Kathy’s Song gets my vote as one of his best.
And besides, who else ever wrote a song about Magritte?
i love his music. i am so jealous that like half of my friends have seen him in concert
Or Frank Lloyd Wright, for that matter?
I’ve only seen him once in concert, at Great Woods Performance Center (now renamed after one sponsor or another). It wasn’t the tour in support of Graceland, but the very next one I think, with Ladysmith Black Mambazo as his ensemble. He played “You Can Call Me Al” and the place went absolutely nuts when he was done. Everyone in the audience was standing, clapping, cheering and everyone on stage was laughing. Paul looked at the audience, looked at his backup and asked “Why don’t we do that again?” So they did. And the applause was even louder the second time around. I’ve seen encores in classical music and Broadway shows, but always at the end of the show. I’ve never seen anyone do anything like that before in popular music.
I don’t really care for Paul Simon’s type of music, but my girlfriend loves him. I don’t care if you like him or not, this is one insanely powerful piece of music.
Just about my favorite. I’ve seen him in concert a couple of times; just blows me away. He is also incredible about introducing new talent, Ladysmith Black Mombazo being just one case in point.
Some of the most brilliant lines in pop music.
I can remember when he did Still Crazy After All These Years in a chicken costume on Saturday Night Live. He is a good sport.
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He still doesn’t hold a candle to Neil Sedaka.
I agree he is a musical genius. Funny thing is, I don’t like most of his music.
Dopey typo, sorry. Must learn to preview.
%!
Apropos of nothing, the first album I ever owned was Sounds of Silence. I still have it.
Obviously a brilliant guy, but a lot of his output is either too pretentious (much of the S&G years) or too cozy and mellow (much of his 70s work) for my liking. Even the stuff that tries to get up and move, like “Late in the Evening,” doesn’t get up and move all that much.
All that said, Graceland is brilliant, both lyrically and musically. I remember seeing him give an interview at the time where he insisted his best work wasn’t in the 60s – it was what he was doing at that moment. He was right.
Paul Simon and Steven Sondheim…they both have a talent for lyrics that is unbelievable. The best of our generation, hands down.
Just a “me, too” post. I LOVE Paul Simon. I saw him a few years ago on the reunion tour with Art Garfunkel. It was a wonderful concert, but I think I would have loved the Graceland one even more. It is one of my very favorite albums.
What about that lovely little gem, St. Judy’s Comet? Fabulous. Music, structure, poetry - I love that song. The wonderfully self-effacing line about making his “famous daddy look so dumb” gives this song even more charm. What a terrific artist.