Paul Simon’s Graceland is famous for its blend of Simon’s signature pop sensibility with the sounds of South African music, including the a capella work of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Simon was accused of supporting apartheid by breaking a cultural embargo but the United Nations supported him.
The South African influence is certainly heard all over Graceland, but it’s easy to forget that Simon spins off in other directions, particularly at the end of the album.
Paul Simon’s Graceland is an all-time classic, his best work, a critical and commercial smash, one of the most beloved albums in history. It feels almost unnecessary to write about it because its story is so well-known, its rhythms and melodies long ago memorized.
What struck me as I reached this album in the chronology of my Paul Simon Weekends is that Graceland arrived at the lowest point in Simon’s career.
Paul Simon’s Hearts and Bones carries a lot of baggage but I wasn’t aware of any of it when I first heard the album. I didn’t know it was a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album gone bad, or that it was a critical and commercial flop that seemed to derail Simon’s solo career.
My first exposure to the songs on this album came during a concert in the early 90s. I was familiar with everything Simon played that night except for two gorgeous, musically ambitious ballads — one called ‘Hearts and Bones’ and one called ‘Train in the Distance.’
Following the success of their Central Park reunion show, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel embarked on a world tour in 1982 and ’83. Riding the high of those performances, the duo headed back into the studio to record their first album together in 13 years.
The record had a working title of ‘Think Too Much,’ named after a pair of songs in its track list.
I notice a pattern in Paul Simon’s early work of competition and jealousy surrounding Art Garfunkel. Despite Simon’s status as the songwriter of all those wonderful tunes they recorded together, it sometimes feels as if he saw himself in Garfunkel’s shadow.
Take his nagging regrets over letting Garfunkel take the lead on ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ or the cryptic songs he wrote about their partnership sometimes without even letting Art in on their meaning.
I wonder if Simon decided to jump into acting in large part because Garfunkel had found success there (in films such as Carnal Knowledge and Catch-22).
