IMPORTANT NOTE: You do NOT have to register to read, post, listen or contribute. If you simply wish to remain fully anonymous, you can still contribute.
tells me the new Paul Simon album is fantastic. I gather Paul dedicated his performance of The Boxer (one of his greats) to Ali the other night. I like Paul and love his music - sonically perhaps the best of our generation.
It is indeed a very good album. Simon's quite intriguing, as - these days - he's primarily a lyricist who tends to wait for musicians to give him riffs and sounds before he starts shaping a song around them. Sometimes, I find, that leaves him compromising his brilliant gift for a great turn of phrase in order to match the often unconventional rhythms that he's encouraged, and it can also lead to a frustratingly messy end product. But there's also a bit of magic there, too. It's certainly more interesting than the kind of self-parody that many of his contemporaries keep churning out - I doubt you'll hear many songs these days that start with a tuba! - and his voice, which was rarely over-extended, has aged extremely well. 'Wristband' is my current earworm, it's such a clever little song.