Surprise

by

Paul Simon

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I received this album as a birthday gift - my first Paul Simon album since Graceland. That's obviously a span of many years (almost 20) and my musical tastes have since migrated to the more "modern" sounds of Arcade Fire, Ryan Adams, Zero 7, Audioslave, The Shins, etc. Perhaps an eclectic mix of artists, but all pioneers in the modern era of rock.

I popped in Suprise and was completely blown away. The master shines on this album of incredible stories intertwined within some of the best hooks I've heard in some time. Lyrically, this album is pure poetry. Examples:

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A mother murmurs in twilight sleep

And draws her babies closer.

With hush-a-bies for sleepy eyes,

And kisses on the shoulder.

To drive away despair

She sends a wartime prayer.

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It's a dead end job, and you gets tired of sittin'

And it's like a nicotine habit you're always thinking about quittin'

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I could fill this review with meaningful lyrics from each tune - there isn't a bad song on the entire album.

Regardless of your age or musical leanings, I can't recommend this album highly enough. Good for mellow tunes while in the office, but don't miss the chance to crank this in your car or iPod. The musicans Simon surrounds himself with are the best in the business. Steve Gadd on drums? Nuff said.

One of the many beauties of art is that it lasts forever. At some point in the near or hopefully distant future, Paul Simon will be gone. We will all remember him for his innovative songwriting and harmonies with Mr. Garfunkel, but a new generation will hopefully bow down to him for the genius of Surprise.

ebhp

Paul Simon's latest venture Surprise is an ambitious attempt at revitalizing his sound with the help of Brian Eno's soundscape abilities. Not necessarily a match I would have guessed would work- and in the end I have mixed feelings about it.

There are quite a few places where the "soundscapes" do feel tagged on after everything else was recorded, which they were. But songs like Northeast, Another Galaxy, and Outrages- the soundscapes add quite a bit to the feeling of the songs. It doesn't hurt that the songs are very beautiful to begin with.

I think the greatest harm the added ambient sound creates is a feeling of insincerity to some of the melodies that are less pronounced or realized. Simon's music has always balanced between heartfelt sincerity and artificial sentiment (Bridge Over Troubled Waters as an example of the heartfelt and Capeman exemplifying the latter); this album has moments of true beauty like Father and Daughter, Beautiful, Another Galaxy - and well as a catchy rhythmic pop song in Outrages, but those are mixed with some duds like Sure Don't Feel Like Love.

Although the melodies are pretty, he doesn't seem to be digging too deeply to make a great album. The fact that he is not totally resting on his laurels and taking a chance with his style both in terms of some of his writing and a lot of his production is admirable. Unfortunately it just comes across as undeveloped in some areas and a bit trite in some others. There are some strong songs on Surprise, which I'm sure I will continue to enjoy but Simon has the ability to make an album full of great songs and I just don't think he did that on this album.