Paul Simon new release...unique concept from an acoustic master

[p^h]

Originally Posted by jpd

My quandary is this..."Do I get vinyl, or stream it?"

I streamed it today. Wonderful playing, a very personal and spiritual album. It's one 33 minute track. Paul's voice is getting a bit rough around the edges of course, but to me it adds a bit a weight to the perfomance. Worth a listen for sure.

Paul

[Bob Womack]

I bought the CD on Amazon and while it is being delivered I've got the AutoRip, so I've got it on my computer already in MP3 form and ma streaming it to my stereo. Listening now.

Bob

[Bob Womack]

Update: It interesting and weird and will take a couple of listens. The lack of index numbers doesn't help. I master albums with the songs connected and always set up pickup indexes so you don't have to listen all the way through or fast forward. Obviously Paul wanted to force the listening all the way through thing.

I notice that the thread fizzled out!!! Portentous?

Bob

[fitness1]

The full CD....

[Mr. Paul]

Love Paul Simon, but not each and every one of his releases. I wanted to love this, but the first listen didn't do much for me.

[Bob Womack]

Some notes:

My wife rolled her eyes throughout this one. She thinks Paul is a little bit "out there."

The guitars are really out in front, with nowhere to hide, no?

Some of this was recorded on a console I spent a decade recording and mixing on. It was a Neve 8024 from the early 1970s and it is now integrated into a hybrid Neve/API console at Studio A of Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas. You get glimpses of it at the beginning of the video. I still have the quad master fader from that console.

On the third listen the album started to grow on me. The early YES albums were like that.

Bob

[Feste]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Some notes:
On the third listen the album started to grow on me. The early YES albums were like that.

Bob

Interesting! Every Yes album had me hooked on the first listen. Well. At least through Relayer. My copy arrived Friday. I’ve listened to a dozen times now and it had me hooked on the opening riff. His fret work is very good and very up front, however the other instrumentation is excellent, particularly the bells! They are simply chilling. Edie’s vocals fit so well with Simon too.

Two things that might make it better are:

1. I wish it were longer, or he added a couple more tunes. I gotta believe he had more that didn’t make the cut. I am of course assuming they were more tunes.

2. A couple of segues between songs/movements could be more seamless
Nonetheless, this is a fine addition to the Simon catalogue.

The last singer/songs I remember doing something like this was Cat Stevens on his Foreigner LP, but it was only about 20 minutes long and he certainly isn’t the lyricist that Simon is, nor was that truly a song cycle.

[Mortimer Nelson]

After a second listen I'm still not entirely sure what I think, but it's definitely some high-level stuff with some awesome moments. And what an inspiration for us elders, still playing after all these years (81), and as good or better than ever.

[Glennwillow]

Good for Paul Simon. I will listen to this and give it a chance to sink in.

- Glenn

[b1j]

And sink in it will need to do, for it’s not Mrs. Robinson. He’s reaching deeper here. Simon has always walked on the serious side; this is another bold step in that direction, and he seems to be doing it purely for himself, whether we care or not.

The acoustic guitar tone blows me away; it is the richest of his career. It’s out ahead of what we’re used to hearing from him or other popular acoustic players. He’s always been a master and often an innovator. This time he’s gone way into the sonority, as if you’re both right inside the soundhole and back in the resonant room at the same time. I find the playing and the production stunning. (What do you think, Bob Womack?)

And do I catch a glimpse of his Gurian in that video? I wonder if he could make mine sound like that.

Not much more I can say at this early stage, except that I’m excited to let this fascinating work grow on me.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by b1j

(What do you think, Bob Womack?)

Yeah, I'm struck with the intimacy and beauty of the guitars and the immediacy of many of the instruments, at least the ones he wants to be out front. He's also blended in many acoustic instruments that he doesn't want to be distinguishable, and that is interesting and complex in that the choice of instrument seems to define what will be blended and what will be out front as much as the level.

I don't think this one will be an album for cruising down the highway; it is more suited for quiet, contemplative moments, like an art-rock piece.

Bob

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Rosewood99

They are saying it will probably be his last.

Paul Simon, has given us some of the most sophisticated popular music of our time(s).

I respect his work greatly.
Paul is now 81.

I know that singers and musicians rarely retire, but there must come a time when endless hours in studios, post editing and promotion becomes too tiring.

I wish him the best and in the words of ABBA - Thank you for the music!
But he ain't dead yet!

[Bob from Brooklyn]

In related news..

https://nypost.com/2023/05/26/paul-s...it-would-pass/

[b1j]

This is definitely a throwback, one we are forced to savor quietly and in its entirety, like we did with LPs in the 70s. He's challenging us to slow down in the 2020s. Will we?

As I listen, it seems there are almost as many quotable lines as in Hamlet.

"The thought that God turns music into bliss."

Start there. There's much more.

"Wait. I'm not ready. I'm just packing my gear. Wait. My hand's steady. My mind is still clear."

And the guitar work: exquisite doesn't quite do it justice.

I feel again as I did the first few times I spun Double Fantasy in early December 1980: this is a timeless masterpiece. This is a man on top of his game.

In the end, this is a work to be privately savored and reflected upon.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Yeah, I'm struck with the intimacy and beauty of the guitars and the immediacy of many of the instruments, at least the ones he wants to be out front. He's also blended in many acoustic instruments that he doesn't want to be distinguishable, and that is interesting and complex in that the choice of instrument seems to define what will be blended and what will be out front as much as the level.

I don't think this one will be an album for cruising down the highway; it is more suited for quiet, contemplative moments, like an art-rock piece.

Bob

Yes.

You probably have insight into how to achieve a guitar sound like that. I think many of us are striving for it here.