THE BIRMINGHAM POST
November 13, 2006
Paul Simon at the NEC Arena * * * *
By Andrew Cowen
Now in his 65th year, there’s something eternally youthful about Paul Simon. His stage presence is undimmed and, although he spoke few words to the audience, he communicated joy through words and music.
This was more than a group hug for the baby boomers, a cosy trip down memory lane.
With a crack nine-piece band, it was rich and diverse, flitting from the township jive of the Graceland album to the unabashed idealism and poetry of the Simon and Garfunkel era.
Paul Simon is often overlooked as a songwriter, his stock being somewhat lower than other icons such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young or John Lennon, yet songs such as The Boxer, Late In The Evening or Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover are the equal of anything by these writers.
Not one to play the star, Simon presents a fairly unassuming figure, sharing the spotlight with other members of his band. Yet, such is his presence, it’s impossible to ignore his absorption in the music.
Time has not diminished Simon’s voice which still ranges from the conversational to the soulful. He’s a natty mover too, dancing unselfconciously or using his guitar as a prop like a folkie Chuck Berry.
In a generous two-hour performance, all corners of Simon’s career were covered; the three songs from his latest album, Surprise, holding their own alongside the older material.
Inevitably, it was the older stuff that most had come to hear and Simon didn’t disappoint. Cecilia, Homeward Bound, The Only Living Boy In New York and Bridge Over Troubled Water all sounded fresh. Rather than just revisit old arrangements, the band brought new shapes to the familiar. The sound was based around a strong rhythmic backbone, two drummers playing polyrhythmically, really working the groove.
An infrequent visitor to these shores, Paul Simon is as relevant today as ever.
THE EVENING STANDARD (THIS IS LONDON)
November 13, 2006
By John Aizlewood
A curtain pulled across the rear third of Wembley Arena may have been grim testament to Paul Simon's commercial decline, but one of the cornerstones of 20th Century popular music (in prosaic truth, a munchkin dressed as a Kwik-Fit fitter) was never going to be artistically denied.
What, though, to do with a richly varied 49-year back catalogue that stretches from winsome folk to his current incarnation as the United States' slightly bewildered intellectual conscience?
Simon's answer was simple. For 150 mesmerising minutes, he embraced his past, but breathed new life into what could so easily have sounded moribund.
Hence, a startling and startlingly effective reinvention of Mrs Robinson as threatening, staccato Talking Headsian funk. It was as if Art Garfunkel had never existed.
Elsewhere, the formerly never-ending Bridge Over Troubled Water was reincarnated as a short statement of defiance; The Boy In The Bubble as a funereal lament and Late In The Evening as Lionel Richie's All Night Long (All Night). Even Simon's on-stage coldness and his craven collaboration with the heavy-handed security that prevented would-be dancers from standing until late on did not wholly extinguish the reverent atmosphere.
Instead, he and his lissom septet including two fabulous drummers grappled with cajun, zydeco, folk, jazz (Still Crazy After All These Years is now a torch song), rock and Simon's beloved African jangle without a hint of contrivance. And when Simon sang Homeward Bound wholly alone, for a moment at least, Wembley Arena felt like a Greenwich Village coffee shop.
THE EVENING STANDARD (THIS IS LONDON)
November 12, 2006
David Smyth
Paul Simon recreated the African funk of his biggest solo album.
The last time Paul Simon graced a London stage was two years ago, when he deigned to become half of Simon and Garfunkel one last time and crooned the old hits in front of 50,000 fans in Hyde Park.
An
audience one hundredth the size was lucky enough to see the man at close
quarters last night, playing solo in the capital for the first time in six
years. It was an hour-long set for competition winners that will be broadcast on
Radio 2 a week tomorrow, but he was generous enough to do much more than simply
plug his new album.
Opening proceedings with the casual a capella of Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes, the 64-year-old singer-songwriter went on to revisit numerous corners of his extensive career.
His magnificent five-piece band confidently recreated the complex African funk of several tracks from Grammy-winning Graceland, as well as stripping back to a bare acoustic sound for the vintage folk of The Boxer.
Dressed as though preparing to deal with some bedding plants, Simon seemed cold and serious as he strolled around the stage, making the occasional florid hand gesture when he wasn't strumming his guitar.
He barely spoke between songs, which might explain why he does not seem to make the personal connection that wins some musicians of his generation fevered adoration. This crowd gave him more of a kind of awed respect.
One fan dared to shout a request, for Simon's new single. Unfortunately he mistakenly called it Father And Son - a Cat Stevens title - rather than Father And Daughter.
Including that gushing ode to Simon's little girl, four new songs were aired from the imminent Surprise, his first solo album since 2000's You're The One.
They lacked a dimension here without Brian Eno's mellifluous production, full of subtle shimmering sound effects (described as a "sonic landscape" in the sleeve notes), but Outrageous was a strong highlight. A soothing, fluid chorus was countered by scattershot funk in a verse so packed with smart lines Simon was almost rapping.
That pure, angelic singing voice, unscathed by the years, was what made the frequent striking lyrics stand out as though written in neon. The new tracks were as strong on imagery as ever.
"We watched the fireworks 'til they were fireflies" in How Can You Live In The Northeast?, a song about America's immigrants; "A mother murmurs in twilight sleep and draws her babies closer" in the mournful ballad Wartime Prayers.
But there was genuine fun to be had too, in the tumbling tomtoms of Cecilia and the milkman whistling of Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard. Simon may only need to please himself at this stage in his career, but thankfully he has not forgotten how to please a crowd, even one as small as this.
IRISH SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
November 10th 2006
EAMON SWEENEY
Earlier this year, 'Time' magazine claimed that singer-songwriter Paul Frederic Simon is one of the "100 people who shape our world".
On the last two occasions this pint-sized colossus of modern music played Ireland, he packed Kilkenny's Nowlan Park and the RDS Showjumping arena alongside his former partner in song, Art Garfunkel. For the likes of an artist of his stature, the Point Theatre is about as intimate as it gets.
Paul saunters onstage just after 8pm with his band in tow. An opening double whammy from the 1986 album 'Graceland' kickstarts the show. 'Gumboots' and the irresistible hit 'The Boy in the Bubble' immediately mark out this evening as more than a little bit special.
"These are the days of mystery and wonder, this is a long distance call," Paul croons, echoing a time when the current era of mass communications was virtually unimaginable.
New material from the latest Brian Eno-produced album 'Surprise' was used sparingly, yet the beautiful 'How Can You Live in the Northeast?' was one of the night's many highlights.
Clad neatly but simply in a green shirt and red baseball cap, Simon looked relaxed and as if he was thoroughly enjoying being onstage.
"This is a cliché, but it's an incredible pleasure to come and play in Ireland," he beamed.
Indeed, it was also an incredible pleasure to be in the audience and witness two hours and 20 minutes of timeless classics such as '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover', 'Slip Slidin' Away', 'Cecilia' and 'Graceland'.
The encores were a mini-concert all by themselves, including 'You Can Call Me Al', 'Mrs Robinson', 'The Boxer', 'Still Crazy After All These Years' and 'Homeward Bound'.
The thrilled crowd kept hollering for more and Paul dutifully returned to the stage on three occasions to reward their enthusiasm.
At the age of 65, Paul Simon is a class act. He is still crazy, and utterly brilliant, after all these years.
IRISH SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
November 12th 2006
ANDREW MCKIMM
AS A cool wind blew down the Liffey on a chilly November night last Wednesday, The Point felt more like Iceland than Graceland when Paul Simon returned for his first solo concert here in four years. His seven-piece band was a multi-instrumentalist supergroup, containing some of his stellar musicians from over 30 years: Steve Gadd on drums, Vincent Nguini on guitar and Bakithi Kumalo on bass.
Simon led a stripped-down bluesy version of his back-catalogue - performing 25 songs from four decades. He treated his enraptured Irish fans to the Seventies hits Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, Loves Me like a Rock, and Slip Slidin' Away, as well as the minor classic Duncan, from his first solo LP, Paul Simon, and a solo version of Wartime Prayers from his latest CD, Surprise . The barn-like Point Depot resembled a church as a soulful gospel-tinged Bridge over Troubled Water ensued, with fans in perfect pitch, singing in unison.
Simon's shy, awkward stage persona means that he lets his songs do the talking - to the point where one woman behind me lamented that it was a pity Paul Simon "had no personality".
But with many of his songs being landmarks of our modern consciousness, and having been described by Time magazine as one of the most important people in the world - I envy Paul Simon his lack of personality.
THE DAILY ECHO
November 7, 2006
By Jeremy Miles
WHEN he first played the folk clubs around Bournemouth and Poole more than 40 years ago, Paul Simon could never have imagined the career that lay ahead.
He
recalled those days from the stage of the BIC on Monday as he returned to the
town, a fully-fledged superstar.
"I played in Bournemouth when I was a kid," he told the delighted audience.
The diminutive New Yorker had strolled on stage dressed like the coach of a passing baseball team.
Armed with an astonishing back catalogue of songs and an impossibly talented band, he proceeded to deliver one of the best concerts the BIC has ever seen.
Drawing on material produced over four decades he gave a performance that showed him not only to be a brilliant singer-songwriter but also a versatile musician and (more surprisingly perhaps) a compelling bandleader.
Simon may have a reputation for being reclusive, grumpy and difficult to work with but last night he was all smiles, romping through a set that included some wonderful new arrangements of instantly familiar songs - Mrs Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Slip Sliding Away, Graceland... the list seemed endless.
There was new stuff too. The beautiful Father and Daughter, the pointed How Can You live in the North East? It was a show that harnessed influences ranging from folk and rock to Township jive and accordion-driven Zydeco.
The result, as played by Simon and his seven-piece band, was hugely inventive but also highly accessible, never compromising the quality of the original songs.
THE DAILY ECHO
August 4, 2006
By Jeremy Miles
LEGENDARY singer songwriter Paul Simon is to play the BIC later this year.
The 64-year-old star is coming to Bournemouth on November 6 as part of his European tour, which includes just three other UK dates.
Earlier this year Simon released Surprise, his first album for six years, and won widespread critical praise for its challenging direction. Recorded in London, Nashville and Simon's native New York, it was produced by electronic music pioneer Brian Eno in what many fans saw as a surprise collaboration.
But Simon says he has been a long-term fan of Eno, who's best known for his production work with David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2.
"We're both sounds people," said Paul Simon in a recent interview with Associated Press.
"I thought he would bring an element I had never encountered before, electronics, into a guitar record. Theoretically, it seemed to be a good idea. And when we actually did it, you could tell right away it was a good idea."
Paul Simon has won 16 Grammy awards in a career that has lasted more than 40 years. As half of '60s folk-pop duo Simon and Garfunkel he scored international hits such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Sounds of Silence and Mrs Robinson. His solo work is equally well known through songs like Mother and Child Reunion, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and You Can Call Me Al from his award-winning 1986 album Graceland on which he controversially worked with South African musicians at the height of the cultural embargo.
Tickets for the BIC show went on sale this morning, priced £50.
MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
5th November 2006
Paul Simon @ M.E.N. Arena (5 out of 5)
Lawrence Poole
TO paraphrase another prominent sexagenarian – music, hey…. bloody hell! And like Sir Alex Ferguson side's dramatic 1999 European Cup final triumph which garnered such a quip, Paul Simon’s performance last night also took a while to get going and saved the best moments for well into time added on.
Here, to promote his Brian Eno-inspired comeback album, Surprise, on his first proper solo UK tour in 15 years, the 65-year-old seemed to have lost none of his chutzpah for performing live and more importantly, putting on a show.
Concentrating for the first hour of the set re-working the prime cuts from his own back catalogue, rather than the material he wrote, recorded and performed so majestically at the same venue two years ago with long-time collaborator Art Garfunkel, it proved a treat to behold.
Expertly supported by a seven-piece band, who were the epitome of what a highly-skilled bunch of multi-instrumentalists should be, Me and Juilo By The Schoolyard and perhaps his solo career highpoint, Graceland, were sublime.
While new single Outrageous with its cutting ‘whose gonna love you when you’re looks are gone’ refrain, showed the diminutive New Jersey man had lost none of his lyrical bite.
Now swamped by a throng of devoted fans who felt compelled to join him at the photographer pit free stage, much to the chagrin of the security staff who would later over zealously disperse them, he pulled out another big gun, which got everybody on their feet – You Can Call Me Al.
As it soared on wave after wave of monstrous saxophone bursts, it truly was a thrilling moment.
If Simon had left the stage there and then most would have filled out in a content fashion, but thankfully the early start was set in place for a reason – so he could liberally sprinkle them with classic standards from the Graceland LP as well as others plumped for from the sizable Simon and Garfunkel cannon.
And, while it might have been more judicious to have spread these out across the set – you couldn’t argue with a roll call that included Mrs Robinson, a beautifully hushed The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Appropriately, he finally brought proceedings to a halt with the Widnes Station penned Homeward Bound before a prolonged standing ovation swept him off stage.
Resplendent in baseball cap and weekend casuals, he may look like your all-American dad, but once again Simon proved as a songwriter, arranged and performer he’s anything but ordinary.
Let’s just hope that like Sir Alex, Simon has no plans for retirement just yet.
MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
Friday, 3rd November 2006
Sarah Walters
It’s no understatement to say that bringing in legendary producer Brian Eno to drag a Paul Simon album into the 21st century was akin to hiring a two-tonne demolition vehicle to crush an origami crane.
Simon – known primarily for his simple folk-pop and use of skilled, world musicians – has always been a fan of the instrument. His decision to beef up his 2006 comeback LP Surprise with the future sound of electronic gadgetry seemed a little against the grain, like trying his hand at the black arts.
Nevertheless, Eno’s power to carry out career changing cosmetic surgery worked a treat and put Simon back on the road as a solo performer for the first time since 1991 – something he’s no doubt delighted about after the lukewarm commercial reception for his previous album You’re The One and the $11m deficit left by the failure of his 1998 stage production The Capeman.
But the marriage of Simon and Eno should not have been so startling – Simon has always been as famous for his constant search for new sounds as he has for being a dizzying 5ft 1ins (in his socks).
A pioneer of popular folk music and one-half of music’s most famous singing duo Simon & Garfunkel, Paul has brought us African rhythms, Caribbean and Brazilian chorals and modern day Doo-wop during his 50-plus years in the game – even Eno, musical invention’s partner in crime, was forced to take his hat off to Paul for the much-lauded Graceland album.
It’s this phenomenal reputation for pushing the boundaries and yet finding the sound with the greatest mass appeal that has kept Simon in the studio. And it’s a strategy that has seen him play to more than 600,000 people at a single show – double the largest crowd that ever gathered to see The Beatles.
His Manchester show, then, in the bewilderingly large M.E.N. Arena should feel like quite an intimate affair.
Paul Simon plays the M.E.N. Arena on Saturday, November 4. Tickets are £40 and £45.
THE INDEPENDENT
07 November 2006
Paul Simon, SECC, Glasgow *****
By Pierre Perrone
Though he found fame as part of a duo with Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon did as much as Bob Dylan or James Taylor to create the singer-songwriter template. He also formed a strong bond with the UK during his days on the folk-circuit here in the mid-Sixties and seems happy to be back in Glasgow. "Thank you for coming, it's been a while," Simon tells the audience after opening with "Gumboots" and "The Boy in the Bubble" from Graceland, the 1986 album that did so much for world music.
On Surprise, his current, critically acclaimed CD, Simon collaborated with sonic landscaper Brian Eno, and sings the funky "Outrageous" with its recurring motif - "Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?" - as if he were David Byrne of Talking Heads.
The gentle "Slip Slidin' Away" features Mark Stewart - who is sporting a kilt, much to the delight of the Scots crowd - strumming his electric guitar gently with a paintbrush, and segues seamlessly into the rockabilly shuffle of "You're the One" and then the dreamlike "Train in the Distance" from Hearts & Bones, his underrated 1983 album.
Now 65, Simon can look back fondly at the golden age of doo-wop and the songwriters housed in New York's legendary Brill Building where he used to cut demos as Jerry Landis. He takes a detour via "How Can You Live in the Northeast?" from Surprise, touches on gospel with "Loves Me Like a Rock", namechecks zydeco accordionist Clifton Chenier on the cajun-flavoured "That Was Your Mother" and even sings "Duncan" from the Paul Simon album (a UK-chart topper in 1972).
The gorgeous "Father and Daughter" shows that the songwriter can address the middle-age issues so many of his contemporaries have avoided tackling, and "Cecilia" sends the nostalgic fans into paroxysms of delight as handclapping breaks out all over the arena.
The capacity crowd brings Simon and his band back for the irresistible "You Can Call Me Al", "Still Crazy after all these Years" and the evergreen "Mrs Robinson". The audience joins in "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and seems ready to break into a conga at any point during "Late in the Evening". An entertainer of the old school who follows his muse but is equally loath to disappoint his long-standing fans, Simon looks quite teary as he sings "The Boxer".
THE DAILY RECORD
10 November 2006
PAUL SIMON, SECC, Glasgow Nov 3 *****
SAMANTHA BOOTH
IT'S rare that you get to see an artist of Paul Simon's calibre perform but 10,000 people enjoyed just that at Glasgow's SECC.
At times the middle-aged audience were so hushed it was as if they were too in awe of the legendary singer-songwriter to even muster a cheer.
They did begin to relax when Simon ventured into familiar territory: Slip Sliding Away and 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.
By the time he played Graceland, hands were clapping - but it took Cecilia to get the crowd to their feet.
All of a sudden there was an energy and atmosphere to match the skill on stage and Mrs Robinson, Still Crazy and Bridge Over Troubled Water had them cheering loud enough to encourage Simon back on stage for a third encore, for which he had obviously saved The Boxer and Homeward Bound.
SCOTSMAN
November 6, 2006
Paul Simon****
DAVID POLLOCK
WITH apologies to Paul McCartney, the other most seminal Paul in the landscape of late 20th century pop music proved here that he can still draw a monstrous crowd on the basis of his huge back-catalogue. Furthermore, not all of his fans are those who were around the first time - all ages from twentysomething up were at the show, with a predominance of couples. Paul Simon, it seems, is a songwriter for romantics.
The New Yorker has carved himself a solo career since his Sixties heyday alongside Art Garfunkel, which looms large alongside the tracks the pair wrote together. The work of each era allowed Simon to play a two-hours-plus set loaded with recognisable tracks of simple songwriting skill and precision, with only a few modest diversions to his new Brian Eno-co-produced album Surprise.
Among many highlights of the show itself and more than a couple of warmly-demanded encores were The Only Living Boy In New York, You Can Call Me Al and, of course, a slightly reworked version of Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Although the crowd did take a while to warm up, by the end they were deservedly singing along to The Boxer and cheering rapturously as Simon exited with a fond solo version of Homeward Bound.
PHILADELPHIA ENQUIRER
October 20, 2006
A.D. Amorosi
It's not that you have to choose one album from the list of '60s singing-songwriting elders who have released new music this year. But if you had to choose among Bob Dylan's Modern Times, Neil Young's Living With War, or Paul Simon's Surprise, Simon's is the most adventurous.
That's no shock. Paul Simon and There Goes Rhymin' Simon were bathed in Jamaican reggae and Southern gospel - pretty fly for a white guy from Queens, N.Y. His forays into African high life (Graceland), Brazilian samba (Rhythm of the Saints), and Puerto Rican music (Songs From The Capeman), furthered his case for radical artistry. But Surprise, aided by producer Brian Eno, takes into account the smartly ruminative quirkiness that Simon's known for as a lyricist and makes this a part of his energetically odd sonic landscape. Simon might lack Young's dynamism and Dylan's raw live sound and mustache, but he can still surprise.
Paul Simon, with the Jerry Douglas Band, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow Streets, Upper Darby. Tickets: $55-$85.
BOSTON HERALD
October 23, 2006
By Daniel Gewertz
Music critics always compliment Bob Dylan for the way he rearranges and rephrases his famous songs. But Dylan’s mannered style of reinvention doesn’t hold a candle to Paul Simon’s sophisticated ways.
Simon rocked the Agganis Arena last night with fresh, inventive and marvelously varied versions of his hits. He also sampled his new album, “Surprise,” with verve. He may be a lesser genius compared to Dylan, but he is the far greater showman. What he lacks in heat he made up for with pure excellence.
For starters, Simon fronted one of the finest bands this writer has witnessed in 25 years. Who says professionalism needs to be boring? Using instruments such as baritone sax, penny-whistle, rub-board and trumpet, this was an outfit that could seamlessly switch from zydeco to Irish to rock. They were all a joy, but Steve Gadd’s drumming should be mentioned.
“Boy in the Bubble” was given a heavy, Louisiana-meets-psychedelia approach, with Simon’s ageless voice soaring above the bassy vamps. It was like zydeco on drugs. “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” featured twin honking saxes. “You’re The One” was like a comment upon the malt-shop pop Simon grew up with - shades of his first duo, Tom & Jerry, perhaps.
The arrangement for “Train in the Distance” was lovely, and when it wailed ahead to jolting rock, Simon’s falsetto kept pace. Of the new songs, the best was “How Can You Live In the Northeast?” - an interesting comment on prejudice, and the fear of those who are different than oneself. The band raved it up wonderfully, and Simon’s vocals gained a toughness for once, admittedly due to some electronic effects.
There were about two old gems for each new song, with “Cecilia,” “Love Me Like a Rock” and “Call Me Al” among the crowd-pleasers. “Mrs. Robinson” contained a Bo Diddley beat. “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” had some fine harmonies. “Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard” got the crowd of 5,000 on their feet. Simon was consistent throughout, and as light on his feet as he was ageless of voice.
The night ended with opener Jerry Douglas, the dobro ace, joining Simon for “The Boxer,” a song so good even Dylan once recorded it.
THE BOSTON GLOBE
October 24, 2006
By Marc Hirsh
There was a bounce in Paul Simon's leg that would eventually get the best of him. It started during the very first song of Sunday's show at Agganis Arena and kept going all the way through the start of the first of three encores. It was then, during "You Can Call Me Al," that the bounce finally broke free and, in his low-key and unassuming way, Simon started to dance.
Until then, that bounce was one of the few indications that Simon was grooving on the tunes. Arriving onstage in a ball cap and an untucked shirt, he acted like he wasn't there to put on an arena-size show, just to sing some songs he wrote.
But while Simon may have seemed casual , he never seemed lazy. Still, despite the show's two-hour length, he gave surprisingly short shrift to his new CD "Surprise." There were more songs from 1986's "Graceland" (including opening one-two punch "Gumboots" and "The Boy in the Bubble") than from the last 10 years.
His band shifted styles effortlessly, from the zydeco shuffle of "That Was Your Mother" to the African rhythms of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" to a spry "Mrs. Robinson," barely twisted (with rattlesnake-like percussion and Simon's own tremolo guitar) into a Bo Diddley stomper. The new "How Can You Live in the Northeast?" showcased a fiery solo by guitarist Mark Stewart and took full advantage of drummers Steve Gadd and Robin DiMaggio , who magnified the song's impact by doubling up on the explosive ending.
The most pervasive tone, however, was gentleness. It could be upbeat, as in the sweet "Father and Daughter." It could be mournful and ironic, as in "Still Crazy After All These Years," which was rendered with an after-hours feel that emphasized its blues and torch undertones. It could be knowing: The passage of time has added weight to both the wisdom of "Slip Slidin' Away" and Simon's quiet authority to deliver it.
But above all, it could simply be soothing, which was, after all, the point of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and, less directly, "The Boxer," which featured bluegrass opener Jerry Douglas on dobro. As Simon sang "I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told" for the nth time without irony, the showmanship took care of itself.
NEWSDAY
October 23, 2006
BY IRA ROBBINS
In the 42 years since he wrote ´I Am a Rock´ as an ode to emotional isolation, Paul Simon has developed a much more connected view of life. ´Surprise,´ his latest album, touches on matters great (war, floods, voting) and greater (fatherhood, love). And his music has followed suit, leaving behind the simplicity of folk to travel widely through cultures and styles and present a hopeful sort of one-man, one-world statement on life´s possibilities.
From
South Africa to South America, New Orleans to East Harlem, Simon has made a
career of exploration and inclusion. But he´s still something of a cerebral
loner: When a girl popped out of the audience Saturday night at Radio City Music
Hall to dance alongside him during the zydeco jumper ´That Was Your Mother,´
Simon barely glanced at the electrifying interloper.
Playing to an enthusiastic hometown crowd that acknowledged every one of the local references in his lyrics, Simon offered only four selections from the new record. Instead, he guided a frighteningly versatile septet - with two drummers and a guitarist who sang and also played baritone sax - through two winning hours of musical memories, many of them tweaked with adjusted melodies and extra rhythmic punch. ´Me and Julio Down by the School Yard´ got a stirring backbeat and more Buddy Holly flavor; the instrumental emphasis of ´Bridge Over Troubled Water´ was shifted from piano to guitar and drums; ´Cecilia´ took on lighter-than-air highlife guitar frills (by Vincent Nguini) and lots of drumming.
´Mrs. Robinson´ got a complete overhaul, with a twangy introduction and wah-wah guitar, that didn´t improve on the original. But turning ´The Boxer´ into snappy acoustic country, with opening act Jerry Douglas reciting the melody on slide guitar, was wonderful. (The soprano sax solo was too much, however.) Horns punctuated ´50 Ways to Leave Your Lover´ and ´Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,´ which ended the main portion of the program in a rousing kitchen-sink blowout.
Simon, ironically, provided the music´s most consistent element: his engagingly gentle voice, which varied little except for an unsettling falsetto. Yet after a while, the mix-and-match aspect of songs and styles led to a sense of discontinuity, which is not surprising given his movement away from standard pop form. His new album marries abruptly dissimilar verses, choruses and lyrics to mixed effect.
Of the songs he performed, ´Father and Daughter´ boasted one of the loveliest pop melodies he´s crafted in many years, but ´Outrageous´ flitted from funk to pop, with verses that touched on social consciousness and a chorus that repeatedly asks ´Who´s gonna love you when your looks are gone?´ Amid its philosophical wonderings, ´How Can You Live in the Northeast?´ jumped from religion to geography to humanity without really connecting them.
There are very few artists of Paul Simon´s creative stature and ambition to keep working at this level for so long. In the two dozen songs he chose to do Saturday, the thoughts of a callow but sensitively poetic youth stood alongside frivolous chart fodder and the solemn reflections of a grown-up family man. That he continues to seek new ways to fit it all together can serve as a model for aging rock stars everywhere.
PAUL SIMON. A hometown hero reinvents his past for the present. Seen Saturday at Radio City Music Hall
NEW YORK TIMES
October 23, 2006
Kelefa Sanneh
Paul Simon turned 65 a few weeks ago, but it didn´t seem like a big deal. He may be a rock, but he´s not really a rocker, let alone a rolling stone. And that´s convenient, because it means he doesn´t have to strut around in stretch pants, unlike some of his fellow sexagenarians. His fans don´t ask much of him. They don´t want him to impersonate a teenager. They just want him to strum and murmur those wistful songs, singing words written by a young man who was already old at heart.
Paul Simon offered fans tricky new songs and tricked-out old ones at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday.
Fortunately, he still asks a lot of his fans. And at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday night, Mr. Simon put on an engrossing and audacious show, full of tricky new songs and tricked-out old ones.
Over
the years, his lyrics have grown more particular; unexpected details keep his
verses off balance. And as millions of ´Graceland´ fans know, his music has
grown more buoyant; two decades after that album, he is still obsessed with
clattering, skittering rhythms. Saturday´s concert helped show how those two
trends — more words, more grooves — are really one.
Mr. Simon´s most recent album, ´Surprise´ (Warner Brothers), was released in May, and it is a collaboration with the pioneering electronic producer Brian Eno, who is listed as the creator of the album´s ´sonic landscape.´ That means the musicians are complemented by all sorts of lovely buzzes and hums and electronic beats.
´Surprise´ doesn´t add up to a great album, but it has moments, especially a glorious four-song run at the end. The first of the four is ´Another Galaxy,´ a lightheaded ode to a runaway bride; the last is ´Father and Daughter,´ a lullaby that originally appeared on the soundtrack to ´The Wild Thornberrys Movie,´ a 2002 animated film. Mr. Simon sang that song on Saturday, lingering on a warm, weird analogy: ´I´m gonna stand guard like a postcard of a golden retriever.´
Many of these new songs are made of parts that don´t quite fit — aren´t meant to fit, one assumes. Mr. Simon sang ´Wartime Prayers,´ which brings together a meandering verse and a refrain that strains (too hard, perhaps) for grandeur. And he sang ´How Can You Live in the Northeast?´; the song kept unfolding until it had been transformed into a hazy jam session.
All night long, Mr. Simon kept returning to ´Graceland,´ the extraordinary 1986 album he made with South African musicians; it´s an investment that is still paying dividends. He sang 6 of that album´s 11 songs. And Bakithi Kumalo, a bassist who played on that album, remains part of Mr. Simon´s touring band; he locked in with a pair of drummers, including Steve Gadd, who first recorded with Mr. Simon more than three decades ago. When ´Outrageous,´ another new song, morphed into a South African groove, it felt as if Mr. Simon had gone back home.
In the years before and after ´Graceland,´ Mr. Simon has explored everything from salsa to batucada. If this rhythm obsession seems like an odd preoccupation for a mellow folkie, Saturday´s concert showed why it isn´t. Mr. Simon’s obsession with rhythm is related to his obsession with language. By packing his verses full of words, he emphasizes the complicated rhythms of spoken English. He needs a rhythm section that can keep up with his mouth.
You could hear this clearly during a sparse and propulsive version of the title track from ´Graceland.´ One stanza begins:
There is a girl in New York City who calls herself the human trampoline
And sometimes when I´m falling, flying or tumbling in turmoil I say, ´Oh, so this is what she means.´
That´s a mouthful. But if you add a nimble bass line, Mr. Simon sounds less like a chatterbox and more like a great percussionist.
Mr. Simon found ways to bring out the tricky rhythms in older songs, too. When it came time for ´Bridge Over Troubled Water,´ he rephrased the lyrics so that the words emerged in multi-syllable clumps. ´Mrs. Robinson´ received a raucous rockabilly makeover. And he ended the concert with a sprightly, bluegrass-inflected version of ´The Boxer,´ featuring his opening act, the Dobro player Jerry Douglas.
Through it all, he seemed slightly uncomfortable, which is probably no coincidence. With those tangled-up words and rhythms, Mr. Simon´s best music (and, sometimes, his worst) is pretty uncomfortable, too. And in that sense, this fidgety night was, among many other things, a homecoming concert — one with more than a hint of nervous energy — that suited both the man and the city. ´I always say to myself, ´Just another show,´ he said, near the beginning. ´But, ehhh — it´s not the case.´
TORONTO SUN
October 18, 2006
Jane Stevenson
Paul Simon has enjoyed a musical career in two major acts -- with a few notable exceptions. And nowhere was that more apparent than last night at the Hummingbird Centre where he wowed a sold-out crowd with tunes from both his Simon and Garfunkel folk-pop master - piece, 1970's Bridge Over Troubled Water, and his solo South African rhythm-inspired benchmark, 1986's Graceland.
The only trouble was it took a while for the just-turned 65-yearold singer-songwriter, whose birthdate is Oct. 13, to really get going.
Try about halfway into his twohour concert when he finally broke out the title track from Gracelan d and people, who had largely remained on their backsides for the first hour, suddenly filled the aisles and flocked to the front of the stage to dance, sing and clap along.
Up until that point, there had been promising if brief flashes of energy starting with the opening song, Gumboots, also from Graceland , with Simon's stellar sevenpiece band producing a big, bold sound.
"I'm glad to be here and I like this room," said the diminutive, baseball- hat wearing Simon, who kept the chit-chat to a minimum and wasn't big on moving too much around the stage either.
Instead, he played the straight man to his more energetic bandmates, some of whom were multiinstrumentalists.
Musical highlights proved to be of the hip-shaking variety -- Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard, Cecilia, YouCan Call Me Al and Late InThe Evening , along with the vocal harmonies of Train In The Distance, Love Me Like A Rock and She's Got Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.
On the minus side were draggy versions of Slip Slidin' Away, and Mrs. Robinson, and the vocally inferior You're The One, The Only Living Boy In New York, Still CrazyAfter All These Years, and Bridge Over Troubled Water, which found Simon's voice cracking at times.
Touring in support of his new Brian Eno-collaboration, Surprise , Simon kept the new material to just four songs -- Outrageous, How Can You Live In The Northeast?, Father and Daughter and Wartime Prayers.
Not surprisingly, given the times, it was Wartime Prayers that made the biggest impact as Simon chose to perform it on stage alone with just his acoustic guitar during the second of four encores.
His lyrical sentiment that "when the wounds are deep enough, and it's all that we can bear, we wrap ourselves in prayer," even caused the audience to spontaneously burst into applause.
Simon definitely has the power to move people, he should just exercise that influence more often in concert.
TORONTO STAR
Oct. 19, 2006
50 ways to change a Paul Simon song
Vit Wagner
Paul Simon turned 65 last Friday, but when a fan tried to acknowledge the milestone during last night's concert at the Hummingbird Centre, the newly graduated senior citizen wasn't having any of it.
"That
birthday's long gone," Simon said with a dismissive shrug. One of the
performer's longest remarks on the night, it was consistent with a program that
steadfastly refused to belabour the past.
It wasn't so much that Simon and his seven accompanists eschewed the legendary singer's back catalogue in favour of selections from his current disc, Surprise, released earlier this year. It was more that the many favourites — both from his solo career and his earlier heyday with Art Garfunkel — were often made over to the point of reinvention.
Opening with "Gumboots" and "The Boy in the Bubble," the early set list telegraphed a heavy emphasis on Simon's 1986 landmark Graceland, an album burned into the memory banks of anyone even remotely acquainted with the singer's output. But the arrangements were sufficiently reworked that the initial flurry of applause sparked by recognition was often slow in coming, even in the case of the album's once ubiquitous title track.
Some songs were speeded up. Others were slowed down. Almost all were rhythmically refreshed.
This was as true of the songs from Surprise, which, given the contemporary status of the disc, might have been spared from reinterpretation. None of the new songs, including "Outrageous," "Father and Daughter" and "How Can You Live in the Northeast?," rigorously hewed to the recorded version.
"Wartime Prayers," another track from the new disc, was performed solo by Simon as part of a lengthy encore.
He seemed poised to offer the same stripped down reading of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," but before he was very far into the Simon and Garfunkel classic, the rest of the band had rejoined him on the stage, transforming the contemplative folk tune into a danceable party piece. "Cecilia," also of that 1970 vintage, received a similarly perky treatment, as did "Mrs. Robinson."
Tweaking arrangements is not entirely new for Simon, a musician who has always been drawn to the possibility of shifts in stylistic approach. But the renovation has seldom been as complete.
It is essential, of course, to have musicians who can pull it off. And Simon can always be counted on to have a crack ensemble in tow.
It also doesn't hurt to have an audience on hand that is willing to play along with having its expectations slightly subverted.
CHARTATTACK
October 19, 2006
Paul Simon Overcomes Early Set Doldrums
by David McPherson
Paul Simon's voice took a while to warm up Wednesday night at the sold-out Hummingbird, but when he got into the groove, the pop icon showed his tender timbre is still in fine form. For two hours, grey-haired baby boomers — many accompanied by their children — relived the sounds of an old radio friend from their formative years.
Multi-instrumentalist Jerry Douglas opened with a passionate performance, backed by a tight band. Plowing through one instrumental after another, Douglas demonstrated his mastery of the dobro, one of the most exquisite-sounding instruments on the planet. In the process, the 12-time Grammy winner demonstrated his bluegrass-flavoured music carries just as much meaning and emotion as lyric-driven songs.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., Simon strolled onto stage to a standing ovation, dressed casually in a blue sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers, and sporting an orange Texas Longhorns baseball cap.
During the early stretch, the audience stayed seated and motionless. It wasn't until mid-set that a spirited "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" roused the listless listeners — some pockets of people even spilled into the aisles and danced in front of the stage.
Simon's performance was comprised of a well-chosen mix of songs from his latest LP, Surprise, some of his solo hits and Simon And Garfunkel fan favourites. Rather than deliver these classics in a predictable way, though, the songwriter breathed new life into his back catalogue by changing the rhythms.
"Mrs. Robinson" was rearranged with a more rockabilly beat, while "That Was Your Mother" was delivered with a faster-paced, Cajun tempo, driven by a squeeze-box that got a few more fans dancing. Second encore track "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was changed from a mellow piano number to an acoustically-charged version that brought the funk.
The tender "Father And Daughter" was the highlight of the material from Surprise, but the number that finally woke the crowd up for good was a raucous, extended version of "Cecilia." As Simon furiously strummed his acoustic guitar, throngs of fans crammed to the front of the venerable venue, clapping and partaking in a hoedown as the house lights illuminated the frenzy.
The members of Simon's seven-piece backing band were all given chances to shine throughout the set, from Bakithi Kumalo's blistering opening bass lines during "Diamonds Of The Soles On Her Shoes" to multi-instrumentalist Mark Stewart's soulful alto-sax playing on "Still Crazy After All These Years" and tin-whistle on "Lincoln Duncan."
The two-hour Simon extravaganza finally ended after four encores following a stunning rendition of "The Boxer" accompanied by Douglas. The addition of the dobro added subtle textures to this storied tale and was a perfect finish to the evening. Clearly, Simon's fans are still crazy for him after all these years.
THE DAILY MICHIGAN
November 9, 2006
By Sarah Schwartz
A few weeks ago, I went to see Paul Simon in concert. My mother wanted to go for her birthday and, although I am not a devoted Paul Simon fan, how could I turn down family bonding and a free ticket?
Simon sported a Tigers cap and played to an eager crowd, favoring his well-known hits like "You Can Call Me Al" and "Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes"; the show went on for more than two hours. With the crowd still on its feet and clapping, Simon and his band left the stage. My mother turned to gather her belongings.
"Wait, Mom," I said. "There's going to be an encore."
I was wrong. There were four.
Now I'm not dissing the songs. His encores were some of his more celebrated songs ("Bridge over Troubled Water," to name one) -?? classic Paul Simon. He played a single song from latest release Surprise, "Wartime Prayers," a soulful, subtly anti-war ballad. He played the rest in his usual a capella. Simon makes it a habit to end his shows on a more stripped-down level and this was no exception. But where does an encore stop and a second set begin?
What's the point of an encore at all? The Oxford English Dictionary says it's "used by spectators or auditors to demand the repetition of a song, piece of music or other performance that has pleased them." From an audience's perspective, the request for an encore shows we want more, that we loved the performance so much we want an extension. But at what point does it become a self-indulgent act by the performers? Do they stand in the wings, listening to the cheers and only come out to play again after they've had their fill? They hold us in their hands and we let them.
This isn't to say that the performers don't deserve the accolades heaped upon them. Simon was excellent. Anyone who can get 60 year olds out of their seats and dancing in the aisles is doing something right. But encores have become so routine that they're an expectation instead of a reward - we almost feel insulted when the performer doesn't come back on stage for another set. (...)
THE OAKLAND PRESS
Oct 19, 2006
Paul Simon feels pain, offers pleasure at Fox Theatre
By GARY GRAFF
Paul Simon didn't have much to say, but that didn't mean his fans at the Fox Theatre had to endure the sounds of silence on Tuesday night.
Simon, a lifelong New York Yankees fan, did offer good luck wishes to the Detroit Tigers "with a tinge of pain." But mostly he let the music do the talking at the Fox, an exceptional two-hour-plus set that surveyed some 40 years of recording, both on his own and with partner Art Garfunkel, and as durable a songbook as any composer has produced during the rock 'n' roll era.
Tuesday's concert had the feel of a spirited recital, of a songwriter presenting his works and feeling free to mess with them just a little bit. Simon and his facile, elastic seven-piece band took on 24 songs from throughout his career - with a slight emphasis on 1986's Grammy-winning "Graceland" album - covering and in many cases adding texture and nuance to the arrangements.
There were no real drastic changes but plenty of subtle shifts that injected an element of surprise into the evening. "Boy in the Bubble" was a bit slower, with a thicker groove the built to a song-ending crescendo. A muted trumpet line added a bit of sharpness to "Slip Slidin' Away;" a multiple guitar attack lent a funky flair to "Mrs. Robinson." An agreeable looseness allowed some favorites, such as "Cecilia" and "You Can Call Me Al," to breathe a little bit more, while Simon's current layout of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" included a bit of the same African flavor that informed the "Graceland" material.
And a solo rendition of "Wartime Prayers," one of three songs Simon played form his latest album, "Surprise," was another of the show's impactful highlights.
Simon didn't alter everything, mind you. "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard," "Graceland" and "Duncan" were among the songs that received fairly faithful treatments, right down to the latter's pennywhistle. The ensemble's vocal harmonies shined on "Train in the Distance" and "Loves Me Like a Rock