Paul Simon’s Surprise
It’s been years, but he’s finally graced us with a new album. And it has the Oscar-nominated “Fathers and Daughters” on it.
It also has Brian Eno’s production, which may be a bit of a “surprise” to most in itself.
His last album, You’re The One, had a hefty dose of world music hangover, but veered into significantly darker territory than the overall uplifting spirit of Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. Maybe it was his time with the Capeman and his failed musical, but what we have here is a Paul Simon heavily involved in thinking about mortality, futility, and desperation. A lyric here about coloring his hair the color of mud (to look young, presumably), a lyric there about the endless inevitability of war. The sometimes scattershot imagery of earlier albums here sheds narrative almost completely in favor of imagistic impressions that have to be put together by the listener.
And the music: the acoustic guitar he’s well-known for playing is hard to find, buried amidst soundscapes. That’s how they are credited on the album, too. Simon himself spends as much time on electric guitar as on anything else. It feels deep and dark, like You’re the One did, a recording that reveals little touches as you listen repeatedly.
It’s a good album, and it even feels like an inevitable next step after the last one. But I don’t think it’ll have the popular resonance that he had in his world music period. The young want their darkness angsty, and the older… well, they’d rather not think about it. The presence of “Fathers and Daughters” at the end provides a lift of optimism; it’s only in thinking of the next generation that Simon seems to find much to cheer about.
6 Responses to “Paul Simon’s Surprise”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
What we hear today may only be a shadow of his former self, but you’ll still find greatness every now and then if you pay attention.
It’s funny … the residue that this guy leaves in his wake is still far greater than many of us could ever hope to achieve in our lifetime. I can’t wait to get my hands on the new album. He’s one of the last true poets of music, imo.
I don’t think he’s a shadow of his former self at all… I think he’s just not that interested in pop music anymore. I meant “resonate” as in “resonate with audiences” as in “get on the radio much.” 🙂
There are some AMAZING lyrics on this album. The music is not as melodic as some of his other stuff, but it’s growing on me.
On the main blog index, the album thumbnail image needs a positioning:relative attribute. Check out the site now in Firefox.
He’s been getting a good bit of airplay over here on Radio Scotland and the album does have a ‘nice’ feel to it. Looking forward to getting a copy when the wages come in 😉
I’ve found with his work that you do need to just listen to it a few times, then start ‘reading’ it as there’s an incredible amount of craft in there.
[…] Comments […]
He really got hammered by his attempt to make a musical about a serial killer (“Capeman.”) You can listen to the Surprise songs here: http://www.paulsimon.com/player.php
You can really tell Brian Eno produced this, just like you can hear Rick Rubin’s touch on Neil Diamond’s latest, “12 Songs.”