Sail Away is where Randy Newman's method clicked into place: gorgeous orchestral arrangements wrapped around narrators you would never want to meet. The title track is a slave trader's sales pitch delivered over strings so lovely they make your skin crawl. 'Political Science' laughs at the end of the world, and 'God's Song' puts the argument in the almighty's mouth. Nobody else was writing like this in 1972 and few have since. Rhino Reserve, cut from the analog tape. Street date: October 23.