When i hear this album i hear all of the cartoon movies he's soundtracked, which makes it difficult to rate. The songs are good, but the sentiment is pretty simple, which is probably why/how he made the transition to animation.

underrated

Some guy that sounds like Gruff Rhys but from the far past sings about some weird stuff. He has Willy Wonka complex and probably his attitude too. Maybe. Maybe Not? I'm reviewing 'Sail Away' here, have got to remind myself. Yes, it has an old timey feel. 'Lonely At The Top' self lamenting comes with brass instruments and a tinkering piano. This isn't quite Scott Walker though. This guy is more... pre occupied with the song. I can't see much narration here. Through the sadness of 'Old Man' and the confusion via passion of 'Last Night I Had A Dream' it gives the impression one is reading an audio diary. Except you're listening to the words off the page. I'm confusing am I? Well whatever, nevermind, listen to the album. It won't take long. These songs go in the ear and out sooner than you would think. Not saying it isn't interesting, in fact... it does have some most interesting parts. 'Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear' takes you to the seaside quicker than the fastest plane. I can see the striped pre first world war swimsuits just be listening... And 'Sail Away' and 'Political Science' certainly have a different sense of humor. Odd odd album. Listened to it 3 times so far and can't quite grasp it. Seems like a grower though.

It was a consistently good seller(Reprise MS 2064) throughout the 70s and 80s and got a lot of airplay in the same period, especially for "Political Science" and "Sail Away". One of my favorite albums and IMO his best, but also check out Randy Newman Live and "I think its going to rain today". I am really glad to see that this album is so popular with the members on this site..albums like this can get lost in the passage of time.

It is lonely at the top, *sighs

Thank you ffudnebbuh, really really good album