CD Odyssey Disc 715: Paul Simon

Today I engaged in a little retail therapy. For me, retail therapy usually means books or music (I like clothes, but I find shopping for them a chore). Today was music and I came home with a Natalie MacMaster album I’ve been looking for and a five-disc set of classic Molly Hatchet.

On to what the Odyssey dished up for me most recently.

Disc 715 is…. Graceland

Artist: Paul Simon

Year of Release: 1986

What’s up with the Cover? My best guess is that it depicts Frankenstein’s monster subbing in so Death can take a coffee break (he’s loaned the monster his scythe and white horse). That’s awful nice of Frankie to help out – maybe all his various parts felt guilty for coming back to life and making Death miss quota.

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video for “You Can Call Me Al” back in the eighties and really liked it. It features Chevy Chase (who at the time was like Paul Simon – still kind of famous but getting old) lip-synching the song while Paul Simon sat beside him and tried not to laugh.

Despite the clever video marketing, I never bought the album – Sheila either owned it when I met her, or bought it soon thereafter. I liked it a lot more than she’s going to like my recent Molly Hatchet and Natalie MacMaster purchases.

How It Stacks Up:  We have three Paul Simon albums but the other two are much more recent (2000, 2011). “Graceland” is easily the best of them.

Ordinarily when I finish my collection of an artist I do a little ratings recap, but given how few of Paul Simon’s classic albums I have, I’m going to hold off until that process is more fulsome.

Rating: 5 stars

In 1986 Paul Simon had nothing to prove. He had five solid solo records under his belt and five more before that with Art Garfunkel. He’d been making hit records for over twenty years and didn’t have anything to prove.

I only have two of those previous ten records, and I’m looking forward to discovering the other eight. Even so, I am skeptical any of them will be able to top “Graceland.”

The big reveal of “Graceland” – that it is a crossover between Simon’s folk style and African beats and rhythms – has been written to death. I am not going to dwell on it all over again, except to say the reputation for this record’s innovation and exceptional sound is well founded. The combination of South African choral singing and interesting drum beats adds a whole new layer of depth to Simon’s music, without ever detracting from the free and easy feel that makes his music so engaging on its own.  Enough said on that.

This record is more than just a mash up of African and New York rhythms; it has an insight into the human spirit that is rarely matched in music. Two songs showcase this from opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, so if you’ll indulge me…

The first song is the title track, which is so choked with beautiful imagery it is hard to know where to start. I guess the opening verse makes the most sense:

 “The Mississippi Delta was shining

Like a National guitar

I am following the river

Down the highway

Through the cradle of the civil war.”

Coupled with an easy rolling beat, you can feel the wheels under you, and you can see the road winding its way through the south. Yet the song is as much about travelling to Graceland as Moby Dick is about whaling. This is a song about trying to escape heartache, all the while knowing that you can’t drive away from sadness. When you hear Simon sing:

“And she said losing love

Is like a window in your heart

Everybody sees you’re blown apart

Everybody feels the wind blow.”

His voice takes on extra hurt, and it is easy to feel why. If you’ve ever been heartbroken, then you know this is exactly how it feels. It is raw and painfully public. This line kicks me below the belt every time I hear “Graceland”, but I keep coming back because I can’t resist its perfection.

The second song is “I Know What I Know.” It uses its African beats to create a party atmosphere, which makes sense since the song takes place primarily at a party. A lame, pretentious one by the sounds of it; I bet Sting was there. Again, the opening verse is sublime:

“She looked me over

And I guess she thought

I was all right

All right in a sort of a limited way

For an off-night.

She said don’t I know you

From the cinematographer’s party?

I said who am I

To blow against the wind.”

A frank and funny acknowledgment that if your talented and famous you can punch above your weight when meeting girls at cocktail parties. And yes, there is the taint of sexism in this song, but it cuts both ways:

“She said there’s something about you

That really reminds me of money

She was the kind of girl

Who could say things that

Weren’t that funny.

I said what does that mean

I really remind you of money

She said who am I

To blow against the wind.”

So the cocktail party is superficial but everyone seems willing to admit it openly, and just grab another drink from the passing tray. I should mention that I always imagine this party is the kind with those uniformed waiters walking around with free drinks. Or put another way, the kind of parties I don’t get invited to. But I digress…

Despite its brilliance, “Graceland” is not without controversy. To record it, Paul Simon reportedly broke the embargo that was on South Africa at the time because of their apartheid government. There is an excellent movie about this called “Under African Skies” that treats this subject pretty fairly on all sides.

On the one hand, that embargo of apartheid was damned important – a way the world could express its condemnation of reprehensible system of segregation. On the other hand, here was Simon showcasing the great music of the people forced to live under it, and bringing it to the world.

However you feel about it, apartheid is thankfully gone, and “Graceland” endures; a work of art that shows what kind of beauty is possible when we bring people together instead of keeping them apart.

Best tracks: All tracks, although I particularly love Graceland, I Know What I Know, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes and All Around the World. All 11 are good though.

CD Odyssey Disc 642: Paul Simon

I’m on a bit of a cold streak, ratings-wise on the CD Odyssey. This next entry marks the third straight two star review.

Disc 642 is….So Beautiful or So What

Artist: Paul Simon

Year of Release: 2011

What’s up with the Cover? This is a picture by Sven Geier called “DNA Mutation” which is as descriptive a title as any. It goes well with the album’s title as well as the themes of many of the songs, which delve into the mysteries of life and afterlife. Either that or Paul Simon really likes the X-Men. I’m more of an Avengers guy myself.

How I Came To Know It: Sheila bought this for me back when it came out. It received good critical reviews at the time. Certainly better that I'm about to give it.

How It Stacks Up:  My Paul Simon collection is woefully inadequate, consisting of a Greatest Hits album, Graceland and two of his more recent records, including this one. Of those three studio albums, I’d put this one third.

Rating:  2 stars, but almost 3

Paul Simon has never forgotten the lessons he learned about rhythm when he made "Graceland". “So Beautiful or So What” shows him continuing to make interesting musical choices. While the results are hit and miss, I admire him for continuing to find ways to keep his brand of folk-pop interesting and up to date.

My guitar teacher often reminds me that the guitar is also a percussion instrument, and Simon clearly understands how to use it as one on this record. “Getting Ready for Christmas Day” and “The Afterlife” both jump to life in large part because of the interesting strumming patterns and textured guitar playing.

For the most part I enjoyed the album’s focus on varying the rhythm, although I learned that it isn’t for all occasions. I was at the gym trying to squeeze in one more listen before writing this review, but the odd time signatures are not good when running on a treadmill.

Simon’s voice was very pretty on this record. You’d never know he was pushing seventy based on how pure his tone is. Like all good songwriters, he knows how to write songs that are in his wheelhouse vocally as well.

The album’s overarching theme is the exploration of the nature’s mysteries. Unfortunately, Simon opts for flippant musings on the nature of the universe, or falls back on stock religious answers. He skirts around most of the hard stuff, and settles for whimsical stories about what the afterlife might be like. It’s like he wrote some of these songs for his grandchildren, and they have a ‘story-time’ quality that I found a bit condescending.

“Rewrite” is a nice break from this approach, which is a song that muses about how we would’ve done things differently at key moments in our life. Like a lot of the album, the song is fairly gentle in its approach, and you get the sense that there is always room for a ‘rewrite’ of some decisions before we’re out of time.

The second half of the album slows down considerably, and become more 'easy listening' than folk or pop. The songs are pretty enough, but they didn’t grab me and it felt like the album was dragging itself to the finish line.

Because of the musical quality on the album and a few high points I’m going to keep this album, but it didn’t overwhelm me.

I’d like to see this record mashed up with Megadeth’s “So Far, So Good, So What” (reviewed way back at Disc 108). That’s another record that is musically promising, hit and miss in terms of the songs. Together it would make one strong album – and just think of the tour! It would be worth going just to see the two groups of fans mingling in the parking lot before the show.

Best tracks:   Getting Ready for Christmas Day, the Afterlife, Rewrite

CD Odyssey Disc 285: Paul Simon

I had some job hunting appointments this afternoon, and so I got a good long drive in listening to this next CD. It was nice and relaxing, which is what I need before the high pressure experience of the Stanley Cup Finals in a little over an hour.

Disc 285 is...You're The One

Artist: Paul Simon

Year of Release: 2000

What’s Up With The Cover?: As I noted in the teaser, this is a very relaxed album, and it starts with the cover. A 59 year old Paul Simon sits back and looks quite at ease. I think he actually looks better than he did in the sixties, when he had that ridiculous bowl cut.

How I Came To Know It: As I noted way back at Disc 29, when I reviewed Paul Simon's greatest hits album, I first got into Paul Simon through Simon and Garfunkel albums from the sixties, and I recently reviewed the first one I ever heard back at Disc 239.

How It Stacks Up: I only have two Paul Simon albums. I like the other one much more than this one, but it isn't really fair, since the other one I have is a really, really big album. I'll talk about that one when I roll it, but I'm sure you can guess.

Rating: 3 stars.

This album is a very upbeat offering from Simon, who's had his fair share of heartache, but seems well contented on "You're The One".

The songs on this album focus a lot on aging gracefully, including "Darling Lorraine", a long ballad telling the tale of a couple's ups and downs from marriage through to the death of one of them. "Darling Lorraine" is a beautiful expression of a relationship, warts and all, through the ages.

Another age related song is the aptly named, "Old", where Simon ruminates on exactly how old he is these days (as noted above - 59, and that was ten years ago). This song starts out with promise, and my favourite stanza is:

"First time I smoked
Guess what - paranoid
First time I heard "Satisfaction"
I was young and unemployed
Down the decades every year
Summer leaves and my birthday's here
And all my friends stand up and cheer
And say 'man, you're old.'"

Later he compares his age to how old God is, how long the bible has been around, and eventually how old the universe itself is (c. 13-14 billion, FYI). I like the idea behind this, but the execution comes off a little schmaltzy and maybe even a bit 'highschool poetry'.

That is true for many places in this record, that see Simon bravely exploring ideas of aging and perspective with mixed results.

Musically, this record is a natural extension of "Graceland", with Simon still employing sprung rhythm in his phrasing, and an African-inspired surfeit of drum sounds.

However, it also shows him growing in places, and in songs like "The Teacher" he employs a Celtic drum style with a caucusus twist that Loreena McKennitt would be proud of. I don't like "The Teacher" as a song very much, but I like to see well-established artists like Simon still unafraid to play with their own structures and find something new.

Vocally, I am also notably impressed with Paul Simon here, who hits many high notes with a surprisingly pretty tone. Well removed from Garfunkel's vocal shadow, Paul Simon's voice seems to get better with age.

When I first got this record ten years ago, it really stuck with me and got a fair bit of stereo time, but over the years some of the novelty has worn off. I still admire it, but it is too uneven to give more than three stars.

Best tracks: That's Where I Belong, Darling Lorraine, Old, Hurricane Eye

CD Odyssey Disc 29: Paul Simon

After a hiatus caused by an inordinate amount of work at the place they pay me, the CD Odyssey returns! Randomness also returns, and so here is the latest offering.

Disc 29 is...Negotiations and Love Songs 1971-1986

Artist: Paul Simon

Year of Release: 1988 with music from 1971-1986

How I Came To Know It: I've been a fan of Simon and Garfunkel since about 1989. While I liked Paul Simon's solo stuff, it was Sheila that put me on to it. This album is in fact one of hers. Good work, She!

How It Stacks Up: Not Applicable. This is not a Paul Simon album per se - it is a best of/greatest hits. As with Thelonius Monk it isn't fair to stack it up against true studio albums by Paul Simon (of which I have 2).

Rating: Not applicable. Best ofs aren't really rateable that way.

This album is a good example of where best ofs are best utilized. I really like Paul Simon, but I'm not sure I would go out and buy 6 or 7 of his albums - this fills that gap.

Then again, listening to these songs, I am reminded of just what a great songwriter Simon is.

When I listen to Paul Simon's lyrics, I always feel like I'm getting a deep personal insight into his life. The insight comes from such an honest place, that I find myself identifying with it - or remembering a time when I did. It is good stuff.

This album also notes how underrated a singer Paul Simon is. In Simon and Garfunkel he is often overshadowed by Garfunkel's voice, which really isn't fair. Paul Simon can sing.

By contrast, what can Garfunkel do other than sing? In fact, Garfunkel fronts the mythical band that me and my buddies have invented comprised entirely of the untalented portions of former bands.

The band is GORF, which stands for Garfunkel, Oates, Ridgley and Frye. Later we changed the name to DEF GORF, because they needed a drummer.

But I digress...

Negotiations and Love Songs is full of some of the best songs pop music has created, by a man with a beautiful gift to communicate. There are some 5 star tracks on here, most notably "Slip Sliding Away" and "Still Crazy After All These Years" and many more 4 star songs. You can see why best ofs have an unfair advantage.

This record sorely tests me to not run out and buy a bunch of Paul Simon records from the 70s. I won't though...for now.

Best tracks: Still Crazy After All These Years, Slip Slidin' Away, Hearts and Bones, Something So Right, Late in the Evening.