Though he recorded the album's prominent percussion tracks in Brazil, Paul Simon fashioned The Rhythm of the Saints as a deliberate follow-up to the artistic breakthrough and commercial comeback that was the South Africa-tinged Graceland. Several of the musicians who had appeared previously were back, along with some of the New York session players who had worked with Simon in the 1970s, and the overall sound was familiar to fans of Graceland. Further, Simon's nonlinear lyrical approach was carried over: he continued to ruminate about love, aging, and the onslaught of modern life in disconnected phrases and images that created impressions rather than telling straightforward stories. But where Graceland had seamlessly merged its styles into an exuberant whole, The Rhythm of the Saints was less well digested. Those drum tracks never seemed integrated effectively into what had been dubbed over them; at the same time, they tended to lock the songs into musical patterns that reined them in from the kind of excitement the South African music on Graceland generated, making the melodies harder to grasp. At the same time, Simon sang his lyrics in a less involved way, which sometimes made them seem like collections of random lines rather than the series of striking observations Graceland seemed to contain. No Paul Simon album could be lacking in craft or quality, and The Rhythm of the Saints was a typically tasteful effort. But this time around, Simon hadn't quite succeeded in bringing the wide-ranging elements together; the album sold about half as many copies as Graceland (that is to say, a none-too-shabby two million), and that's about right -- where Graceland was an exotic adventure, The Rhythm of the Saints was more of an anthropology lesson.
It seems that a vast and previously unrealised void in my conciousness has been filled by my joining of MOG. I discovered this place by eaves-dropping on the comments-box of a friend's blog, and can't believe I didn't get my daft hippie ass to this place sooner. Long have I been in search of a place where I can rant about my strange andall-consuming taste for music to people who will actually...
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From a Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork. I just absolutely love this lp, on more levels that I care to enumerate, Here are a couple of outtakes/work in progress tunes (one in comments) which highlight Paul Simon's vision.
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There may come a timeWhen youll be tiredAs tired as a dream that wants to dieAnd further to flyFurther to flyFurther to flyFurther to flyMaybe you will find a loveThat you discover accidentallyWho falls against you gentlyAs a pickpocketBrushes your thighFurther to flyEffortless music from the cameroonsThe spinning darkness of her hairA conversation in a crowded room going nowhereThe open palm o...
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As singer/songwriter Frank Tedesso once put it, GRACELAND is the mountaintop and RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS is the mist around the peak. The latter certainly does seem to pick up where it's South African-flavored predecessor left off. Though RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS relies on the traditional musical forms of a different part of the world (Brazil), Simon uses a somewhat similar strategy. He wraps his very...
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It seems that a vast and previously unrealised void in my conciousness has been filled by my joining of MOG. I discovered this place by eaves-dropping on the comments-box of a friend's blog, and can't believe I didn't get my daft hippie ass to this place sooner. Long have I been in search of a place where I can rant about my strange andall-consuming taste for music to people who will actually...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 The Obvious Child |
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| 2 Can't Run But |
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| 3 The Coast |
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| 4 Proof |
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| 5 Further to Fly |
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| 6 She Moves On |
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| 7 Born at the Right Time |
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| 8 The Cool, Cool River |
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| 9 Spirit Voices |
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| 10 The Rhythm of the Saints |
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 "The Rhythm of the Saints")
