Another farewell tour kicks off. Pretty good run though, hope he’s well. Don’t suppose we’ll be seeing him at the Aspidistra and Hatstand any time soon.
Paul Simon jacks it in
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A classic among dozens, maybe hundreds….
Farewell tours are just flounces with bigger budgets.
He’ll be back on tour next year under the name Simon Paul.. doing songs like You Can Call Me Pal and Me and Julian Down By the Schoolyard.
They are certainly similar to flounces in the sense that no one who announces their retirement ever actually retires.
Simon’s still got the chops to go out once more without tarnishing his legacy, unlike Elton, whose arthritic hands and mangled diction (Roggid Maa, Canner ina Win, Sadity Nice Aride for Fide) makes him a pantomime of a pantomime.
Ohh no it doesn’t !
o yeggid da!
Elton probably won’t miss touring that much… so it’s no sackury fice.
Apparently Sarah seems to be the hardest word for him now
Take me to the parlour.
I’m still Stannah
Ah hope you dough my.
Saint-Saëns says so much.
Didn’t Elton do his first farewell tour in 1975? I think so.
He’s possibly done even more of them than Kiss.
I feel saddened by this. He’s one of those artists who remained at the top of his game for a lot longer than anyone should hope for. But it seems like a dignified decision to quit while he still has a bit of clout and respect.
His latest two albums are as good as any in his catalogue, which is pretty impressive. I think he’s hard on himself though, and famous for being meticulous.
He’s had very few dips in quality.
I’m disagree. Personally, I didn’t particularly like anything off his last two albums. In fact, I haven’t really liked anything since Graceland. (One Trick Pony is one of my all time favourite albums and I still play it a lot, as well as his earlier records.)
I came across a fairly recent interview with him on youtube (can’t find it now) in which he said something I found very interesting. I’ve often wondered, as we all have, about artists losing the magic they once had and how they feel about that, and Simon said (I quote more or less, from memory): “There was a time when if I thought something was good, so did everybody else. That’s no longer the case. And I’m fine with that.”
I think his “so did everybody else” phase ended in ’75 with Still Crazy, at which point he was in his mind thirties and had had hits for more than ten years, which is a longer run than most.
The success of Graceland must have surprised him, and even more so the record company.
I think they let him do it mainly because they had given up on more hits from him. Especially with an album inspired by African music. “Sure, do what you want. You’re not selling any albums anyway.”
One Trick Pony is one of my lesser favourites, but I’d still rate it 3/5.
I don’t think he’s ‘lost his magic’, he just became too old to attract the age group that generates hits.
Graceland was a creative and artistic success, its commercial success I think was down to the great performance of Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes on SNL and You Can Call Me Al – impossibly catchy – having a great video, perfect for MTV at the time.
But then I also think McCartney’s Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard is just as good as his big sellers from the seventies.
But these newer albums from older artists can only measure up musically. They can’t possibly hold the same nostalgic value, which is, sadly, I think, why a lot of people won’t give them an honest chance.
Other opinions are available.
I hear ya Gary. And I kind of agree, even though I’m probably a bit kinder to his later albums than you are being (Wristband was a TUNE).
But the good thing is, even if you rate Graceland as his last great album, you’re still talking about an incredible career of 20+ solid years.
And if you rate Graceland, you must have at least a passing fancy for its sister album a few years later, Rhythm of the Saints. So then you are really talking about 25 years.
Either way, an incredible achievement.
Possibly alongside Leonard Cohen he is my favourite singer songwriter. He is certainly responsible for a number of my most loved songs.
Really feel I should go to the Hyde Park show but am there for Roger Waters the week before and its a big drag on my finances. Still mulling it.
Not much of a ‘tour’ in the UK unfotunately – Manchester, Glasgow and Hyde Park. I’m too old to stand up all day, so not much chance of seeing him!
You’ll have to wait for his occasional performances in acoustically pristine halls Nigel. Maybe something like The Boss is doing. 500 seat halls. £500 a ticket. Start saving now!
I’d seriously consider that as long as they can guarantee that some numpty isn’t going to sit near me and natter all night long about how excited they are.
At those prices you’d best keep a Taser handy. Just in case.
Press release only mentions live performance, so hopefully we’ll get a few more albums from him – the quality hasn’t dipped at all. I saw him twice back in the Eighties – ‘Graceland’ and ‘Rhythm of the Saints’ tours, so I’m mulling over whether I should try to see him again this year.
Bought tickets last night for the Hyde Park show. Also on the bill are James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt so sounds pretty good to me. I saw S & G at the Albert Hall in 1970 so the Hyde Park gig seems like a nice bookend (boom boom).
JT is always a quality turn. It will be a sad day when he retires from the stage.