Monthly Archives: April 2010

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Song of the Day #627: ‘Late in the Evening’ – Paul Simon

It was five years, in 1980, before Paul Simon released another album. And his amazing run of success came to an abrupt stop when he broke his silence with One Trick Pony, a companion album to a film of the same name (written by and starring Simon himself).

One Trick Pony is the second Paul Simon album I don’t own, but unlike his self-titled solo debut, this one is missing from my collection because I’ve heard it’s just not very good. Not quite a soundtrack but not quite a proper album, it apparently suffers from being not much of anything worthwhile.

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Song of the Day #626: ‘Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy’ – Paul Simon

Three years after There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, Paul Simon released Still Crazy After All These Years. And if it weren’t for the amazing, groundbreaking work to come in the 80s, I’d be quick to call this his best album.

A quiet, intimate record, like all of his solo albums to that point, Still Crazy doesn’t have a weak song on it. That includes the title track, one of Simon’s most famous, as well as the classic ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.’

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Song of the Day #625: ‘American Tune’ – Paul Simon

Paul Simon’s second solo album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, was released a year after his first and featured some of his most enduring songs.

Album opener ‘Kodachrome,’ for example, is a lively concert staple which opens with the memorable line, “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” And the album’s final track, ‘Loves Me Like a Rock,’ is a bit of gospel among a bunch of mellow folk-pop.

‘St. Judy’s Comet’ is a gentle lullaby and ‘Something So Right’ is one of Simon’s finest songs, with its achingly perfect melody and bittersweet theme of romantic uncertainty.

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Song of the Day #624: ‘Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard’ – Paul Simon

Back in December, I did a theme week on Simon and Garfunkel, singling out five songs from their brief but storied pairing. But of course the S&G albums are but a small piece of the overall Paul Simon puzzle, so I’m now turning my attention to the man’s solo career. I’ll highlight a song from each of his solo albums over the next two weeks.

Simon and Garfunkel broke up in 1970 and two years later Simon released his first solo album. That self-titled “debut,” I’m ashamed to say, is one of two Paul Simon albums I do not own. Despite my efforts to be a completist when it comes to my favorite artists, I still do have some weird holes in my CD collection.

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Song of the Day #623: ‘Days of ’49’ – Bob Dylan

So, exactly how bad is Self Portrait? Well, the thing is, I don’t really know. I’ve been so affected by the legend surrounding this album’s awfulness that I’ve never taken the time to listen to it. Until now, that is.

And I have to say, based on the clips I’ve heard… it’s actually pretty good.

Certainly that conclusion owes a lot to the power of expectations, and you can ask for no lower expectations than those attached to an album that’s famous for sucking. But I also think the negative consensus around Self Portrait has a whole lot to do with how and when it was released.

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