PAUL SIMON
''LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY, DISC 0NE''
SEPTEMBER 18 2012
93:22
DISC ONE
1. The Obvious Child/4:21
2. Dazzling Blue/4:54
3. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover/4:11
4. So Beautiful Or So What/5:12
5. Mother And Child Reunion/3:35
6. That Was Your Mother/4:03
7. Hearts And Bones/6:00
8. Crazy Love, Vol. II/5:56
9. Slip Slidin' Away/5:23
10. Rewrite/4:36
DISC TWO
1. The Boy In The Bubble/4:59
2. The Only Living Boy In New York/4:03
3. The Afterlife/4:25
4. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes/7:25
5. Gumboots/4:22
6. The Sound Of Silence/4:34
7. Kodachrome/3:06
8. Gone At Last/3:37
9. Late In The Evening/4:30
10. Still Crazy After All These Years/4:02
REVIEW
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
When it came time to cut a live album documenting his supporting tour for his excellent 2011 album So Beautiful or So What, Paul Simon did what he always does: he set up shop in his hometown of New York City. Previously, he -- either with or without Art Garfunkel -- released albums recorded at massive venues like Madison Square Garden or Central Park, but Hear Music's 2012 Live in New York City -- available either as a two-CD/one-DVD set or simply as a double CD or single DVD -- was recorded at the comparatively intimate Webster Hall and, appropriately enough, the performance feels comparatively cozy, Simon striking just the right blend of playing for himself and playing for the audience. He showcases a nice chunk of So Beautiful or So What -- "Dazzling Blue," "So Beautiful or So What," "Rewrite," "The Afterlife," roughly half of the album -- and about half of Graceland, often opting for album tracks over hits (no "You Can Call Me Al" or "Graceland," but "That Was Your Mother" and "Gumboots" both make the cut), and when he does dip into such standards as "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Mother and Child Reunion," "Slip Slidin' Away," and "Still Crazy," he finds subtle little ways to inject a bit of groove into their well-worn contours. Simon is pleasing the crowd without pandering, and he winds up with a live album that's lively, slightly surprising, warm, and undeniably fun.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. Growing up in Queens, New York, Simon 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.
Simon continued to try to score hits in the late '50s and early '60s, reaching the charts briefly in 1962 in the group Tico & the Triumphs with "Motorcycle" and under the name Jerry Landis in 1963 with "The Lone Teen Ranger." He and Garfunkel teamed up again as a folk duo in Greenwich Village, signed to Columbia Records, and released Wednesday Morning, 3 AM (October 1964). The album flopped initially, but Simon, who had been spending a lot of time in England, was picked up as a solo artist by CBS and recorded The Paul Simon Songbook, released only in Great Britain in the spring of 1965.
In the wake of the folk-rock trend prevalent that year, producer Tom Wilson took the acoustic track "The Sound of Silence" from the Wednesday Morning album, overdubbed electric guitar, bass, and drums and released the result as a single in October 1965, a full year after the album's release. It took off and hit number one, establishing Simon & Garfunkel. For the next five years, they were one of the most successful acts in pop music. Simon wrote the songs, and the two harmonized on a series of hit singles and albums. They split up in 1970, after the release of their most popular album, Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Simon returned to solo work with Paul Simon (January 1972), which could not hope to match the success of Bridge, but which did sell a million copies and featured the reggae-tinged Top Ten single "Mother and Child Reunion." There Goes Rhymin' Simon (May 1973) was another million-seller, containing the hits "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock." After a 1974 live album, Simon released Still Crazy After All These Years (October 1975), which topped the charts, won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and included the number one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." Simon took his time following this success, though he did release a greatest-hits album featuring a new hit, "Slip Slidin' Away," and contributed to a remake of "What a Wonderful World" with Garfunkel and James Taylor. Moving to Warner Bros. Records, he wrote and starred in the film One Trick Pony (August 1980), the soundtrack of which contained the Top Ten hit "Late in the Evening." Another three years passed before Simon returned with Hearts and Bones (October 1983), which did not match his usual level of commercial success.
Simon experimented with songwriting styles and became interested in South African music, resulting in Graceland (August 1986), which became his biggest-selling solo album and won him another Album of the Year Grammy. Four years later, he delivered The Rhythm of the Saints (October 1990), which did for Brazilian music what Graceland had done for South African music and was another multi-platinum seller. Simon played a free concert in Central Park in August 1991 (ten years after Simon & Garfunkel had done one) and released a live album from the show. In 1993, Warner Bros. released a box set retrospective on Simon's career, and he undertook a tour that featured Garfunkel on their old hits, as well as covering other aspects of his career.
He spent the next several years writing a stage musical, The Capeman, and released his own version of its score as Songs from the Capeman (November 1997). The show, which starred Rubén Blades and Marc Anthony, opened on Broadway in early 1998 and was a quick failure. In 1999, Simon toured on a double bill with Bob Dylan. His next album, You're the One, was released in October 2000. It went gold and earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. In 2006, Simon released Surprise, a collection of new material featuring three songs written with Brian Eno. He followed it in 2011 with So Beautiful or So What, which was produced by longtime collaborator Phil Ramone and featured guitarist Vincent Nguini, percussionist Steve Shehan, backing vocals from Simon's wife, Edie Brickell, and his daughter, Lulu, and a generous helping of the bluegrass group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. So Beautiful or So What was greeted by strong reviews and Simon supported it with an international tour in 2011; this tour was documented on the 2012 live set Live in New York City. Also in 2012, Simon celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Graceland with a super deluxe box set accompanied by a new documentary about the album's creation called Under African Skies.
''LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY, DISC 0NE''
SEPTEMBER 18 2012
93:22
DISC ONE
1. The Obvious Child/4:21
2. Dazzling Blue/4:54
3. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover/4:11
4. So Beautiful Or So What/5:12
5. Mother And Child Reunion/3:35
6. That Was Your Mother/4:03
7. Hearts And Bones/6:00
8. Crazy Love, Vol. II/5:56
9. Slip Slidin' Away/5:23
10. Rewrite/4:36
DISC TWO
1. The Boy In The Bubble/4:59
2. The Only Living Boy In New York/4:03
3. The Afterlife/4:25
4. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes/7:25
5. Gumboots/4:22
6. The Sound Of Silence/4:34
7. Kodachrome/3:06
8. Gone At Last/3:37
9. Late In The Evening/4:30
10. Still Crazy After All These Years/4:02
REVIEW
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
When it came time to cut a live album documenting his supporting tour for his excellent 2011 album So Beautiful or So What, Paul Simon did what he always does: he set up shop in his hometown of New York City. Previously, he -- either with or without Art Garfunkel -- released albums recorded at massive venues like Madison Square Garden or Central Park, but Hear Music's 2012 Live in New York City -- available either as a two-CD/one-DVD set or simply as a double CD or single DVD -- was recorded at the comparatively intimate Webster Hall and, appropriately enough, the performance feels comparatively cozy, Simon striking just the right blend of playing for himself and playing for the audience. He showcases a nice chunk of So Beautiful or So What -- "Dazzling Blue," "So Beautiful or So What," "Rewrite," "The Afterlife," roughly half of the album -- and about half of Graceland, often opting for album tracks over hits (no "You Can Call Me Al" or "Graceland," but "That Was Your Mother" and "Gumboots" both make the cut), and when he does dip into such standards as "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Mother and Child Reunion," "Slip Slidin' Away," and "Still Crazy," he finds subtle little ways to inject a bit of groove into their well-worn contours. Simon is pleasing the crowd without pandering, and he winds up with a live album that's lively, slightly surprising, warm, and undeniably fun.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. Growing up in Queens, New York, Simon 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.
Simon continued to try to score hits in the late '50s and early '60s, reaching the charts briefly in 1962 in the group Tico & the Triumphs with "Motorcycle" and under the name Jerry Landis in 1963 with "The Lone Teen Ranger." He and Garfunkel teamed up again as a folk duo in Greenwich Village, signed to Columbia Records, and released Wednesday Morning, 3 AM (October 1964). The album flopped initially, but Simon, who had been spending a lot of time in England, was picked up as a solo artist by CBS and recorded The Paul Simon Songbook, released only in Great Britain in the spring of 1965.
In the wake of the folk-rock trend prevalent that year, producer Tom Wilson took the acoustic track "The Sound of Silence" from the Wednesday Morning album, overdubbed electric guitar, bass, and drums and released the result as a single in October 1965, a full year after the album's release. It took off and hit number one, establishing Simon & Garfunkel. For the next five years, they were one of the most successful acts in pop music. Simon wrote the songs, and the two harmonized on a series of hit singles and albums. They split up in 1970, after the release of their most popular album, Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Simon returned to solo work with Paul Simon (January 1972), which could not hope to match the success of Bridge, but which did sell a million copies and featured the reggae-tinged Top Ten single "Mother and Child Reunion." There Goes Rhymin' Simon (May 1973) was another million-seller, containing the hits "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock." After a 1974 live album, Simon released Still Crazy After All These Years (October 1975), which topped the charts, won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and included the number one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." Simon took his time following this success, though he did release a greatest-hits album featuring a new hit, "Slip Slidin' Away," and contributed to a remake of "What a Wonderful World" with Garfunkel and James Taylor. Moving to Warner Bros. Records, he wrote and starred in the film One Trick Pony (August 1980), the soundtrack of which contained the Top Ten hit "Late in the Evening." Another three years passed before Simon returned with Hearts and Bones (October 1983), which did not match his usual level of commercial success.
Simon experimented with songwriting styles and became interested in South African music, resulting in Graceland (August 1986), which became his biggest-selling solo album and won him another Album of the Year Grammy. Four years later, he delivered The Rhythm of the Saints (October 1990), which did for Brazilian music what Graceland had done for South African music and was another multi-platinum seller. Simon played a free concert in Central Park in August 1991 (ten years after Simon & Garfunkel had done one) and released a live album from the show. In 1993, Warner Bros. released a box set retrospective on Simon's career, and he undertook a tour that featured Garfunkel on their old hits, as well as covering other aspects of his career.
He spent the next several years writing a stage musical, The Capeman, and released his own version of its score as Songs from the Capeman (November 1997). The show, which starred Rubén Blades and Marc Anthony, opened on Broadway in early 1998 and was a quick failure. In 1999, Simon toured on a double bill with Bob Dylan. His next album, You're the One, was released in October 2000. It went gold and earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. In 2006, Simon released Surprise, a collection of new material featuring three songs written with Brian Eno. He followed it in 2011 with So Beautiful or So What, which was produced by longtime collaborator Phil Ramone and featured guitarist Vincent Nguini, percussionist Steve Shehan, backing vocals from Simon's wife, Edie Brickell, and his daughter, Lulu, and a generous helping of the bluegrass group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. So Beautiful or So What was greeted by strong reviews and Simon supported it with an international tour in 2011; this tour was documented on the 2012 live set Live in New York City. Also in 2012, Simon celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Graceland with a super deluxe box set accompanied by a new documentary about the album's creation called Under African Skies.
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