Paul Simon (album)

Paul Simon released his self-titled album in January of 1972, (see 1972 in music) about two years after he split up with musical partner Art Garfunkel. It was released on the Warner label. Musically, it is a direct follow-up from his work with Simon and Garfunkel. The song writing quality that is revealed in Simon and Garfunkel songs like "The Only Living Boy in New York" and "Song for the Asking" is, on Paul Simon, extended and combined with a new appreciation for the album as a complete and single work of art. The result is an album that works from beginning to end, wherein each song holds its own but also reflects on its mates, adding its own texture to the single overarching statement.

Related Topics:
Paul Simon - 1972 - 1972 in music - Art Garfunkel - Simon and Garfunkel

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The album is Simon's most personal work, and includes many autobiographical elements. Several songs on the album make reference directly or indirectly to his rocky marriage to Peggy (nee Harper), which ended in divorce in 1975 (?). Troubles with the marriage figure prominently on songs such as "Run that Body Down" and "Congratulations". As one becomes more familiar with the album, and understands more of what the album communicates, this theme seems to arise in many of the other songs as well.

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Other themes include drugs, and adolescence, especially in urban areas.

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Despite these heavy themes, the album is far from dreary. The first track is upbeat and soulful, even though the subject matter is morbid and even grisly. At the end of the album, Simon extends his insecurity about his own marriage into a general question about the nature of male and female relationships. Simon expertly balances the dark with the light throughout the album, in both words and music, and never appears to favour either side. By the end of the album, listeners get a sense that Simon has communicated a great deal without threatening the sanctity of the music itself.

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The musicianship on the album is consistently excellent. No one player dominates the sound of any song, yet everyone is heard clearly. The smallest elements can have a large effect on how a song is heard. Consider the entrance of the two shakers on "Armistice Day".

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Paul Simon can most accurately be placed in the folk-rock genre. As such, it owes a debt to other folk-rock pioneers, such as Bob Dylan and the Everly Brothers. Joni Mitchell, a contemporaneous folk-rock artist, also concentrates her albums with personal communication, perhaps more intensely. The works of Leonard Cohen also share qualities with Paul Simon, particularly the poeticism of the lyrics, an area in which Cohen shows extreme talent. Of course, the albums of Simon and Garfunkel and the later works of Paul Simon share similarities with this album. Specifically, the songs "Mother and Child Reunion" and "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard", and some of the percussion by Airto Moreira and Los Incas, prefigure the fascination Simon had with world music, most especially on Graceland.

Related Topics:
Folk-rock - Bob Dylan - Everly Brothers - Joni Mitchell - Leonard Cohen - Simon and Garfunkel - Airto Moreira - Los Incas - World music - Graceland

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The album reached #4 in the U.S. and #1 in the United Kingdom.

Related Topics:
U.S. - United Kingdom

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