There Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul Simon

You're The One - Paul Simon

A new Paul Simon album is always something worth getting excited about especially as it has been so long since he made a great album. For me, Graceland was a milestone in his career, equalling if not exceeding his most excellent work in the early 70s. I was never overly impressed with The Rhythm of The Saints. Maybe it was too hard to follow up Graceland. So, with no new music to speak of in the 90s, except the overlooked Songs From The Capeman, it's good to see one the finest and most consistent songwriters of our time back in the spotlight. The compilation 'Shining Like a National Guitar' released earlier this year is a good retrospective view of ...

You're The One - Paul Simon

Capeman behind him, Simon has returned to what he does best. Coming on like Raymond Carver with a guitar, Simon seduces the listener with 11 ‘stories’. There are no hit singles here, just an album that intrigues and impresses from the outset. An early highlight is ‘Darling Lorraine’. Here, our ...

The Rhythm Of The Saints - Paul Simon

After "Graceland", Paul Simon turned to Brazilian rhythms for inspiration, and they are strongly featured on "The Rhythm of the Saints". There is still an African feel to much of it, leftover from "Graceland", (Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Hugh Masekela feature on a couple of tracks) and it feels like a progression, in terms of muiscal style. My favourite song is "The obvious child" - it sounded truly innovative to me when it came out, in a similar way that Talking Heads' songs like "And she was" did, and I still love it. Another is "Born at the right time", with its beautiful tune and gentle rhythm. And ...