Paul Simon - Paul Simon

Released - January 1972

Genre - Folk

Producer - Roy Halee & Paul Simon

Selected Personnel - Paul Simon (Vocals/Guitar/Percussion); Hal Blaine (Drums); Ron Carter (Bass); Jerry Hahn (Electric Guitar); Larry Knechtel (Piano/Organ); Los Incas (Flute/Charango/Percussion); Joe Osborn (Bass); David Spinozza (Acoustic Guitar); Stephanie Grappelli (Violin)

Standout Track - Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard

Although I've been slowly becoming a fan of Simon & Garfunkel for a few years now, and I've long been a big fan of Simon's seminal 1986 solo album Graceland, my general awareness of his solo career is pretty limited, and at present doesn't really go far beyond that classic and this, his proper debut as a solo artist in his own right. Quite why that is I couldn't say - I love his work with Garfunkel, and I love those two solo albums even more, but somehow the wider scope of his discography has remained off my musical radar so far. I'm sure that's something that will change in due course. My awareness of this album in particular is very recent - when I first listened to it the only song I was familiar with was the timeless "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard," and the only reason it was familiar was due to its use in the most recent Muppets film (which is still more or less one of the most beautiful films of all time). When I first listened to Paul Simon, I found it hard to get into, feeling much of it was fairly tame singer-songwriter fare. Still, its handful of undeniable classics kept hooking me in until I was a big fan of it, while "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" became the backing track for a gag in one of my character comedy routines involving a dance and a bag of semen that I performed for a long time until I realised it was gross. So it's become an album very close to my heart.

Paul Simon wasn't actually the first time Simon had recorded a solo album - his first had been the timid The Paul Simon Songbook way back in 1965, which had never been released in America and would become the template for much of his work with Garfunkel. At that point, however, Simon was simply writing songs and wasn't deliberately trying to define himself in opposition to success he had already achieved as duo. Releasing a solo album in 1972 was a very different matter. His songs had seen Simon & Garfunkel become one of the most popular folk artists of the 60s and, though Simon had always been the creative heart and spark of the duo, trying to acquit himself as a solo artist who didn't need to rely on the arranging and the general creative support of Art Garfunkel would be a major undertaking. Perhaps recognising the significance his first solo album would have, and the importance that it was something he should only make if he really needed to rather than because he felt he should, Simon took a backseat from writing and recording in the two years since Bridge Over Troubled Water, instead choosing to teach songwriting classes at New York University. Perhaps this opportunity to pass on wisdom to others in the field of music prompted him to reassess his own approach to composition, as the music on Paul Simon seems to indicate a far more ambitious and diverse mind than the simple folk troubadour of the Simon & Garfunkel years.

As a clarion call to signpost how much more creative and ambitious Simon had grown since 1970, the sublime "Mother And Child Reunion" can't be beaten. Recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, it showed Simon experimenting with reggae music and proving surprisingly adept at it considering his bookish New York collegiate image. The syncopated organ and guitar are all classic hallmarks of great reggae, and it's all done with such commitment and undeniable capability that it doesn't even feel trite or contrived. It's perhaps significant that Simon was one of the first white artists to experiment with reggae considering how significant Graceland would be in introducing African music to the western market. Elsewhere, Simon continues to demonstrate the broadening cultural influences behind his music, via the incorporation of Latin percussive group Los Incas into the beautiful "Duncan," or the iconic squeaking of the Brazilian Cuica drum used to create the unique percussive sound on "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard," which is truly the album's crowning achievement. Essentially a piece of vague almost-nonsense reportage about a couple of boys witnessed committing a crime and reported to the town's authorities, it's mainly an excuse for an infectious acoustic guitar riff, a characteristically unforgettable melody, and the most brilliantly memorable and feel-good whistling solo of all time. Elsewhere, outside of the world music influences, there are other indications of Simon's growing ambition as a songwriter - "Armistice Day" breaks down into an almost funk-infused guitar break accompanied by horns that sounds unlike anything Simon & Garfunkel did, while "Run That Body Down" also features a bluesy, jazzy guitar lick that sounds totally new for Simon.

That's not to say that Paul Simon paints a picture of Simon as some tireless innovator or brilliantly radical mind - by and large it's still a collection of catchy traditional folk music, but with enough creativity behind it to make it truly great. Beneath all the Latin flutes, "Duncan" is simply a great 60s-esque folk song, telling a story of a down-and-out drifter who discovers love in the midst of his directionless existence. "Run That Body Down" is a beautifully resigned imagined conversation between Simon and his then-wife Peggy in which they accuse each other of fooling themselves and trying to deny the effect ageing has had on their bodies and their relationship. Simon's relationship with Peggy is a common spectre on this album, also informing the weary "Congratulations," which explores the degradation of a relationship between a married couple and reaching the bleak conclusion "Love will do you in and love will wash you out." In general, the album approaches a number of fairly bleak themes - death in "Mother And Child Reunion," marriage breakdowns, homelessness on both "Duncan" and "Papa Hobo," but it approaches it with such a vibrance and positivity in the music itself that it can't help but come across as a really great feelgood album. One doesn't get the sense here that Simon is trying to hide some bleak mindset behind beautiful music as with Nick Drake. Rather, one gets the sense of an eternal optimist who is able to approach such tough topics with the same joy and smile he approached the sunnier territory of his work in the 60s. Oh, and it's also worth mentioning the brilliant violin instrumental of "Hobo's Blues," a co-write with violinist Stephanie Grappelli, which sounds like something lifted straight out of the 1950s skiffle craze in the UK, which really should be a sound reinvoked more often in music given how delightfully upbeat it always is.

Paul Simon was generally well-received critically, and "Mother And Child Reunion" and "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" both became successful singles. Simon went on to foster a successful solo career having proved himself more than capable of fulfilling the role having delivered an album that was more consistent, ambitious and exciting than anything he'd done with Simon & Garfunkel (even if "Me And Julio..." is perhaps the only song here that truly stands on the same level as some of the very best Simon & Garfunkel material), and all the while he would continue to develop his fascination with world music to the extent that his innovations and cultural explorations in that area introduced a whole area of music to the west that it might never have found on its own. A hugely significant artist, and one that I will find time to listen to further one of these days.

Track Listing:

All songs written by Paul Simon except where noted.

1. Mother And Child Reunion

2. Duncan

3. Everything Put Together Falls Apart

4. Run That Body Down

5. Armistice Day

6. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard

7. Peace Like A River

8. Papa Hobo

9. Hobo's Blues
10. Paranoia Blues

11. Congratulations