What does it sound like?:
Paul Simon is by no means the first artist to decide to reinterpret songs from his back catalogue – Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel immediately come to mind, but no doubt there have been others. However, at 76 years old and with the end of his career drawing ever nearer, he’s obviously decided there’s no time like the present to take another look through his back pages. Pleasingly, he has steered away from the many obvious choices in his huge canon of work, choosing instead a selection of lesser known pieces for a revamp, going back as far as 1973 for One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor and going right through to 2011 with Questions For The Angels from So Beautiful or So What, an album that seemed to rather slip under the radar at the time.
Key to this album is the accompanying cast of musicians, including jazz luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis, Bill Frisell and Jack DeJohnette and, on a handful of tracks, chamber ensemble Ymusic. Simon seems particularly keen on another somewhat neglected album, You’re The One, selecting four pieces from the ten here for a fresh lick of paint, with Darling Lorraine and Pigs, Sheep and Wolves standing out. It’s also a revelation to hear Can’t Run But shorn of its South American trappings, but for me the strongest pieces are an old favourite, Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War, together with a couple of songs I hadn’t heard in years, Some Folks Lives Roll Easy and How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns – all are totally transformed from their original incarnations and given a completely new lease of life.
What does it all *mean*?
If this album should prove to be Paul Simon’s swansong, he has left us with a real treasure trove.
Goes well with…
Wistfulness and remembering together with celebration and renewal.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
New light through old windows.
‘New light through old windows’ – like that Bargepole. I might not know the originals but I’m going to check this album out now. Thanks.
New light through old windows…. So too did Chris Rea. 😉
Rumbled ! 😉
Cool review, when is it out?
Ground Control to Major Tom…
Next week I believe.
I have mine on order and looking forward to it. There is apparently another album of rarities due soon too called Alternate tunings. For Paul Simon fans this should be a good year.
Yes I’m not sure when that one will be along though, given that he’s only just released this one – I think if you bought a programme at his recent dates you got a download code to access six of the songs in advance of the physical release.
I’m liking the sound of this, too.
Nice review, Bargepole. I don’t usually go for these reinterpretation albums – didn’t buy Kate or Joni (I think LWIII did one as well), but I might go for this one. Always loved ‘How the heart…’ and because, well, Paul Simon.
Go for the Joni – triff!
Are you talking Both Sides Now?
Sounds fairly interesting. How are his vocals?
I haven’t heard anything about Simon’s voice deteriorating. I get the impression he’s intending to bow out of live performances while he’s still completely got it.
But let’s face it, if an artist of his stature makes an album in 2018, the vocals are always going to sound good, no matter how much tweaking is required.
Still in good fettle.
Thanks. Have read a couple of reports that live he struggles on one or two songs, but , yes, probably fine in a studio setting.
Saw him a couple of years ago and still pretty good then. 2 years can make a difference tho obvs.
“If an artist of his stature makes an album in 2018, the vocals are always going to sound good …” unless it’s His Bobness. Get that man an Autotune.
Get…that man…. an Auto…..TUUUUNE!
What I probably should have said (but didn’t), “sound good as they want to, no matter how much tweaking is required”
The title In The Blue Light is taken from the opening words of How The Heart Approaches, a song that already has a totes different versh called Spiral Highway, released as a One Trick Pony bonus track.
Was ready to yawn but what an interesting songlist. And So Beautiful is a superb and superbly produced album.
Here’s a playlist of the originals…
This has appeared today as one of NPR’s First Listens
Just giving it a play now. The arrangements are quite interesting. His voice is still there, albeit a bit harsher than previously.
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/30/641385734/first-listen-paul-simon-in-the-blue-light
Had the misfortune to hear his reworking of ‘Can’t Run But..’ on t’wireless last week. Sorry, but that’s terrible – not in the same league as the original, which is possibly my favourite on that album. I’ll reserve judgement on the rest of this revised canon until I’ve heard it, obviously, but this doesn’t bode well.