So
step up a new pairing just as improbable as Rubin and Cash: no less an odd
couple than Paul Simon and Brian Eno. SCOTSMAN
Paul Simon: Surprise
COLIN SOMERVILLE
Producer Rick Rubin failed to emulate his success with Johnny Cash when he turned his attention to Neil Diamond earlier this year. Having inspired the Man In Black's creative Indian summer, his best efforts only managed to rake over the dried-up autumn leaves of old Neil's career.
So
step up a new pairing just as improbable as Rubin and Cash: no less an odd
couple than Paul Simon and Brian Eno.
Sounding fresh and incisive from the off, thanks to the British studio boffin's ambient flair and uncanny sense of space in his recording techniques, Simon is positively rejuvenated.
The elegant fuzz guitar introduction to 'How Can You Live In The Northeast' is the setting for wry observations on global religions, while the quasi funk of 'Outrageous' returns to familiar Californian territory - "Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?" ponders Paul of the superficial jet-set.
Celebrity Third World adoptions are dissected on 'Beautiful', while 'That's Me' is probably a more honest exercise in self-assessment than the taxman ever hears. 'I Don't Believe' is by the numbers, but whenever Simon stumbles, Eno is there to pick up the pieces with strong but supple rhythms and atmospherics.
The single 'Father And Daughter' is the only real failure, with overly mawkish sentiment and lines such as "Stand guard like a postcard of a golden retriever" registering high on the cringeometer.