I read the article the other day ... kinda surprised me ... an old fart like Paul Simon (who i do admire- but after all these years !!

I was kinda surprised ...

[quote]The legendary folk-rocker has announced his first album of new material in nearly six years, Surprise, will hit stores May 9 from Warner Bros. Records.

The collection, Simon's first solo foray since 2000's You're the One, finds the 64-year-old singer-songwriter teaming up with avant-garde composer and electronic mastermind Brian Eno, who has previously collaborated with the likes of Roxy Music, Talking Heads, Robert Fripp, David Bowie and U2.

"Working with Brian Eno opens the door to a world of sonic possibilities; plus, he's just a great guy to hang with in the studio, or for that matter in life. I had a really good time," Simon says in a statement.

"We're both 'sounds' people," Simon elaborated to the Associated Press. "We're both about soundscapes. I thought he would bring an element that I hadn't ever encountered before, electronics, into a guitar record. Theoretically, it seemed to be a good idea. And when we actually did it, you could tell right away it was a good idea."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's no stranger to experimentation. His 1970s albums featured jazz artists, and he memorably teamed with major South African musicians for 1986's groundbreaking Graceland, which nabbed him Grammy Awards for Album and Record of the Year. Its follow-up, Rhythm of the Saints, was largely recorded in Brazil with regional artists.

Simon wrote the songs both before and after his hugely successful 2003 reunion tour with Art Garfunkel.

The "Slip, Slidin' Away" crooner says he had been a longtime admirer of Eno, who's generally credited with popularizing ambient music with such LPs as Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and Music for Airports.

Simon and Eno met at a London dinner party, and Simon tells AP that they decided to "throw it together, see what the mix of sounds were, see what we produced."

I have to say I am looking forward to this album. Simon and Eno is an intriguing combination, and it's good to see Paul Simon experimenting with sounds again. I love his 'Graceland' and 'The Rhythm of the Saints' albums, and hopefully the songs and sounds on 'Surprise' will be of similar quality, just a different sound.

From one point of view, some of the '60s Simon and Garfunkel stuff has 'ambient' feels to it at times, and his 'Rhythm of the Saints' record is kind of 'afro-latin with ambient over-tones' to coin a horrible phrase .

Bring it on!

Also on an Eno note - I was listening to his 'Before and After Science' album today and track 5. 'King's Lead Hat' sounds like Talking Heads before they were thought of (or only just thought of anyway)! Brian Eno is often much more influential on the artists he produces than anyone like to let on, I think. I consider him to be a true (studio) member of U2 in the '90s, and their last two albums show how much they miss him musically now ...

this sounds very interesting. it may be the first paul simon record in my collection.

thanks for not letting this sink ... this thread

i too thought it was an intriqueing collaboration and --- reminds me of some other popular acts that get a unique producer and waaa laaa ....

looking forward to this..

such a strange mix.

GangstaFam said:

It is odd, but in a way I'm more interested in the prospect of this than a Roxy reunion album - mostly because I think Paul Simon's still a really vital talent and Eno might be able to provide a great showcase for his gifts. I'm not sure if I feel the same way about Bryan Ferry these days....not that it wouldn't have been nice, of course.

damosuzuki said:

Ya know, I really don't know a thing about BF's solo work. I haven't been too eager to check it out. But I think that getting all 5 original members together would bring out the best in all of them. Eno rarely makes a bad move, but perhaps that's why he's avoided this project.

GangstaFam said:

I haven't actually heard a BF solo record since '94, I think...he put out an album of covers that year - it has a very nice version of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow on it that might be worth seeking out.

Everything he did post-Roxy basically seemed like a re-write of Avalon to me. Some of what I heard was good (if you like Avalon, Boys and Girls is a good album to seek out), but he definitely seemed like he just had nowhere to go - painted into a corner stylistically, so to speak. That's why I couldn't really get too worked up about the prospect of a reunion. I just can't see it being a lot more than a pale version of past glories, but I would have been happy to be proven wrong.

I know you like early Roxy, and I think you'd really like Ferry's solo records from that era. These Foolish Things applies the Roxy sound to some pretty audacious covers - there's a version A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall that probably made a lot of Dylan followers' jaws drop.
[Edited 4/6/06 19:36pm]

damosuzuki said:

Yeah, reunions hardly ever live up to the hype. But I've talked to a few people who said the gigs from 2001 were among the best shows they'd ever seen by any artist, so that's what has me optimistic. The album doesn't have me as geeked as the tour, but I'm interested to hear/see both.

I'll definitely take your recommendations on the solo stuff. One of my best friends is funny - she swears by his solo work, but can't be bothered with most of Roxy. And then there's Anx. I think he thought they were like proto- Spandau Ballet/ABC/Duran Duran territory. And in a way, some of "Avalon" is. But imagine his surprise when I gave him the first 2 Roxy albums.

GangstaFam said:

Some of their mid-to-late seventies albums did kind of have that slick new wave dance sound though - Love is the Drug sounds like a prototype for that entire sound, don't you think?

damosuzuki said:

Totally! That's what I thought the first time I heard "Love is the Drug".

The whole blueprint for just about everything Duran Duran ever did can be found in that song. And it was only 1975!

I am really looking forward to this album - I am a huge PS fan (not so much Simon & Garfunkel), and the Brian Eno production should make it very interesting - I'm most familiar with his U2 productions, which I love.

I'm really looking forward to the PS tour to promote this album too - supposedly he'll be playing a lot of his early '70s solo stuff, which is my personal favorite material (perhaps of any artist) - I took my wife to the Simon & Garfunkel show in Boston a few years back, and it was just as expected, with only two Paul Simon solo songs, so this will be a real treat. Hopefully Surprise is a fitting name both for the album and tour.

well-- i admit ... i have been a Paul Simon fan since back in Simon and Garfunkel days .... i remember my dad blaring "bridge over troubled water" soundtrack when i was young .... and then loving the harmonies ... etc

besides Prince - he is really the only "artist" that has kept my attention over the years ... ... not that i have LOVED everything he did ....

I think it is a big deal ... letting someone like this produce ya ... after all these years, etc ... perhaps his "usual producer " (his name eludes me ... is it ray hallee??? i forget .... ) is older and/or retired ....

thanks for the comments ... i too am excited to hear this ...

I love Paul Simon. I've really enjoyed his solo work over the years. He's a master song writer. I hope the new album is good. Looking forward to hearing it.

here is a part of the msn article..


Hilarious to hypnotic
The results are evident from the opening track, “How Can You Live in the Northeast?,” where Simon’s songwriting meets Eno’s wall of sounds to almost hypnotic effect. “Outrageous” is the hilarious tale of a middle-aged man doing 900 sit-ups a day while “painting my hair the color of mud.”

And there’s the autobiographical “Sure Don’t Feel Like Love,” with its lyric about a man who remembers how “once in August 1993 I was wrong/And I could be wrong again.”

“That’s pretty much me,” Simon confessed with a soft chuckle. “You think of it. It’s hilariously arrogant.”

Simon handles most of the guitar duties, and he’s joined on various songs by guests Herbie Hancock and Bill Frisell. The album also features his Oscar-nominated song “Father and Daughter” from “The Wild Thornberrys.”

Simon will play the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7 in the flood-ravaged city that remains close to his heart. His Children’s Health Fund, a charity co-founded by Simon in 1987, has been working in the Gulf area to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“New Orleans is a place that I have a lot of affection for,” said Simon. “I have a lot of friends who live there. ... It makes me look forward to going to New Orleans even more than I normally would just to play and hang out.”

i did see that article before ... think it was in the local newspaper ...

(but thanks for posting again ) ... i think in alot of ways P Simon is the master "lyricist" and Prince is the master "musician " in my mind ... i always thought those 2 should colaborate ... and they are both 5'2" or so ....

SnidelyWhiplash said:

Oh God no. That would not go well - they're both personal favorites of mine, and it would not go well (plus they're both egomaniacs, who would not get on well in the studio).

Last week, though, I did have a dream of seeing a new track in the NPGMC download store, which was from a new album of songs written by Paul Simon, and each performed by different artists. This track was written by Paul Simon, performed by Prince, with Clare Fisher strings and backing vocals by Seal. That would be interesting - but a straight-up collaboration? Please no.

i agree that it would probably NEVER happen ... cus of what u said ... but it does pose some interesting stuff .... cus they are both religious ... in certain ways .... maybe something like what he did with Madonna ... where they send it back and forth ... and let it stew ... etc ....

your dream--- classic .... u are such a fanatic !!!

wonder if this thing will get leaked soon.. im anxious

http://music.barnesandnob...8228&ITM=1


You can listen to four of the tracks in stream.. full songs!


crap this is gonna be a good damn disk.. That first track is badass

Surprise

TRACK LIST


1. How Can You Live in the Northeast?


2. Everything About It Is a Love Song


3. Outrageous


4. Sure Don't Feel Like Love


5. Wartime


6. Beautiful


7. I Don't Believe


8. Another Galaxy


9. Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean


10. That's Me


11. Father and Daughter

thanks for that info --- i am psyched for this .... i have to go there ... when i have speakers at work ....

That first track is great.. kicks azzz

I really hope this thing gets leaked soon.. Im'a bout to bust for it!

i need this album!

please spring a leak!

this is odd..

weepingwall said:

It does, until you hear it.. it really fits.