Paul Simon is quite simply one the greatest storytellers of the past century. His music has canvased decades and generations of captivated listeners. I was first introduced to his music by my parents in the form of Simon & Garfunkel. Even as a child and not knowing anything about music, I was immediately pulled in by this emmotional and sincere sound. Bridge Over Troubled Water is so achingly beautiful as Art Garfunkel interprets Paul's lyrics about comfort in one's time of need, it is easily one of the most influential and powerful songs I've ever heard. Surprisingly, one of my first memories of watching the Grammy's was Paul Simon's Graceland dominating the evening garnering serveral nominations and winning album of the year in 1986. It was almost 17 years later before I would discover this album as a young adult and truly appreciate it's worldly sound. I've been trying to bring more obscure artists into the fold on our blog, and Mr. Simon is fairly well known between most of us, but I wanted to shine a light on one of the handful of legendary singer/songwriters still with us and bring a greater consciousness to a true national treasure.Reason #628 that Paul Simon is great:
Besides Graceland, Bridge Over Troubled Water also garnered Album of the Year at the Grammy's in '71. Two Album's of the Year in one week ain't too bad.
Required Listening:
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon - Paul Simon
" " - Graceland
" " - The Rhythm of the Saints
" " - You're the One
So, I wrote some stuff at work and forgot to email the text to myself, so let me try and recreate this - "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was a great album. That being said, I didn't discover any new tracks that I liked, but enjoyed all the familiar favorites that brought me back to my childhood. When other kids my age were listening to New Kids on the Block, I was getting acquainted with bands like The Beatles, The Monkees and Simon and Garfunkel, thanks to my mother's habit of listening to KLOU 103.3 in the car. Much of my musical taste goes back to that music, or is at least heavily influenced by musicians like Paul Simon.
ReplyDeleteThe title track was sweet but a little cheesy for me. Things didn't really get exciting until track 3, "Cecilia," with its catchy rhythym and lyrics. Little known fact for all of you, my confirmation name is Cecilia, same as my sorority "mom." Moving on, "The Boxer" is one of the band's best songs. Period. One thing I've always loved about Simon and Garfunkel is how the lyrics seem so far away, like they were recorded in a room with a lot of echo - that paired with their great voices sends a chill down my spine every time. A highlight is near the 3 minute mark where the suspense really builds and digs at your deepest emotions. My dad always said he only likes songs that make him happy or put him in a good mood, but I think he's missing out if it means he's not accessing all his emotions. Isn't that what music is all about? Hearing "The Only Living Boy in New York" made me realize we're on quite the "Garden State" soundtrack streak, which I can't be mad at. I was obsessed with that CD for at least a year in college. "Bye Bye Love" is of course a fan favorite.
On first listen of "Paul Simon" I realized I didn't like it as much as this CD. There's more but now ya gonna have to wait till tomorrow to hear about it. Actually, you're sitting in the other room so I doubt you care all that much. See you tomorrow!
Growing up listening to Simon and Garfunkel, I already had some knowledge of Paul Simon’s work. I remember how much I enjoyed listening to the Album, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as a child, so I am eager to get into this week and see if I still feel the same.
ReplyDeleteBridge over Troubled Water is a great album for me. I don’t know if it is the fact that is familiar territory for me, or just reminds me of old times with the family. There is a lot you can take away from this album though. Starting off with the hauntingly beautiful Bridge over Troubled Water. This song can touch you on a deep level, especially in those times when you are feeling very sad or down about things. It kind of lets you know that you are not alone, no matter how hard times get. It also helps that it has beautiful piano orchestration and Art Garfunkel singing his heart out. It is definitely my favorite song on this album. I also love the song El Condor Paso, it sounds to me like it has an almost medieval sort of backdrop to the song, which I really enjoy, and it is such a simple song. Ceclia is a very fun and catchy song, it reminds me of something played on a summer road trip. Of course who doesn’t love the song, “The Boxer” this is Paul showing his true storytelling capabilities. Songs like this or “American Pie”, are songs that will always be remembered because the lyrics stick with you. I know that we are mainly focusing on Paul Simon this week, but listening to this song and the great harmonizing done by he and Art Garfunkel is truly beautiful. They really did make a great team. I also really liked the song, “ For the asking.” I liked the orchestration in the background and what it had to say. This whole album for me is great, and I am interested to see what Paul Simon can do on his own.
Starting off with “Mother and Child Reunion” and I know I have heard this song before, but can’t place if it was from a movie or on the radio. The backdrop to this song is very fun and upbeat, almost like something you would hear from Bob Marley or something. On to “Duncan,” and I really enjoy this song with the guitar and the Inca pipe players (read that on CDNOW), once again setting the scene to Paul’s storytelling. “Run that body down” seems to be Paul taking a more Bluesy turn. It seems in this album Paul is trying out many different musical styles, and they all seem to fit well with his voice. “Congratulations” seems like a more bitter song, maybe Paul had just gotten out of relationship when he wrote this song. Sounds like he is yearning for love, but doesn’t think it can happen for him. It seems like Paul does just fine on his own, and knows exactly how to set his feelings to music.
Graceland is another good album. Something about this album is not touching a nerve with me quite as much as the first two. Although “Call me Al” is such a great song, and probably the most fun song Paul has recorded to date. The video is great with Chevy Chase and him playing off each other. The song “Under African Skies” is a very pretty song, with the help from Linda Rodstadt on vocals their voices blend very well together. The song, “Crazy Love” I just learned was about his break up with actress Carrie Fischer, it is kind of interesting to see what he has to say about it. At least he set it to an upbeat background, makes it not so harsh I suppose. In “That was your mother” Paul is telling a story to his son about meeting his mama down in Louisiana. Before I knew what the song was about I had already placed it as a song you would hear from the Bayou. He does a great job of setting the atmosphere to this song. While I know that this is what most people see as the best of Paul Simon’s work I thing I would need to listen to it a few more times to get the full effect of it.
ReplyDeleteIn the Rhythm of the Saints I am definitely seeing Paul sticking with the African sounds. He is definitely making his music original, in that he is keeping his American voice heard among the Tribal backgrounds. While I appreciate his uniqueness in style, I have to say I like the older albums better. The song, “She Moves On,” had a kind of salsa style to it. I liked it and it made me think of being at some tropical island party and what the band may be playing. The next song, “Born at the right time” seems to keep with the “She moves on” kind of feel. I definitely enjoyed these songs the most on this album. The percussion on this album definitely stands out and really sets the mood for the entire album. Although I did not enjoy this album as much as the others I appreciate what Paul is trying to do in bringing outside cultures into the spotlight.
Love the first song on “You’re the one.” “That’s where I belong” is set to a beautiful melody, the lyrics are beautiful and would be fitting to dedicate to a loved one. To me this album is almost a reflection of “Graceland,” in that it is bringing lots of different sounds to the table. Not just sticking with the Tribal sounds. The song, “Old” made me laugh, it seems like a fun song that kids would enjoy. The song “Love” is very poignant in that it simply states that the world would not be, if it were not for love. “Pigs, Sheep and Wolves” was just kind of weird. I believe the message is somewhat about stereotyping, but it is set against an odd background which doesn’t do much to get me into the song. I liked the mandolin in the background in the song, “Hurricane Eye.” All in all I liked this album more than “The Rhythm of the Saints” but still not as much as the early works.
This was a great pick by Justin, to get us more in touch with just how important lyrics are to music. Paul Simon is quite poetic and knows how to say what he feels to music. He definitely is an important part of the music culture.
I grew up listening to Y98 with my mother and my lone exposure to Simon or Garfunkel prior to this week was ‘You Can Call Me Al’. Outside of that, I haven’t even heard much of anything that sounds remotely similar to this style of music with the exception of the some Beatles songs. Therefore this week certainly expanded my horizons a bit.
ReplyDeleteIf I had heard songs off of Bridge Over Troubled Water on the radio without knowing it, I would have guessed it was either a Beatles or America song depending on the track. Keep the Customer Satisfied, Bye Bye Love, and Why Don’t You Write Me all have the dual singing between Art and Paul along with that Beatles type rock sound that was so rare during their time. The vocals on The Boxer, which was my favorite track, sounded very much like those of America to me with that calmness that is not trying to compete with the rest of the song. The end of the song was really cool when all of the various instruments came together including the rare bass harmonica. Very quickly you are able to see just how gifted these two are at storytelling. You are able to envision exactly what they are presenting on every track. I can see why this got the hype that it did back in 1970, however, I had a difficult time appreciating it today. Regardless of the influences this had on the music I love today, I think it lacks the adrenaline or emotional rush that I look for out of a ‘rock’ group. If I were looking for something to listen to while playing chess or something then I may reach for this, but outside of that, I can’t picture a time when I would be in the mood for this album with the exception of The Boxer. So while recognizing the talent, I just don’t think this is for me. This is clearly a it’s not you it’s me scenario.
His first solo album opened up with a track that kind of hit a nerve with me reminding me of our trips home to see our families. I was fearful that the rest of the album was going reggae, but was relieved to hear Duncan took him back to his roots with S & G. Again, you can immediately recognize the songwriting talent and get lost in your imagination on this album. This is especially true with Duncan and Peace Like a River. I’m sure Paul wanted to go out and prove that he didn’t need Art to be successful and I think that is quite clear. I think we learned that he was the brains of the operation and there is an apparent growth with this album. My favorite tracks were Duncan, Peace Like a River, and Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard. I do think that two tracks with Hobo in the title are two too many, but I think I can escalate this to a soundtrack to chess to a soundtrack to changing brake pads. I know it is a random reference, but this type of music reminds me of changing brake pads in the garage with Greg while he has the radio on his oldies station.
Graceland sounded like a huge experiment. Anyone not sure what type of music they like should listen to this album as it has just about every instrument known to man featured in it. If I was a die hard and devoted fan of Paul Simon prior to this album, I would have been furious with the direction of this album. It sounds like he and Gloria Estefan took a vacation together while Paul was contemplating his next album. She then got him drunk and convinced him to try an African theme. I consider every track on this album including You Can Call me Al a complete step backwards for Mr. Simon.
ReplyDeleteWhen The Obvious Child began, I was worried that The Rhythm of the Saints was a second coming of Graceland. This is a pretty good mix of Paul Simon and Graceland. It still has some South American influences, but this time I get lost in the typical Paul Simon story hour. So as a musician, he succeeds in painting the picture, it just that the content doesn’t do anything from me. Yeah, I am walking through a Brazilian market, but don’t really have an opinion or thought about it that sparks a reaction. I think I just have a hard time accepting the same guy from Bridges over Troubled Water is the frontman for some J-Lo tracks. My favorite tracks were Can Run But, Proof, and The Rhythm of the Saints.
That’s Where I Belong and Darling Lorraine were a breath of fresh air after the last two efforts. It appears that he has dropped the South American/African influences and has gotten back to a more modern take on his earlier efforts. Novelty tracks like Old and Pigs, Sheeps, and Wolves are absolutely absurd, and make me wonder if he is either on drugs or has become as nuts as my grandfather. But tracks like Darling Lorraine and The Teacher blow away any track on the last two albums by far for me.
While I definitely enjoy his work with Art Garfunkel more than I do his solo work in general, Paul Simon is one of those rare artists that has been able to make relevant music for 5 decades. He is clearly one of the greatest songwriters in music history, and his ability to tell a story is second to none. His influence on modern music is enormous, as his sound can still be heard in bands as different as Belle & Sebastian, Devendra Banhart and Vampire Weekend. He also has one of the most calming voices I've ever heard which tends to work better with the Simon & Garfunkel stuff, but he still has some amazing solo productions.
ReplyDeleteStarting off with the S&G album "Bridge Over Troubled Water"....this one is probably my least favorite of their albums as it's not as cohesive as the others, but that definitely isn't to say that I don't love this one as well. Strangely enough, I must admit that I completely hate the title track. I understand that many people think of it as an American classic, and I appreciate the sentiment of the song, but I just think that the cheese factor is in overdrive and Art Garfunkel's performance seems forced. Despite this though, the rest of the album almost has too many highlights to name. 'The Boxer' and 'The Only Living Boy in New York' are my favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs (in that order), and if you've ever heard the band Belle & Sebastian you can hear that they ripped their entire sound off of 'Keep the Customer Satisfied' (and it's great). Elsewhere 'So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright' is a beautiful song, and 'Cecilia' is one of the more uptempo songs in their catalog and is just as brilliant as the rest. In all, it's a shame that the times leading up to the recording of this album led to such a rift between Paul and Art, but they left us with one more classic album in the end.
Paul's first solo album starts off in one of the most unexpected ways possible. 'Mother and Child Reunion' quickly shows Paul's first dalliance with world music, as it is clearly a simple reggae song.....I can just hear Bob Marley singing this song. 'Duncan' is like a beautiful minstrel song, and is my favorite song on the album by a long shot. 'Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard' is a surefire classic track and has a brilliant whistle break. Overall, this is possibly the most instrumentally sparse Paul Simon album I've ever heard, but his voice and songwriting abilities can shine through just about anything.
"Graceland" is absolutely Paul Simon's solo masterpiece. He took one of the heaviest personal and artistic risks of all time in heading into apartheid-torn South Africa, during a time when there was basically a cultural embargo on the country. That he was so unbelievably able to fuse American folk musical traditions with the black South African musical styles is a miracle to this day. Paul sounds so invigorated for a 40+ year old man, it's almost like he was drawing energy from being around a culture that was so full of life. As for the individual songs themselves, the bassline on the title track is so bubbly and great....this is music that could bring just about anyone in the deepest depression happiness. I honestly love every single song on this album. The African background vocals on 'I Know What I Know' are wonderful, and the brilliance of the male vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo is on full display on the great acapella intro to 'Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes'. Of course, this album is mostly remembered now for the song 'You Can Call Me Al', for good reason as it's a great song with an even greater music video. Overall, this is the best album by a man who's made a long career of making great music.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard "The Rhythm of the Saints" prior to this week, and after hearing it I wish that I had known of it's greatness a long time ago. This one has Paul continuing with the African themed music, and I actually think that the guitar playing and percussion is even better on this one than on "Graceland", although the actual songwriting isn't quite as good. I absolutely love how there's a false drumbeat ending to the intro track, only to go into one more vocal harmony from Paul to truly end the song. 'Can't Run But' sounds like a Tortoise song a few years before that band even formed, and 'Proof' so very obviously influenced everything that Vampire Weekend does (as those of you who haven't heard them yet will hear next month when Laura introduces them to you). The real highlight on the album though is 'The Coast'. This is one of the greatest uptempo songs that Paul Simon has ever written, and has another appearance from Ladysmith Black Mambazo. This album will be one that I listen to many times in the near future, as I love every second of it, and is my second favorite album of the week.
"You're the One" was Paul's first album in 10 years (since "The Rhythm of the Saints"), and still contains some of the world music influences, but does so in a much more subtle way. It's amazing that unlike so many of his peers that have made albums this far into their careers, Paul's voice is still completely intact....you can't hear any sort of difference between the way he sounded in 2000 and the way he sounded in 1965. The highlights for me on this one were 'Darling Lorraine' and 'The Teacher', but overall I think this was an album where Paul was trying to play things too safely. He went away from a lot of the experimentalism that had made his previous solo work so successful, and the majority of the songs on this album are just a little too plain sounding. Despite this though, it's still much better than most albums made by 60+ year old guys.
Paul Simon has so greatly influenced much of the music that I listen to that it's hard for me to hear a lot of his songs and not hear another band in them, which is a good tribute to how great of a musician he really was. His move into world music experimentation was probably a shock for many at the time, but it was probably the best move he ever could have made. No matter the style of music he's making though, his voice and ability to write a song almost always make them work.
Continuing what I was saying earlier, Paul Simon's solo stuff never reached Simon and Garfunkel status for me. On "Paul Simon," it was interesting to note the differences from his group to his solo work. I love his voice, so that translates over, but the music seems more poppy or light hearted to me at times, versus that haunting sound I talked about that I liked so much before. That's a downside. The highlight for me was "Me and Julio," which I think showcases his storytelling talents quite well. I really like that about Paul Simon. Too many songs today have stupid lyrics or made up words or just plain nonsense - storytelling on the other hand is something that's been around since the beginning of human time, without which we wouldn't know a thing about where we came from and who knows where we would be today? "Graceland" was a little more appealing to me. I loved the video for "You Can Call Me Al," with Chevy Chase. Thanks for linking that, I'd never seen it before. I thought "Rhythm of the Saints" took it up a whole other level - it was neat to hear the focus and the differences in the rhythm section of each track. Rhythm is such a base instinct that seems so simple (heartbeats, patterns you hear in everyday life) that most people don't stop to take the time and really appreciate it. It's amazing how different the experience was listening on my laptop versus David's iPod too. It's essential to have that beat surrounding you so you're not only hearing it, you're feeling it. I love the African sounds without. The title track for me was the highlight - the beats are so smooth and his voice harkens back to the haunting sound of S&G.
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