty pretty.

Dayton, Ohio 1903 9/10

Wow, Randy, you're melting my heart.

You Can Leave Your Hat On 8/10

It's a little too late for you to be the groove rock king, Randy Newman. After all that ragtime, showtunes, and only TWO pretty-much-genuine rock songs ... um. Well, this song is pretty cool, actually. ... Even though this is rock, I'm not too impressed with it. It doesn't seem to pique my interest that much.

God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind) 9/10

Hmm ... This is a slow, bluesy type song where Newman gives it all the sincerest power that he's been known to give. I say that's cool. ... Even though I do have to appreciate this. It's much more fulfilling to listen to Randy Newman's brand of juicy sincerity than to, say, the Rolling Stones's kick-butt, speaker-busting rock-awesomeness, but it's not as much fun! Eh ... at any rate, there is no way EVER that you could dislike Randy Newman. It's impossible. Listen to this album, and I dare you to try.

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