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| Paul Simon - Rhythm of the Saints Band: Paul Simon Tracks: - Obvious Child - Can't Run But - Coast - Proof - Further to Fly - She Moves On - Born at the Right Time - Cool, Cool River - Spirit Voices - Rhythm of the Saints Pilgrims with famlies, and we are going to.. Sao Paulo? This album is no Graceland. It bears only subtle resemblance to Still Crazy... or Hearts and Bones or any of Paul's other pre-86 works. But why deny the obvious? It's not meant to be another Graceland. It's meant to explore a different musical background - in this case the tribal rhythms of South America - and blend it with modern lyrics and Simon's trademark pop sound. And if the result doesn't quite sound like authentic Brazilian music.. if it instead sounds like a regular Paul Simon album with some exotic guests playing their own instruments.. well, that's pretty much what it is. But to his credit, he comes much closer to an authentic sound than he had before. "The Obvious Child" is the most Simon-ish song to be found here; also the most upbeat, although there are a few other wonderfully sunny moments ("The Coast," "Proof," "Born at the Right Time"). The rest of the album is a collection of cool, exotic rhythmic grooves, from the droning hypnotic "Can't Run But" (the only song I regularly skip) to the peaceful "Cool Cool River" to the enchanting "Further to Fly." That unmistakable voice is in fine form and the songs themselves are as easygoing and singable as always. The aforementioned sunny tunes remain my favorites, but I also have to mention "Spirit Voices" for its beautiful bridge in Portuguese. Though Paul's work may not always be consistent in quality, it's always been consistent in spirit and willingness to branch out. If you prefer the modern sounds of his earlier albums, Rhythm of The Saints may not get much play in your stereo. If you enjoyed the foreign influence of Graceland and want to hear it taken a step further.. it will be well worth the cost. South American Simon After exploring African sounds on his wildly successful Graceland album, Paul Simon travels to another continent for new beats to explore. Rhythm Of The Saints takes on the sounds of south American, more specifically, Brazil. Just as he did on Graceland, he manages to incorporate these sounds into his own and sound completely authentic. The first song on the album "The Obvious Child" is a brilliant creation. With its manic drumbeats and carnival like sounds, the song marches out of your speakers with a syncopatic precision. "The Coast" is a great song about life on the road and "Proof" is a bouncy song. "The Cool, Cool River" is a beautiful, airy song while the title track pounds along. The Rhythm Of The Saints continues Paul Simon's long standing tradition of incorporating unusual rhythms into his own folksy sound. Even better than Graceland Graceland was an excellent album for Paul Simon--it did, after all, win him a best album Grammy--which makes this album that much more exceptional for surpassing his previous effort. There are a lot of people who would disagree with me, I'm sure, but ultimately I think that Simon achieves something much more remarkable with Rhythm of The Saints than with his 1986 masterpiece. With Rhytm, Simon does more than compile a collection of excellent music, but he also evokes an atmosphere and feeling not Present in his earlier work. Listening to Graceland feels to me like listening to a synthesis album, while listening to Rhythm of The Saints is something like experiencing a foreign environment firsthand. Considered objectively, without reference to Simon's earlier work, the album is still excellent. While it doesn't have quite as many of those catchy songs as you might expect (Obvious Child is the one that comes to mind, and perhaps The Coast), that's probably in keeping with the exemplary atmosphere of the album. This isn't an album that really ought to be partitioned and segmented--each song flows into the others to form a rich tapestry for the listener. All things considered, this is an exceptional piece of music, and one that probably ought to be in any listener's library, whether he be a Paul Simon fan, a devotee of multicultural music, or simply an appreciator of music itself. Buy Paul Simon Rhythm Of The Saints at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
