Paul Simon There Goes Rhymin' Simon CD

Building on the solid reputation of Simon & Garfunkel and the genre-exploring experiments of his solo debut, Paul Simon released this exceptional collection of songs in 1973. Simon seems to revel in his newfound solo freedom here, expanding his folk-rock palette to include gospel, reggae, R&B, and Dixieland, ratcheting up production values, and performing with great authority and confidence. That confidence is supported by some of the artist's finest and most focused compositions, including the jangly, exuberant "Kodachrome," a metaphor for the subjectivity of memory, the beautiful acoustic ballad "American Tune," and the gospel-derived "Love Me Like a Rock."

The Dixie Hummingbirds lend their exquisite harmonies to "Loves Me Like a Rock" [is it "love" or "loves"?] and "Tenderness," while Reverend Claude Jeter contributes a floating falsetto to "Take Me To the Mardi Gras" and the Muscle Shoals rhythms section provide occasional R&B muscle.

These guests add color and texture to Simon's singer-songwriter format, marking a cultural journey that would culminate in 1986's GRACELAND. In fact, THERE GOES RHYMIN' SIMON is probably the artist's most consistent and satisfying solo album after GRACELAND--a sizable claim given the songwriter's impressive achievements through the '70s and '80s.

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 "Love 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. 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 "Love 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 Simon would not improve upon (despite some valiant attempts) until Graceland in 1986. [In 2004, Warner Strategic Marketing reissued S

1972 Remastered W/ 4 Bonus Tracks.

Recording information: columbia Studios, NY; Malaco Recording Studios, Jackson, MS; Morgan Studios, North London, England; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL.

Personnel: Paul Simon (guitar); Paul Simon (vocals); Maggie Roche, Rev. Claude Jeter, Terre Roche (vocals, background vocals); Jimmy Johnson (electric guitar); Carson Witsett, Carson Whitsett (organ); Bob James (keyboards); Richard Davis (acoustic bass, bass guitar); Bob Cranshaw (electric bass, bass guitar); David Hood, Gordon Edwards, Vernie Robbins (bass guitar); The Dixie Hummingbirds (background vocals); Pete Carr (guitar, electric guitar); Cornell Dupree, David Spinozza, Jerry Puckett, Alexander Gafa (guitar); Jimmy Johnson (electric guitar); Onward Brass Band (horns); Barry Beckett (piano, keyboards, vibraphone); Paul Griffin , Bobby Scott (piano); Bobby James (keyboards); Don Elliott (vibraphone); Roger Hawkins (drums, percussion); Grady Tate, Rick Marotta, James Straud (drums); Airto Moreira (percussion).

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