Showing posts with label Graceland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graceland. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

World Music: Top 25 Albums

World Music:

The Top 25 Albums

Wikipedia defines world music as “is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music.” I compiled a dozen lists of the best world music albums and consolidated them with albums in the Dave’s Music Database with albums labeled as “world music.” These are the results. Note: the act’s country of origin is listed after the album title.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

  1. Paul Simon Graceland (1986): USA
  2. various artists Buena Vista Social Club (1997): Cuba
  3. Harry Belafonte Calypso (1956): USA
  4. various artists The Indestructible Beat of Soweto (1986): South Africa
  5. Tito Puento Dance Mania (1958): Puerto Rico

  6. King Sunny Adé & His African Beats Juju Music (1983): Nigeria
  7. Manu Chao Clandestino (1998): France/Spain
  8. Paul Simon Rhythm of the Saints (1990): USA
  9. Os Mutantes Os Mutantes (1968): Brazil
  10. Youssou N'Dour Immigrés (1983): Senegal

  11. Tito Puento Top Percussion (1957): USA
  12. Bulgarian National Radio and Television Chorus Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares (1988): Bulgaria
  13. Salif Keita Moffou (2002): Mali
  14. Césaria Évora Miss Perfumado (1992): Cape Verde
  15. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan En Concert a Paris (1988): Pakistan

  16. Konono No. 1 Congotronics (2005): Congo
  17. Fela Kuti Zombie (1977): Nigeria
  18. Baobab Orchestra Pirates Choice (1982): Senegal
  19. Ali Farka Touré Savane (2006): Mali
  20. Astor Piazolla Tango: Zero Hour (1986): Argentina

  21. Amadou & Miriam Dimanche à Bamako (2005): Mali
  22. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Mustt Mustt (1991): Pakistan
  23. Juan Luis Guerra y 440 Bachata Rosa (1990): Dominican Republic
  24. Rubén Blades & Willie Colón Siembra (1978): Puerto Rico/Panama
  25. Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music (box set: 1958-93, released 1993): Jamaica

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 8/27/2024; last updated 8/28/2024.

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Friday, October 13, 2023

Paul Simon: Top 100 Songs

Paul Simon

Top 100 Songs

Pop/folk-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Simon was born 10/13/1941 in Newark, NJ. He was raised in Queens, NY. In the early part of his career, he recorded as Jerry Landis and Tico & the Triumphs and under his own name.

In 1964, he paired with Art Garfunkel, with whom he'd recorded as Tom and Jerry in 1957. They recorded as the duo Simon & Garfunkel from 1964 to 1970, releasing five studio albums which all reached at least platinum status. 1968’s Bookends and 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water both reached #1. The latter also won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

They reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 eight times. They reached #1 with the songs “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The latter two won Grammys for Record of the Year. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” also won the Grammy for Song of the Year.

In 1972, Simon resumed his solo career again. Seven of his albums reached the top 10, including 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years, which reached #1 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. He took home the prize again in 1986 with Graceland.

He reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 six times as a solo artist, including the #1 hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” He took home another Grammy for Record of the Year for “Graceland.”

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcasts The Best of Simon & Garfunkel and The Best of Paul Simon (1972-2016) based on this list.

Awards (Simon & Garfunkel):

Awards (Paul Simon solo):

Top 100 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs with Art Garfunkel are marked as “S&G.”

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Bridge Over Troubled Water (S&G, 1970)
2. The Sound of Silence (S&G, 1965)
3. Mrs. Robinson (S&G, 1968)

DMDB Top 2%:

4. The Boxer (S&G, 1969)
5. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (1975)
6. Scarborough Fair/Canticle (S&G, 1966)

DMDB Top 5%:

7. Graceland (1986)
8. You Can Call Me Al (1986)
9. Homeward Bound (S&G, 1966)
10. Kodachrome (1973)

11. Cecilia (S&G, 1970)
12. Late in the Evening (1980)
13. I Am a Rock (S&G, 1966)
14. Mother and Child Reunion (1972)
15. What a Wonderful World (S&G with James Taylor, 1977)
16. Slip Slidin’ Away (1977)
17. Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)
18. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (1972)
19. Loves Me Like a Rock (with Dixie Hummingbirds, 1973)
20. America (S&G, 1968)

DMDB Top 10%:

21. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (S&G, 1970)
22. The Boy in the Bubble (1986)
23. My Little Town (S&G, 1975)
24. A Hazy Shade of Winter (S&G, 1966)

DMDB Top 20%:

25. The Obvious Child (1990)
26. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (1986)
27. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (S&G, 1966)
28. Wake Up Little Susie (S&G, 1982)
29. American Tune (1973)
30. The Dangling Conversation (S&G, 1966)

31. Gone at Last (with Phoebe Snow, 1975)
32. Wristband (2016)
33. Duncan (1972)
34. Bye Bye Love (S&G, 1970)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

35. Father and Daughter (2002)
36. At the Zoo (S&G, 1967)
37. For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her (S&G, 1966)
38. Fakin’ It (S&G, 1967)
39. Allergies (1983)
40. One-Trick Pony (1980)

41. The Only Living Boy in New York (S&G, 1970)
42. Homeward Bound (live with George Harrison, 1990)
43. Homeless (1986)
44. 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night (S&G, 1966)
45. Hey Schoolgirl (S&G as Tom & Jerry, 1957)
46. Under African Skies (with Linda Ronstadt, 1986)
47. The Blues (with Randy Newman, 1982)
48. Rewrite (2011)
49. The Lone Teen Ranger (Paul Simon as Jerry Landis, 1963)
50. Motorcycle (Paul Simon as Tico & the Triumphs, 1962)

51. Take Me to the Mardi Gras (1973)
52. Something So Right (1973)
53. Stranded in a Limousine (1977)
54. Old (2000)
55. Getting Ready for Christmas Day (2010)
56. Think Too Much (1983)
57. The Afterlife (2011)
58. Outrageous (2006)
59. Go Tell It on the Mountain (S&G, 1964)
60. Hearts and Bones (1983)

61. Born in Puerto Rico (1997)
62. Crazy Love Part II (1986)
63. Graceland (Willie Nelson with Paul Simon, 1993)
64. Kathy’s Song (S&G, 1966)
65. Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (1983)
66. Bookends Theme (S&G, 1968)
67. Born at the Right Time (1990)
68. Baby Driver (S&G, 1970)
69. I Know What I Know (1986)
70. Have a Good Time (1975)

71. The Boxer (Jerry Douglas with Mumford & Sons and Paul Simon, 2012)
72. Leaves That Are Green (S&G, 1966)
73. Bernadette (1997)
74. You’re the One (2000)
75. April Come She Will (S&G, 1966)
76. So Beautiful Or So What (2011)
77. Thelma (1993)
78. Keep the Customer Satisfied (S&G, 1970)
79. That’s Me (2006)
80. Proof (1990)

81. Late Great Johnny Ace (1983)
82. Oh Marion (1980)
83. New York Is My Home (with Dion, 2015)
84. Old Friends (S&G, 1968)
85. Song for the Asking (S&G, 1970)
86. Gumboots (1986)
87. Stranger to Stranger (2016)
88. You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies (S&G, 1967)
89. All Around the World OR The Myth of Fingerprints (with Los Lobos, 1986)
90. When Numbers Get Serious (1983)

91. One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor (1973)
92. That Was Your Mother (1986)
93. St. Judy’s Comet (1973)
94. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (S&G, 1964)
95. Train in the Distance (1983)
96. The Cool, Cool River (1990)
97. Tenderness (1973)
98. Peace Like a River (1972)
99. Congratulations (1972)
100. Trailways Bus (1997)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 10/8/2023; last updated 10/13/2023.

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Friday, May 19, 2023

Paul Simon: A Retrospective (1957-2023)

Paul Simon

A Retrospective: 1957-2023

Overview:

Pop/folk-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Frederic Simon was born 10/13/1941 in Newark, NJ. He was raised in Queens, NY. He befriended schoolmate Art Garfunkel, who had an angelic tenor voice, and the two teamed up as Tom & Jerry, taking the names of the cartoon characters. In the winter of 1957-1958, they scored a chart hit with ‘Hey Schoolgirl;’ both were 16 years old.” WR

Simon scored hits on his own in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, reaching the charts in 1962 with the group Tito & the Triumphs with the song “Motorcycle” and in 1963 as Jerry Landis with “The Lone Teen Ranger.”

Simon & Garfunkel reunited in 1964 as a folk duo in Greenwich Village. They were signed to Columbia Records. From 1964 to 1970, releasing five studio albums which all reached at least platinum status. 1968’s Bookends and 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water both reached #1. The latter also won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

They reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 eight times. They reached #1 with the songs “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The latter two won Grammys for Record of the Year. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” also won the Grammy for Song of the Year.

In 1972, Simon resumed his solo career again. Seven of his albums reached the top 10, including 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years, which reached #1 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. He took home the prize again in 1986 with Graceland.

He reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 six times as a solo artist, including the #1 hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” He took home another Grammy for Record of the Year for “Graceland.”

Sales/Airplay (in millions):

  • Album sales: 52.0 US *
  • Singles sales: 4.0 *
  • Airplay: 100 *

* Simon & Garfunkel/Paul Simon combined

On the Web:

Lists:

Awards (Simon & Garfunkel):

Awards (Paul Simon solo):

Studio Albums:

Compilations:

Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts.

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: October 19, 1964

Peak: 30 US, 24 UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 2.5 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

2.188 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. You Can Tell the World
  2. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
  3. Bleecker Street ESG
  4. Sparrow ESG
  5. Benedictus NY
  6. The Sound of Silence (acoustic version)
  7. He Was My Brother NY
  8. Peggy-O NY
  9. Go Tell It on the Mountain
  10. The Sun Is Burning NY
  11. The Times They Are A-Changin’
  12. Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. D, NY, ESG

Total Running Time: 31:38

About the Album:

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had recorded together in the late ‘50s as Tom & Jerry and had a minor hit with “Hey Schoolgirl,” but they didn’t release an album until 1964. After they signed a deal with Columbia they released their debut, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. The album flopped and it looked like the duo might be done, but there were bigger things to come.

Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

The Paul Simon Songbook

Paul Simon

Released: August 1965

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

2.855 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. I Am a Rock (7/16/65, --)
  2. Leaves That Are Green (7/16/65, B-side)
  3. A Church Is Burning
  4. April Come She Will
  5. The Sound of Silence
  6. A Most Peculiar Man
  7. He Was My Brother
  8. Kathy’s Song
  9. The Side of a Hill
  10. A Simple Desultory Philippic (How How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission)
  11. Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall
  12. Patterns

Total Running Time: 37:48

About the Album:

Simon & Garfunkel signed to Columbia Records and released their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. in 1964. When it flopped, Simon was picked up as a solo artist by CBS and recorded The Paul Simon Songbook. This album was mostly notable for early versions of songs which Simon & Garfunkel would later cover. “I Am a Rock,” “Leaves That Are Green,” “April Come She Will,” “The Sound of Silence,” “A Most Peculiar Man,” and “Kathy’s Song” would show up on Sounds of Silence. “A Simple Desultory Philippic,” “Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall,” and “Patterns” were on the next album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Sounds of Silence

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: January 17, 1966

Peak: 21 US, 13 UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 6.0 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

3.532 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. The Sound of Silence (electric version) (11/12/65, 12 BB, 11 CB, 11 GR, 12 HR, 50 AC, 1 CL, 7 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 2 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, A, UC, SW
  2. Leaves That Are Green NY, ESG, PS
  3. Blessed
  4. Kathy’s Song GH, D, NY, ESG, PS
  5. Somewhere They Can’t Find Me
  6. Anji
  7. Richard Cory ESG
  8. A Most Peculiar Man ESG
  9. April Come She Will NY
  10. We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’ NY
  11. I Am a Rock (4/29/66, 3 BB, 4 CB, 2 GR, 2 HR, 2 CL, 17 UK, 20 AU, 10 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG

Total Running Time: 29:09

About the Album:

When the folk-rock trend kicked in, producer Tom Wilson lifted the acoustic version of “The Sound of Silence” from Simon & Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. album and overdubbed it with electric guitar, bass, and drums. The new version hit #1 and became a quintessential song of the new folk-rock movement. To capture the moment, Simon & Garfunkel reunited and recorded a second album titled Sounds of Silence, featuring the new rendition of the song. They also reworked a full half dozen songs from Paul Simon’s 1965 release The Paul Simon Songbook. Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: October 10, 1966

Peak: 4 US, 15 UK, -- CN, 14 AU

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.06 UK, 7.0 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

4.093 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Scarborough Fair (2/23/68, 11 BB, 19 CB, 5 GR, 14 HR, 5 AC, 2 CL, 49 AU, 1 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG
  2. Patterns NY
  3. Cloudy NY
  4. Homeward Bound (1/19/66, 5 BB, 5 CB, 4 GR, 5 HR, 4 CL, 9 UK, 20 AU, 5 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG
  5. The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
  6. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (2/27/67 as B-side of “At the Zoo,” 23 CL, 11 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG
  7. The Dangling Conversation (8/6/66, 25 BB, 15 CB, 23 GR, 18 HR, 26 CL, 85 AU, 22 DF) B, NY, ESG
  8. Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall NY
  9. A Simple Desultory Philippic (How How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission)
  10. For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (10/22/66 as B-side of “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” 8/26/72 as a single, 53 BB, 72 CB, 61 HR, 27 AC, 37 CL) GH, D, B, NY, ESG
  11. A Poem on the Underground Wall ESG
  12. 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night (11/11/66, 24 GR, 30 UK) D, NY

Total Running Time: 27:55

About the Album:

Allmusic.com’s Bruce Eder called this album “Simon & Garfunkel’s first masterpiece.” After recording their previous album, Sound of Silence quickly to capitalize on their #1 hit “The Sounds of Silence,” they took three months to work on this album which features the classics “Scarborough Fair” and “Homeward Bound.” Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Bookends

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: April 3, 1968

Peak: 17 US, 17 UK, -- CN, 3 AU

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.06 UK, 6.5 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

4.243 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Bookends Theme
  2. Save the Life of My Child NY
  3. America (10/7/72, 97 BB, 5 CL, 25 UK, 7 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, UC
  4. Overs ESG
  5. Voices of Old People
  6. Old Friends D, B, NY, ESG
  7. Bookends Theme (reprise) GH, D, B, NY, ESG
  8. Fakin’ It (7/7/67, 23 BB, 15 CB, 10 GR, 15 HR, 27 CL) B, NY, ESG
  9. Punky’s Dilemma NY
  10. Mrs. Robinson (4/5/68, 13 BB, 14 CB, 11 GR, 13 HR, 4 AC, 1 CL, 4 UK, 12 CN, 8 AU, 1 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, A, UC
  11. A Hazy Shade of Winter (10/22/66, 13 BB, 17 CB, 7 GR, 13 HR, 8 CL, 30 UK, 19 DF) D, B, NY, ESG
  12. At the Zoo (2/27/67, 16 BB, 15 CB, 10 GR, 13 HR, 26 CL) D, B, NY, ESG

Total Running Time: 29:51

About the Album:

In his post “The Great Albums,” Jim DeRogatis called Bookends the duo’s best album. It featured the #1 hit “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate soundtrack as well as the top-25 hits “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” “At the Zoo,” and “Fakin’ It.” Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: January 26, 1970

Peak: 110 US, 133 UK, 19 CN, 115 AU, 14 DF

Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 3.16 UK, 28.5 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

4.555 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Bridge Over Troubled Water (1/26/70, 16 BB, 14 CB, 14 GR, 13 HR, 16 AC, 1 CL, 13 UK, 14 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, A, UC, SW
  2. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (8/24/70, 18 BB, 11 CB, 24 GR, 13 HR, 6 AC, 21 CL, 11 AU) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, A
  3. Cecilia (4/10/70, 4 BB, 11 CB, 8 GR, 11 HR, 31 AC, 1 CL, 6 AU, 9 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, A, UC
  4. Keep the Customer Satisfied NY, ESG
  5. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright NY, ESG
  6. The Boxer (4/4/69, 7 BB, 4 CB, 8 GR, 3 HR, 3 AC, 2 CL, 6 UK, 3 CN, 8 AU, 7 DF) GH, D, B, NY, ESG, PS, A, UC, SW
  7. Baby Driver NY, ESG
  8. The Only Living Boy in New York B, NY, ESG, UC
  9. Why Don’t You Write Me
  10. Bye Bye Love (30 CL, 22 DF) NY
  11. Song for the Asking D, B, NY, ESG

Total Running Time: 36:29

About the Album:

Simon & Garfunkel’s fifth and final album saw them go out on top with a multi-platinum chart-topper which won the Grammy for Album of the Year. It featured the title cut, which ranks as one of the top 100 songs of all time according to the DMDB. Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Greatest Hits

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: June 20, 1972

Recorded: 1965-1970

Peak: 5 US, 2 UK, 2 CN, 10 AU, 12 DF

Sales (in millions): 14.0 US, 1.84 UK, 25.1 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

4.395 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: (1) Mrs. Robinson (2) For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (live) (3) The Boxer (4) The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (5) The Sound of Silence (electric version) (6) I Am a Rock (7) Scarborough Fair/Canticle (8) Homeward Bound (9) Bridge Over Troubled Water (10) America (11) Kathy’s Song (live) (12) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (13) Bookends (14) Cecilia

Total Running Time: 43:25

About the Album:

Simon & Garfunkel only released five studio albums in their short career from 1964 to 1970. After a reunion concert at Madison Square Garden, they released this hugely successful compilation. “Instead, it touched all the right buttons, providing an overview of the duo’s most popular songs and biggest singles, but also offering longtime fans a previously unissued alternate take of America and live versions of For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her, Homeward Bound, Feelin’ Groovy, and Kathy’s Song, which meant that even fans who already had everything else they’d ever released wanted to own it” (Bruce Eder, All Music Guide review).

However, it is incomplete. “The Dangling Conversation,” “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” “At the Zoo,” and “Fakin’ It” all reached the 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 but have been omitted here. All of those are featured on The Best of Simon & Garfunkel, released in 1999. The only song from Greatest Hits not on that collection was “Kathy’s Song,” making this a much better set.

The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel, released in 1991, is also superior to Greatest Hits in that includes everything from the 1972 compilation plus another six cuts, including “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and “At the Zoo.”

The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: November 18, 1991

Recorded: 1965-1970

Peak: -- US, 8 UK, -- CN, 5 AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK)

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

3.311 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. (2) The Sound of Silence (3) Homeward Bound (4) Kathy’s Song (live) (5) I Am a Rock (6) For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (live) (7) Scarborough Fair/Canticle (8) The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (9) 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night (10) A Hazy Shade of Winter (11) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (12) Mrs. Robinson (13) America (14) At the Zoo (15) Old Friends (16) Bookends Theme (17) Cecilia (18) The Boxer (19) Bridge Over Troubled Water (20) Song for the Asking

Total Running Time: 53:14

About the Album:

While it went nowhere in terms of sales and chart success, The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel improved on the duo’s Greatest Hits collection. All the songs featured on that earlier set are also here, as well as six more cuts, including top-25 hits “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and “At the Zoo.”

Paul Simon

Paul Simon

Released: January 24, 1972

Peak: 4 US, 11 UK, 2 CN, 5 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 3.0 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: pop

Rating:

4.506 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Mother and Child Reunion (1/28/72, 4 BB, 4 CB, 5 GR, 4 HR, 4 AC, 4 CL, 5 UK, 4 CN, 5 AU, 6 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS, SW
  2. Duncan (7/1/72, 52 BB, 58 CB, 50 HR, 29 CL, 86 AU) ETC, PS, EPS
  3. Everything Put Together Falls Apart
  4. Run That Body Down
  5. Armistice Day
  6. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (4/1/72, 22 BB, 7 CB, 28 GR, 9 HR, 6 AC, 7 CL, 15 UK, 6 CN, 40 AU, 9 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS
  7. Peace Like a River PS, A, EPS, SW
  8. Papa Hobo
  9. Hobo’s Blues
  10. Paranoia Blues
  11. Congratulations PS

Total Running Time: 34:03

About the Album:

All Music Guide review by William Ruhlmann:

“If any musical justification were needed for the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel, it could be found on this striking collection, Paul Simon’s post-split debut. From the opening cut, Mother and Child Reunion…, Simon, who had snuck several subtle musical explorations into the generally conservative S&G sound, broke free, heralding the rise of reggae with an exuberant track recorded in Jamaica for a song about death. From there, it was off to Paris for a track in South American style and a rambling story of a fisherman's son, Duncan.”

“But most of the album had a low-key feel, with Simon on acoustic guitar backed by only a few trusted associates (among them Joe Osborn, Larry Knechtel, David Spinozza, Mike Manieri, Ron Carter, and Hal Blaine, along with such guests as Stefan Grossman, Airto Moreira, and Stephane Grappelli), singing a group of informal, intimate, funny, and closely observed songs (among them the lively Top 40 hit Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard). It was miles removed from the big, stately ballad style of Bridge Over Troubled Water and signaled that Simon was a versatile songwriter as well as an expressive singer with a much broader range of musical interests than he had previously demonstrated. You didn’t miss Art Garfunkel on Paul Simon, not only because Simon didn’t write Garfunkel-like showcases for himself, but because the songs he did write showed off his own, more varied musical strengths.”

There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

Paul Simon

Charted: May 26, 1973

Peak: 2 US, 4 UK, 3 CN, 7 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK, 3.0 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: pop

Rating:

3.909 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Kodachrome (5/18/73, 2 BB, 2 CB, 4 GR, 11 HR, 2 AC, 1 CL, 2 CN, 31 AU, 18 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, EPS, SW
  2. Tenderness PS, SW
  3. Take Me to the Mardi Gras (5/25/73, 7 UK) ETC, PS, NG, EPS
  4. Something So Right (11/13/74, 10 AU) ETC, N, PS, A, EPS, SW
  5. One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor
  6. American Tune (11/8/73, 35 BB, 27 CB, 38 GR, 36 HR, 8 AC, 10 CL) PS, A, EPS, SW
  7. Was a Sunny Day
  8. Learn How to Fall
  9. St. Judy’s Comet N, PS
  10. Loves Me Like a Rock (with the Dixie Hummingbirds) (7/17/73, 2 BB, 11 CB, 11 GR, 3 HR, 6 RR, 12 AC, 1 CL, 39 UK, 5 CN, 30 AU, 29 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, EPS

Total Running Time: 35:19

About the Album:

All Music Guide review by William Ruhlmann:

“Retaining the buoyant musical feel of Paul Simon, but employing a more produced sound, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon found Paul Simon writing and performing with assurance and venturing into soulful and R&B-oriented music. Simon returned to the kind of vocal pyrotechnics heard on the Simon & Garfunkel records by using gospel singers. On Loves Me Like a Rock and Tenderness (which sounded as though it could have been written to Art Garfunkel), the Dixie Hummingbirds sang prominent backup vocals, and on Take Me to the Mardi Gras, Reverend Claude Jeter contributed a falsetto part that Garfunkel could have handled, though not as warmly.” WR

“For several tracks, Simon traveled to the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios to play with its house band, getting a variety of styles, from the gospel of ‘Loves Me Like a Rock’ to the Dixieland of ‘Mardi Gras.’ Simon was so confident that he even included a major ballad statement of the kind he used to give Garfunkel to sing: American Tune was his musical State of the Union, circa 1973, but this time Simon was up to making his big statements in his own voice. Though that song spoke of ‘the age’s most uncertain hour,’ otherwise Rhymin' Simon was a collection of largely positive, optimistic songs of faith, romance, and commitment, concluding, appropriately, with a lullaby (St. Judy’s Comet) and a declaration of maternal love (‘Loves Me Like a Rock’) – in other words, another mother-and-child reunion that made Paul Simon and There Goes Rhymin’ Simon bookend masterpieces.” WR

Still Crazy After All These Years

Paul Simon

Released: October 17, 1975

Peak: 11 US, 6 UK, 8 CN, 39 AU

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: pop

Rating:

3.922 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Still Crazy After All These Years (5/1/76, 40 BB, 45 CB, 39 GR, 65 HR, 5 AC, 10 CL, 10 AU, 5 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS, SW
  2. My Little Town (10/18/75, 9 BB, 7 CB, 7 GR, 11 HR, 9 RR, 12 AC, 6 CL, 46 AU, 19 DF) B, NY, ESG, PS
  3. I Do It for Your Love ETC
  4. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (12/12/75, 13 BB, 13 CB, 12 GR, 11 HR, 12 AC, 1 CL, 23 UK, 1 CN, 35 AU, 1 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS
  5. Night Game
  6. Gone at Last (with Phoebe Snow) (8/16/75, 23 BB, 20 CB, 24 GR, 30 HR, 31 RR, 9 AC, 26 CL, 95 AU) PS, A, EPS
  7. Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy
  8. Have a Good Time ETC, N, PS
  9. You’re Kind
  10. Silent Eyes

Total Running Time: 35:24

About the Album:

All Music Guide review by William Ruhlmann:

“The third new studio album of Paul Simon’s post-Simon & Garfunkel career was a musical and lyrical change of pace from his first two, Paul Simon and There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. Where Simon had taken an eclectic approach before, delving into a variety of musical styles and recording all over the world, Still Crazy found him working for the most part with a group of jazz-pop New York session players, though he did do a couple of tracks (My Little Town and Still Crazy After All These Years) with the Muscle Shoals rhythm section that had appeared on Rhymin’ Simon and another (Gone at Last) returned to the gospel style of earlier songs like ‘Loves Me Like a Rock.’”

“Of course, ‘My Little Town’ also marked a return to working with Art Garfunkel, and another Top Ten entry for S&G. But the overall feel of Still Crazy was of a jazzy style subtly augmented with strings and horns. Perhaps more striking, however, was Simon’s lyrical approach. Where Rhymin’ Simon was the work of a confident family man, Still Crazy came off as a post-divorce album, its songs reeking of smug self-satisfaction and romantic disillusionment.”

“At their best, such sentiments were undercut by humor and made palatable by musical hooks, as on 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, which became the biggest solo hit of Simon’s career. But elsewhere, as on Have a Good Time (written for but not used in the film Shampoo and perhaps intended to express the shallow feelings of the main character), the singer’s cynicism seemed unearned. Still, as out of sorts as Simon may have been, he was never more in tune with his audience: Still Crazy topped the charts, spawned four Top 40 hits, and won Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Vocal Performance.”

The Best of

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: November 16, 1999

Recorded: 1965-1975

Peak: 43 US, 145 UK, -- CN, 66 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.06 UK

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

3.960 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks: (1) The Sound of Silence (2) Homeward Bound (3) I Am a Rock (4) The Dangling Conversation (5) Scarborough Fair/Canticle (6) The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (7) A Hazy Shade of Winter (8) At the Zoo (9) Fakin’ It (10) Mrs. Robinson (11) Old Friends/Bookends (12) The Boxer (13) Bridge Over Troubled Water (14) Cecilia (15) The Only Living Boy in New York (16) Song for the Asking (17) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (18) For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (live) (19) America (20) My Little Town

Total Running Time: 63:48

About the Album:

When it comes to single-disc compilations of Simon & Garfunkel, this is the one to get. Greatest Hits is the most popular, having gone to #5 on the album chart and selling more than 25 million copies worldwide. However, this collection covers everything that set does with the exception of “Kathy’s Song.” In its place, though, this set adds “The Dangling Conversation,” “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” “At the Zoo,” “Fakin’ It,” and “My Little Town,” all of which reached the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tales from New York: The Very Best of

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: January 24, 2000

Recorded: 1965-1975

Peak: -- US, 8 UK, -- CN, 15 AU

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

2.860 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) The Sound of Silence (2) Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (3) The Sun Is Burning (4) Peggy-O (5) Benedictus (6) He Was My Brother (7) We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’ (8) Homeward Bound (9) I Am a Rock (10) Kathy’s Song (11) April Come She Will (12) Leaves That Are Green (13) Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall (14) The Dangling Covnersation (15) Scarborough Fair/Canticle (16) Patterns (17) Cloudy (18) For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (19) Save the Life of My Child (20) 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night

Tracks, Disc 2: (1) A Hazy Shade of Winter (2) The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (3) At the Zoo (4) Fakin’ It (5) Punky’s Dilemma (6) You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies (7) Mrs. Robinson (8) Old Friends/Bookends (9) The Boxer (10) Baby Driver (11) Keep the Customer Satisfied (12) So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright (13) Bridge Over Troubled Water (14) Cecilia (15) The Only Living Boy in New York (16) Bye Bye Love (17) Song for the Asking (18) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (19) America (20) My Little Town

Total Running Time: 115:22

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies (7/7/67, B-side of “Fakin’ It”) NY

About the Album:

Nothing screams “unnecessary” quite like a two-disc retrospective of Simon & Garfunkel. It isn’t that they aren’t one of the most important duos in the history of music. It’s just that they only released five albums in their career – and those five albums could fit on two discs. This is nothing but a cash grab.

The Essential

Simon & Garfunkel

Released: October 14, 2003

Recorded: 1965-1975

Peak: 27 US, 25 UK, -- CN, 20 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

3.648 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (live) (2) Bleecker Street (3) The Sound of Silence (4) Leaves That Are Green (live) (5) A Most Peculiar Man (live) (6) I Am a Rock (7) Richard Cory (8) Kathy’s Song (live) (9) Scarborough Fair/Canticle (10) Homeward Bound (11) Sparrow (live) (12) The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (13) The Dangling Conversation (14) A Poem on the Underground Wall (live) (15) A Hazy Shade of Winter (16) At the Zoo

Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Mrs. Robinson (2) Fakin’ It (3) Old Friends (4) Bookends Theme (5) America (6) Overs (live) (7) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (8) Bridge Over Troubled Water (9) Cecilia (10) Keep the Customer Satisfied (11) So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright (12) The Boxer (13) Baby Driver (14) The Only Living Boy in New York (15) Song for the Asking (16) For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (live) (17) My Little Town

Total Running Time: 97:37

About the Album:

This collection has the same problem as Tales from New York, Simon & Garfunkel’s two-disc retrospective from 2003. That one was already completely unnecessary since all five of the duo’s albums would fit on two discs. This one is even more ridiculous since the two discs combined clock in at under 100 minutes, leaving a full hour of music which could have been included.

Greatest Hits Etc.

Paul Simon

Released: November 1977

Recorded: 1971-1977

Peak: 18 US, 6 UK, 17 CN, 22 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

3.634 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Slip Slidin’ Away (2) Stranded in a Limousine (3) Still Crazy After All These Years (4) Have a Good Time (5) Duncan (live) (6) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (7) Something So Right (8) Kodachrome (9) I Do It for Your Love (10) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (11) American Tune (live) (12) Mother and Child Reunion (13) Loves Me Like a Rock (14) Take Me to the Mardi Gras

Total Running Time: 51:38

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Slip Slidin’ Away (10/15/77, 5 BB, 6 CB, 9 GR, 11 HR, 12 RR, 4 AC, 3 CL, 36 UK, 2 CN, 35 AU, 16 DF) ETC, N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS
  • Stranded in a Limousine (4/8/78, 45 AC) ETC, EPS

About the Album:

Simon followed his win for the Album of the Year Grammy win for Still Crazy After All These Years with a compilation highlighting cuts from his three solo albums from 1972 to 1975. The collection added two new cuts, including the top-five hit “Slip Slidin’ Away.”

One Trick Pony

Paul Simon

Released: August 12, 1980

Peak: 12 US, 17 UK, 23 CN, 15 AU

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.06 UK, 1.5 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: pop

Rating:

2.734 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Late in the Evening (8/1/80, 6 BB, 9 CB, 2 GR, 9 HR, 12 RR, 7 AC, 1 CL, 8 UK, 19 CN, 34 AU, 14 DF) N, PS, A, NG, UC, SW
  2. That’s Why God Made the Movies
  3. One-Trick Pony (live) (10/24/80, 40 BB, 52 CB, 29 GR, 59 HR, 17 AC, 34 CL)
  4. How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns PS
  5. Oh, Marion (12/3/81)
  6. Ace in the Hole (live with Richard Tee)
  7. Nobody
  8. Jonah PS
  9. God Bless the Absentee
  10. Long, Long Day (with Patti Austin)

Total Running Time: 38:25

About the Album:

After a five-year layoff since his Grammy-winning Still Crazy After All These Years, Simon finally returned with a new album on a new label. One Trick Pony was a soundtrack including another top-ten hit for Simon with “Late in the Evening.”

Hearts and Bones

Paul Simon

Released: November 4, 1983

Peak: 35 US, 34 UK, 50 CN, 99 AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: pop

Rating:

3.290 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Allergies (11/5/83, 44 BB, 48 CB, 33 GR, 38 RR, 26 AC)
  2. Hearts and Bones N, PS, A, NG, EPS, SW
  3. When Numbers Get Serious
  4. Think Too Much (b)
  5. Song About the Moon
  6. Think Too Much (a) (2/84, 26 AC)
  7. Train in the Distance N, EPS, SW
  8. Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War N, PS, A, NG, SW
  9. Cars Are Cars
  10. The Late Great Johnny Ace PS, EPS

Total Running Time: 40:53

About the Album:

It had been three years since Simon’s last solo effort. This one failed to match his usual level of commercial success.

Graceland

Paul Simon

Released: August 25, 1986

Peak: 3 US, 18 UK, 14 CN, 15 AU, 13 DF

Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 2.2 UK, 15.6 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: world

Rating:

4.624 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. The Boy in the Bubble (11/86, 86 BB, 15 AR, 26 UK, 46 AU, 30 DF) PS, A, NG, UC, EPS, SW
  2. Graceland (11/15/86, 81 BB, 69 CB, 34 AC, 38 AR, 71 CN, 62 AU, 7 DF) N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS, SW
  3. I Know What I Know (29 DF)
  4. Gumboots
  5. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (2/87, 69 AU, 2 DF) N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS, SW
  6. You Can Call Me Al (8/9/86, 20 BB, 26 CB, 22 GR, 21 RR, 20 BA, 15 AC, 42 AR, 4 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU, 5 DF) N, PS, A, NG, UC, EPS
  7. Under African Skies (with Linda Ronstadt) (15 DF) PS, A, EPS
  8. Homeless (6 DF) PS, A
  9. Crazy Love, Vol. II (34 DF)
  10. That Was Your Mother (36 DF) PS, A, EPS
  11. All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints (with Los Lobos) (36 DF)

Total Running Time: 43:18

About the Album:

After delving into South African music, Simon emerged with Graceland, one of the highpoints of his career. It gave him his third Grammy for Album of the Year. Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Negotiations and Love Songs

Paul Simon

Released: October 18, 1988

Recorded: 1971-86

Peak: 110 US, 17 UK, -- CN, 5 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.3 UK

Genre: folk rock

Rating:

3.729 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Mother and Child Reunion (2) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (3) Something So Right (4) St. Judy’s Comet (5) Loves Me Like a Rock (6) Kodachrome (7) Have a Good Time (8) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (9) Still Crazy After All These Years (10) Late in the Evening (11) Slip Slidin’ Away (12) Hearts and Bones (13) Train in the Distance (14) Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (15) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (16) You Can Call Me Al (17) Graceland

Total Running Time: 67:58

About the Album:

Once again, Simon followed a Grammy win for Album of the Year with a retrospective highlighting his solo career. This one covered six solo albums from 1972 to 1986.

Rhythm of the Saints

Paul Simon

Released: October 16, 1990

Peak: 4 US, 12 UK, 1 CN, 3 AU, 9 DF

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.6 UK, 5.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: world music

Rating:

3.385 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. The Obvious Child (10/13/90, 92 BB, 78 CB, 21 AR, 24 MR, 15 UK, 28 CN, 42 AU, 26 DF) PS, A, NG, UC, EPS, SW
  2. Can’t Run But PS, A
  3. The Coast
  4. Proof (2/91, --)
  5. Further to Fly PS, A, SW
  6. She Moves On PS, A
  7. Born at the Right Time (1991, --) PS, A, EPS
  8. The Cool, Cool River PS, A, NG, EPS, SW
  9. Spirit Voices PS, A, EPS, SW
  10. The Rhythm of the Saints

Total Running Time: 44:49

About the Album:

The Rhythm of the Saints “did for Brazilian music what Graceland had done for South African music.” WR

1964/1993

Paul Simon

Released: September 28, 1993

Recorded: 1957-1991

Peak: 173 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US

Genre: folk rock/pop/world

Rating:

4.373 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Leaves That Are Green (2) The Sound of Silence (3) Kathy’s Song (live) (4) America (5) Cecilia (6) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (7) The Boxer (8) Mrs. Robinson (9) Bridge Over Troubled Water (demo) (10) Bridge Over Troubled Water (11) The Breakup (12) Hey, Schoolgirl (13) My Little Town (14) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (15) Peace Like a River (16) Mother and Child Reunion (17) Congratulations (18) Duncan (live) (19) American Tune

Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Loves Me Like a Rock (2) Tenderness (3) Kodachrome (4) Gone at Last (5) Take Me to the Mardi Gras (6) St. Judy’s Comet (7) Something So Right (8) Still Crazy After All These Years (live) (9) Have a Good Time (10) Jonah (11) How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns (12) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (13) Slip Slidin’ Away (14) Late in the Evening (15) Hearts and Bones (16) Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (17) The Late Great Johnny Ace

Tracks, Disc 3: (1) The Boy in the Bubble (2) Graceland (3) Under African Skies (4) That Was Your Mother (5) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (6) You Can Call Me Al (7) Homeless (8) Spirit Voices (9) The Obvious Child (10) Can’t Run But (11) Thelma (12) Further to Fly (13) She Moves On (14) Born at the Right Time (live) (15) The Cool, Cool River (live) (16) The Sound of Silence (live)

Total Running Time: 200:54

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

About the Album:

This box set covers Simon’s solo career as well as his years with Simon & Garfunkel. The set includes “Hey Schoolgirl” from 1957 which makes the title of the box set oddly misnamed. The collection could benefit from more rarities (there are only three previously unreleased tracks) and less emphasis on his two most recent albums (nearly the entire third disc). It would make more sense to commit one disc exclusively to Simon & Garfunkel material, especially since there are such glaring omissions as “I Am a Rock,” “Homeward Bound,” and “Scarborough Fair.”

Despite its flaws, its hard to go wrong with a three-disc retrospective covering more than thirty years of one of America’s most cherished songwriters. This was designed and edited by Simon himself.

Anthology

Paul Simon

Released: September 28, 1993

Recorded: 1964-1990

Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, 14 AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK

Genre: folk/pop/world

Rating:

4.273 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) The Sound of Silence (2) Cecilia (3) El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (4) The Boxer (5) Mrs. Robinson (6) Bridge Over Troubled Water (7) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (8) Peace Like a River (9) Mother and Child Reunion (10) American Tune (11) Loves Me Like a Rock (12) Kodachrome (13) Gone at Last (14) Still Crazy After All These Years (live) (15) Something So Right (16) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (17) Slip Slidin’ Away (18) Late in the Evening (19) Hearts and Bones (20) Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War

Tracks, Disc 2: (1) The Boy in the Bubble (2) Graceland (3) Under African Skies (4) That Was Your Mother (5) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (6) You Can Call Me Al (7) Homeless (8) Spirit Voices (9) The Obvious Child (10) Can’t Run But (11) Thelma (12) Further to Fly (13) She Moves On (14) Born at the Right Time (live) (15) The Cool, Cool River (live) (16) The Sound of Silence (live)

About the Album:

This two-disc compilation is a compressed version of Simon’s 1964/1993 box set. The third disc – which was devoted almost entirely to Simon’s two most recent solo albums – is oddly left untouched while the first two discs, which covered over two decades’ of music, have been compacted into one disc.

Songs from the Capeman

Paul Simon

Released: November 18, 1997

Peak: 42 US, 83 UK

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: show tunes

Rating:

3.390 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Adios Hermanos EPS
  2. Born in Puerto Rico EPS, SW
  3. Satin Summer Nights
  4. Bernadette NG
  5. The Vampires
  6. QualityEPS, SW
  7. Can I Forgive Him
  8. Sunday Afternoon
  9. Killer Wants to Go to College II
  10. Trailways Bus NG

Total Running Time: 55:35

About the Album:

It had been seven years since Simon’s last studio album, The Rhythm of the Saints, but Simon had been active. In 1991, he played a free concert in Central Park – ten years after he’d done the same thing with Art Garfunkel. A live album was released from the show and then a box set celebrating Simon’s career was released in 1993. He also undertook a tour featuring Garfunkel on their old hits.

Then came The Capeman. Simon spent several years writing the stage musical, which opened on Broadway in early 1998, starring Rubén Blades and Marc Anthony. Ultimately, it was considered a failure. Songs from the Capeman was his own version of the score.

Shining Like a National Guitar

Paul Simon

Released: May 8, 2000

Recorded: 1972-1997

Peak: 108 US, 6 UK, -- CN, 44 AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK

Genre: folk/pop/world

Rating:

3.848 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: (1) Graceland (2) You Can Call Me Al (3) Mother and Child Reunion (4) The Cool, Cool River (5) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (6) The Obvious Child (7) The Boy in the Bubble (8) Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (9) Late in the Evening (10) Bernadette (11) Slip Slidin’ Away (12) Take Me to the Mardi Gras (13) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (14) Still Crazy After All These Years (15) Kodachrome (16) Loves Me Like a Rock (17) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (18) Hearts and Bones (19) Trailways Bus

Total Running Time: 77:20

About the Album:

While 1993 saw the release of a box set and a two-disc condensed version of it, this single-disc anthology still made sense on the surface since the last time he’d released a one-disc retrospective covering his solo material was a dozen years earlier with Negotiations and Love Songs. However, there are only three songs on this set that came after that compilation. That makes sense since Simon had only released two new albums since then (1990’s Rhythm of the Saints and 1997’s Songs from the Capeman) but it does make one question the necessity of another greatest hits.

You’re the One

Paul Simon

Released: October 3, 2000

Peak: 19 US, 20 UK, 8 CN

Sales (in millions): 0.51 US, 0.06 UK

Genre: pop

Rating:

3.355 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. That’s Where I Belong
  2. Darling Lorraine EPS, SW
  3. Old (10/7/00, 11 AA)
  4. You’re the One (34 DF)
  5. The Teacher
  6. Look at That SW
  7. Señorita with a Necklace of Tears SW
  8. Love
  9. Pigs, Sheep and Wolves
  10. Hurricane Eye EPS
  11. Quiet

Total Running Time: 44:09

About the Album:

After a double-billed tour with Bob Dylan in 1999, Simon was back with another studio album. You’re the One went gold and was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year.

Surprise

Paul Simon

Released: May 9, 2006

Peak: 14 US, 4 UK, -- CN, 73 AU

Sales (in millions): 0.3 US, 0.1 US

Genre: pop

Rating:

3.741 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. How Can You Live in the Northeast?
  2. Everything About It Is a Love Song
  3. Outrageous (6/24/06, 19 AA) EPS
  4. Sure Don’t Feel Like Love
  5. Wartime Prayers EPS
  6. Beautiful
  7. I Don’t Believe
  8. Another Galaxy SW
  9. Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean
  10. That’s Me SW
  11. Father and Daughter (11/30/02, 20 AC, 5 AA, 31 UK) UC, EPS, SW

Total Running Time: 45:16

About the Album:

Six years after Simon’s last studio effort, he returned with this album featuring three songs co-written with Brian Eno.

The Ultimate Collection

Paul Simon

Released: April 12, 2015

Recorded: 1965-2002

Peak: -- US, 11 UK, -- CN, 38 AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK

Genre: folk/pop/world

Rating:

3.968 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks: (1) You Can Call Me Al (2) Graceland (3) Mrs. Robinson (4) The Boxer (5) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (6) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (7) Cecilia (8) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (9) The Boy in the Bubble (10) The Only Living Boy in New York (11) Mother and Child Reunion (12) Late in the Evening (13) Father and Daughter (14) The Obvious Child (15) Slip Slidin’ Away (16) America (17) The Sound of Silence (18) Still Crazy After All These Years (19) Bridge Over Troubled Water

Total Running Time: 77:15

About the Album:

A single-disc anthology covering a forty-year career will inevitably be fraught with problems, largely the glaring omissions (“I Am a Rock,” “Homeward Bound,” “Scarborough Fair,” “Kodachrome”). Of course, it would be impossible to cram a forty-year career into one disc, but this set could benefit from adding some of those songs instead of the album track “The Only Living Boy in New York” and four cuts from the Graceland album. The collection also suffers from the almost always problematic decision to present the songs in non-chronological order.

The Essential Paul Simon

Paul Simon

Released: June 26, 2007

Recorded: 1971-2006

Peak: 42 US, 12 UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK

Genre: folk/pop/world

Rating:

3.460 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Mother and Child Reunion (2) Loves Me Like a Rock (3) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (4) Duncan (5) Kodachrome (6) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (7) Slip Slidin’ Away (8) Gone at Last (9) Something So Right (10) Late in the Evening (11) Hearts and Bones (12) Take Me to the Mardi Gras (13) That Was Your Mother (14) American Tune (15) Peace Like a River (16) Stranded in a Limousine (17) Train in the Distance (18) The Late Great Johnny Ace (19) Still Crazy After All These Years

Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Graceland (2) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (3) The Boy in the Bubble (4) You Can Call Me Al (5) Under African Skies (6) The Obvious Child (7) Born at the Right Time (8) The Cool, Cool River (9) Spirit Voices (10) Adios Hermanos (11) Born in Puerto Rico (12) Quality (13) Darling Lorraine (14) Hurricane Eye (15) Father and Daughter (16) Outrageous (17) Wartime Prayers

Total Running Time: 148:23

About the Album:

Pair this with The Best of Simon & Garfunkel and you’ve got a career-spanning retrospective that covers more than forty years of one of America’s greatest songwriters.

So Beautiful or So What

Paul Simon

Released: April 12, 2011

Peak: 4 US, 6 UK, 7 CN, 41 AU

Sales (in millions): 0.38 US, 0.06 UK

Genre: pop

Rating:

3.788 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Getting Ready for Christmas Day (11/22/10, 24 AA)
  2. The Afterlife (2/28/11, 4 AA)
  3. Dazzling Blue
  4. Rewrite (1/7/12, 28 AA) SW
  5. Love and Hard Times SW
  6. Love Is Eternal Sacred Light
  7. Amulet
  8. Questions for the Angels
  9. Love and Blessings
  10. So Beautiful or So What SW

Total Running Time: 38:15

About the Album:

This album was produced by Simon’s longtime collaborator Phil Ramone and featured Simon’s wife, Edie Brickell, and his daughter, Lulu, on backing vocals.

All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

“Touted as Paul Simon’s return to traditional songwriting – Simon writing alone with a guitar and a pen instead of constructing songs around rhythmic loops the way he’s done since Graceland – So Beautiful or So What doesn’t feel like a return to the ‘70s. From the moment the record kicks in with the heavy blues stomp and samples of Getting Ready for Christmas Day, it’s evident that while Simon may have changed his style of composing, he’s not abandoning his method of record-making, which is distinctly engaged with the present. When Bob Dylan sings about Alicia Keys he does so with an old-fashioned swing, but when Simon writes a verse about Jay-Z he does it within the context of an album anchored in polyrhythms, chattering guitars, and digital loops, where the handful of delicate acoustic numbers function as a counterpoint to the clean bustle of the rest of the record.”

“Certainly, So Beautiful or So What isn’t as reliant on soundscapes as its Brian Eno-produced predecessor, but it is no rejection of texture, just as it is in no way a repudiation of the musical sensibility of Graceland, whose rhythms are as firmly felt here as on any record he’s made since. Rather, So Beautiful elegantly touches upon each of Simon’s solo signatures within a compact 38 minutes, its brevity indicating the precision of Simon’s focus.”

“There are no wasted sounds or words here, and if he offers some of his simplest, prettiest tunes in years (Love & Hard Times, Amulet) and spends a considerable chunk of the record dwelling on spiritual matters, the album is neither steeped in nostalgia nor haunted by death. Paul Simon is remarkably clear-eyed in assessing the modern world and his place in it, not shying away from contemporary sounds – if anything, the production is occasionally a tad too brittle, like so many digital-age recordings – but not chasing after youth either. He’s merely living in his time and reporting, returning with an album that’s vivid, vibrant, and current in a way none of his peers have managed to achieve.”

Songwriter

Paul Simon

Released: October 24, 2011

Recorded: 1965-2011

Peak: 141 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: folk/pop/world

Rating:

4.316 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) The Sound of Silence (2) The Boxer (3) Bridge Over Troubled Water (4) Mother and Child Reunion (5) Tenderness (6) Peace Like a River (7) American Tune (8) Kodachrome (9) Something So Right (10) Late in the Evening (11) Train in the Distance (12) Hearts and Bones (13) Still Crazy After All These Years (14) Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (15) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (16) The Boy in the Bubble (17) Graceland

Tracks, Disc 2: (1) The Obvious Child (2) Further to Fly (3) The Cool, Cool River (4) Spirit Voices (5) Born in Puerto Rico (6) Quality (7) Darling Lorraine (8) Look at That (9) Señorita with a Necklace of Tears (10) That’s Me (11) Another Galaxy (12) Father and Daughter (13) Rewrite (14) Love and Hard Times (15) So Beautiful or So What

Total Running Time: 141:00

About the Album:

One of the misfortunes of a successful artist with a long career is the overabundance of compilations that cover the same ground. Who is this package for? Casual fans who are so oblivious to an artist’s catalog that they missed the dozens of anthologies already on the market? At this point, an artist would be better served with Greatest Hits Vol. 3 or Vol. 4. Of course, there isn’t a market for the newer stuff from a heritage artist, hence the repackaging – yet again – of the highlights of a decades-long career.

As far as qualms with this particular package, with only three Simon & Garfunkel tunes represented, it would have made more sense to concentrate this package exclusively on Simon’s solo career – especially since there are some glaring omissions including “You Can Call Me Al” and the #1 hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”

Stranger to Stranger

Paul Simon

Released: June 3, 2016

Peak: 3 US, 11 UK, 4 CN, 24 AU

Sales (in millions): 0.14 US, 0.06 UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Genre: pop

Rating:

4.112 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. The Werewolf (5/19/16, --)
  2. Wristband (4/7/16, 14 AA)
  3. The Clock
  4. Street Angel
  5. Stranger to Stranger (11/23/16, --)
  6. In a Parade
  7. Proof of Love
  8. In the Garden of Edie
  9. The Riverbank
  10. Cool Papa Bell (4/28/16, --)
  11. Insomniac’s Lullaby

Total Running Time: 36:50

About the Album:

Excerpts from the All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

Simon’s thirteenth solo studio album opens with The Werewolf, featuring “a heavy rhythmic thud -- bass, drums, and maracas lumbering along in a modified Bo Diddley beat…Simon isn’t looking to the past, though: he’s writing toward an inevitable sunset, mindful of mortality -- just like he was on 2011’s So Beautiful or So What” but he “seems at peace on Stranger to Stranger, acknowledging the twilight yet not running toward it because there's so much to experience in the moment.” “He’s firmly grounded in a tumultuous present, embracing all the cut-and-paste contradictions endemic to the digital age.”

“With the exception of a pair of hushed acoustic numbers and the expansive title track, all positioned to provide necessary pressure relief from the density of the rest of the record, Stranger to Stranger feels built from the rhythm up, a tactic familiar to Simon since 1986’s Graceland…Hooks arrive in snatches, sometimes forming through the rhythms themselves…accentuated by traces of gospel and doo wop.”

Seven Psalms

Paul Simon

Released: May 19, 2023

Peak: 153 US, 28 UK, 91 CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: acoustic

Rating:

3.963 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. The Lord
  2. Love Is Like a Braid
  3. My Professional Opinion
  4. Your Forgiveness
  5. Trail of Volcanoes
  6. The Sacred Harp
  7. Wait

Total Running Time: 33:02

About the Album:

This seven-part, entirely acoustic performance was crafted with the intent of it being listened to in its entirety. Simon said the idea for the album came to him in a dream. He woke up two to three nights a week between 3:30 and 5 in the morning to write lyrics for it.

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 5/12/2011; last updated 10/10/2023.

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