I have heard “Come Sail Away” by Styx many times without paying much attention. Recently I was caught with nothing to do but listen. I was surprised how awkward the tempo change in the middle is.
Come Sail Away begins as an overacted opera with a poorly written libretto. It ends as mindless pop-rock with some bizarre references to angles and aliens. The two parts are different songs, with the only connection being that the first begins “I am sailing away”, and the second repeats “come sail away.” The transition is made by starting the second song before the first is over.
Listening reminded me of Salieri trying to find one of his songs the young priest would recognize. Salieri had been well thought of, his music was quite popular in his day, but quickly forgotten. He does find a song from his day the priest knows, but that was Mozart.
“Come Sail Away” is the type of song that is popular in its time because it is in the current fashion. But as they age, only the songs that defined the style remain fresh. The imitations go stale.
That this song is played at all is a product of radio stations programming very narrowly defined categories and having a lot of time to fill. To marketers, radio is a good way to reach the segment of the audience who finds the late ‘70s nostalgic.
In time, what was popular then will be less important than what is good now. And we will still hear songs recorded in 1977. “Come Sail Away” will not be one of them.
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