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50 new things in 2023, part 9/50
Back to music again this week, with Paul Simon's eponymous 1972 album.
Simon's Graceland is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I know and enjoy most of Paul Simon's hits, but he's never been an artist I seek out.
Paul Simon was maybe not the place for me to start, though it seems it's widely considered a classic. To me, it felt like an album of B-sides and experiments. A few songs hold together: "Peace Like a River," "Congratulations," and of course " Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," but otherwise it's all over the place and mostly feels unfinished. There's a lot of trying on of styles and personas (including entirely too much of Simon trying to sound like a Black blues singer, which was probably already weird in 1972 and has not aged well) and not much of the wry observational wit I associate with Simon.
On Spotify, the album contains a few bonus actual demo versions of its tracks. I only listened to the demo of "Me and Julio," but it was eye-opening. That demo version feels of a piece with the rest of the album, instead of being the absolute standout track. So I'll say: listening to Paul Simon is like reading a fic that isn't bad, but could have been great if it had been revised a couple more times.
Simon's Graceland is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I know and enjoy most of Paul Simon's hits, but he's never been an artist I seek out.
Paul Simon was maybe not the place for me to start, though it seems it's widely considered a classic. To me, it felt like an album of B-sides and experiments. A few songs hold together: "Peace Like a River," "Congratulations," and of course " Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," but otherwise it's all over the place and mostly feels unfinished. There's a lot of trying on of styles and personas (including entirely too much of Simon trying to sound like a Black blues singer, which was probably already weird in 1972 and has not aged well) and not much of the wry observational wit I associate with Simon.
On Spotify, the album contains a few bonus actual demo versions of its tracks. I only listened to the demo of "Me and Julio," but it was eye-opening. That demo version feels of a piece with the rest of the album, instead of being the absolute standout track. So I'll say: listening to Paul Simon is like reading a fic that isn't bad, but could have been great if it had been revised a couple more times.
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