LAS VEGAS WEEKLY

June 9, 2006

Paul Simon: Surprise (4 stars)

Richard Abowitz

Paul Simon has always had at least as much taste as talent. His equal appreciation of Dylan and Phil Spector made Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" a classic. His early grasp of world music and immaculate pop instincts made Graceland a commercial and critical monster.

Now comes Surprise, a new disc that matches the old folk singer's songs with "sonic landscapes by Brian Eno," to quote the box.

Unlike another Eno collaborator, David Bowie, Simon does not seem at all desperate to be hip on this production, and unlike the aging artists who turn to Rick Rubin, Simon does not seem to need help finding his way back to his musical soul. Rather, Eno gives these immaculately crafted yet restless songs a restless sound.

"The universe loves a drama," Simon sings on "I Don't Believe." The lyric was his wife's commentary on the 2004 presidential election, but the song delivered by Eno has melancholy rather than rage. The difference is in the texture, and Simon's responded with lyrics that are subtle and free of his usual pretensions. It is almost as if he chose to clear the way for Eno's far more intriguing pretensions, to let the music do the talking. As always, in this decision Simon shows excellent taste.