So Beautiful Or So What [CD]

This album is a welcome surprise from one of the finest songwriters of our time. Since the career-best Graceland, Paul Simon`s releases have either been uplifting and inspirational like Rhythm Of The Saints, slightly incoherent yet brilliant collections of songs such as the mostly superb You`re The One, or muddled near-misses like Surprise, his last rather misconceived effort. To call this a return to form is merely to speak the truth.
He sounds rejuvenated - at 70 already! - on a brief set of heartfelt songs on which his writing, singing and musical skills (he has always been a quietly virtuosic guitarist) are at their bright & shining best. At first I really didn`t like the cover, but looking at it closer one can see that it complements the esoteric yet generously compassionate, humane nature of the songs within.
The soundworld Paul creates here is both eclectic and spare, with instruments such as kora, tabla and glockenspiel adding subtle textures to the already beautifully crafted songs. There`s no dud song, nothing that goes on too long, no songs that don`t quite come off, and the whole thing is produced with the accent on clarity and a brightly warm immediacy.
To highlight one song: the opener, Getting Ready For Christmas Day, starts the whole thing off in glorious style, overlaying Paul`s vocal onto an old sermon recorded as long ago as 1941 by one Rev JM Gates, complete with scattered congregation calls & cries. It not only works, but is a burst of joyous ebullience that puts the listener in a very good place for the rest of this supremely listenable album.
I think this is, by a whisker, Paul Simon`s most wholly satisfying album since Graceland. He is quite possibly the most underrated songwriter around these days, but on these ten songs he proves he`s still very much a contender. It`s not only as a guitarist that he`s been undervalued either, his voice over the years - especially
since the split with Garfunkel - being one of the most understatedly expressive in all popular music. The Sam Cooke of folk-pop...?
This is also a lovingly packaged disc, the booklet containing not only the songs` lyrics and a few thankyous from PS to various people, but - and this must be almost unique - an advance encomium from none other than Elvis Costello, whose appreciation of these songs is as effusive as it is obviously sincere.
He`s not wrong, as this album is sheer joy from beginning to end, sometimes blue, always dazzling.

Although this is not the strongest album by Paul Simon it is in fact very good. The songwriting is up to the usual standard and the music ideas not only work well but they are very interesting.
There are some great arrangements and the whole album is a solid contribution.
There are some good stand out tracks that act as highlights and it is also the sort of album that will mature over time. It needs many listening sessions to get to fully apreciate it.
Generally this album is a worthy and welcome recording from the great Paul Simon. This album does not have the striking originality of the likes of the Graceland album but it doesnt matter. It does however have some strong original songs with a familiar Paul Simon style.
This is one of those albums that in the future we may look back at and see it as a classic. I would compare it to "Hearts and Bones" in terms of its strength and solid quality. And like Hearts and Bones I doubt it has enough commercial potential to have many hit single releases in todays pop climate.
This is a great album and will appeal to anyone that likes Paul Simon.

Paul Simon is a musical institution. I personally rate him as important to American music as Bob Dylan. One of his strengths is his gift of lyricism. Another is that he was always well ahead of the game in weaving the rhythms, instruments and voices of world music into Western popular music. His judgement in using the best of African sounds was to the fore in 'Graceland' and 'The Rhythm Of The Saints'. He develops this further with this excellent album. 'Rewrite' particularly echoes the work of the late Ali Farka Touré. But this album is a smorgasbord of wonderful music and is surely the best album Paul Simon has delivered for years. He is a seasoned musician and is still able to give us something so fresh and vibrant. 'Love and Hard Times' is one of those wonderful Paul Simon songs that draws you into a story and takes you along for the ride. 'Love Is Eternal Sacred Light' pounds away and is infectious, wonderful music. 'Amulet' is a melancholic acoustic guitar instrumental. 'Questions For The Angels' is a discursive ballad that queries life in general and Simon muses gently as it drifts along. The title track track is a swampy groove-fest with shimmering guitar and an arrangement to die for. There is so much to enjoy here. Paul Simon's voice is still crystalline and unique. His songwriting remains a revelation. He has always been a fascinating listen and this album delivers big time. Buy it - you'll love it!