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Paul Simon

Paul Simon

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Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

Review by Charlie Gillett, Let It Rock, August 1973

Paul: middle class rock, O.K.? ...

Audio interviews

Paul Simon (1993)

Interview by Paul Zollo, Rock's Backpages audio, 1993

Concentrating on Hearts and Bones and Graceland, Paul Simon ruthlessly re-examines such songs as 'Allergies', 'Boy in the Bubble' and 'The Late Great Johnny Ace', covering such issues truth in songwriting, heroes as subjects and musical and lyrical influences. Oh, and he really dislikes 'Slip Sliding Away' as "too simple"!

File format: mp3; file size: 80.1mb, interview length: 1h 27' 27" sound quality: **½

Paul Simon (1993)

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages audio, 1993

In the context of his retrospective box set Paul Simon 1964/1993, the veteran singer-songwriter looks back over his relationship with Art Garfunkel; 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'; his artistic evolution in the shadow of the Beatles and Dylan; his black NYC influences; Graceland's success and controversy; accusations of cultural appropriation; his longevity and place in the world.

File format: mp3; file size: 59.7mb, interview length: 1h 02' 19" sound quality: ****

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Two Views on Baez, by Paul Simon and Dana Gillespie

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 30 July 1965

A SMALL, dark, intense man from Greenwich Village (home of his folkship, Bob Dylan) came to my office last week and talked about Joan Baez. ...

Paul Simon: Now They All Want Paul Simon Songs!

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 22 April 1966

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT influence in popular music today, since the emergence of that well-known Lennon-McCartney firm, seems to be the mini-sized music-maker Paul Simon, who ...

Paul Simon: 'I Thought I Was a Has-Been at 19'

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 30 April 1966

PAUL SIMON is the composer of 21 songs, most of which have been put to work for him very profitably. ...

Paul Simon: Pop think-in

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

The biggest thing Dylan has got going for him is his mystique ...

Inside The Mind of Paul Simon (part 1)

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967

A LOT OF readers have been asking for an interview with Simon and Garfunkel. After much difficulty in tracing them down (it was impossible to ...

Inside The Mind of Paul Simon (part 2)

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1967

Last month, Paul Simon commented on current singers, songs and his own songwriting. He gets into it again this time along with a dash of ...

My Favorite Records: Simon & Garfunkel's Paul Simon

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1967

As told to Jim Delehant ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1970

PAUL SIMON arrived wearing a blue loden coat with the hood pulled up. Beneath it he had on black trousers and a black shirt. He ...

It's Here — Reggae Rock

Overview by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 4 February 1973

WHEN ANYONE mentions West Indian music, steel bands and calypso instantly echo in the mind, but Jamaica's most popular music is reggae (rhymes with old) ...

Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin' Simon (CBS)

Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 12 May 1973

LISTENING TO an album twice through the No. 1 studio sound system at CBS is not the best way to hear a new set. Nor ...

Paul Simon: Here Comes Rhymin' Simon

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 12 May 1973

MM EXCLUSIVE! Paul Simons — due to play British dates next month — talks to LORAINE ALTERMAN in New York ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 May 1973

There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is the title of Paul Simon’s new solo album, and last week he was in New York to talk about the ...

Paul Simon: Carnegie Hall; Alice Cooper: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 10 June 1973

Paul Simon & Alice Cooper, So Differently the Same ...

Paul Simon: Rhyme and Reason

Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc, 16 June 1973

PAUL SIMON minus his famous side-kick Art, in part one of his interview with Caroline Boucher ...

Simon on the split... The Paul Simon interview — part two

Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc, 23 June 1973

WHEN CONFRONTED with the inevitable questions about the split partner, Artie Garfunkel, Paul Simon always says now that it is three years since he made ...

Paul Simon: Not So Simple Simon

Essay by Dave Laing, Let It Rock, June 1974

Dave Laing surveys Paul Simon's ten years in music ...

Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years

Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 4 October 1975

INSTANT OPINION: BLOOD On The Tracks apart, Still Crazy is the best album you're likely to hear all year. ...

Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years (CBS 86001) 35 mins

Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 18 October 1975

THE WAIT has been worth it. If you exclude Live Rhymin' (and most people do) this is Simon's first record for more than two years, ...

Paul Simon: Palladium, London

Live Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 20 December 1975

LAST TIME PAUL Simon toured in Summer '73, he used a South American group, Urubamba, and an American gospel quartet, the Jessy Dixon Singers (Jessy ...

Paul Simon: London Palladium

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Street Life, 10 January 1976

PAUL SIMON is small and neat and nervous. His songs reflect him perfectly. They are small and neat and edgy. Paul Simon delivers his songs ...

Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia PC 33540); Elton John: Rock of the Westies (MCA 2163)

Review by Mike Jahn, High Fidelity, February 1976

ROCK MUSIC, like basic black in fashion can hide a multitude of sins — such as poor lyrics. In rock that is played at any ...

Paul Simon, Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Cliff: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

Simon's magical living room ...

Dixon Spreading the Gospel with Paul Simon

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, Melody Maker, 19 August 1978

Jessy Dixon, who plays London's Rainbow on September 2, talks to Steve Turner ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Bruce Pollock, Playboy, 1980

PLAYBOY: Did Mrs. Garfunkel ever think of you as a bad influence on her son? ...

Paul Simon: What Do You Do When You're Not A Kid Anymore And You Still Want To Rock & Roll?

Profile and Interview by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 30 October 1980

IN ONE-TRICK PONY PAUL SIMON LOOKS AT THE WAY THINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN. ...

Paul Simon: One Trick Pony

Review by Roy Trakin, Musician, November 1980

"YES, THE BOY'S got a voice/But his words don't connect to his eyes," sings Paul Simon, and I couldn't describe the problem with One Trick ...

Paul Simon: Hearts And Bones

Review by Mitchell Cohen, Creem, February 1984

ON HEARTS AND BONES, Paul Simon turns the basic philosophical pop question inside out. Instead of "Why do fools fall in love?" (or its variation, ...

Paul Simon: Hearts and Bones (Warner Bros.)

Review by John Swenson, Record, March 1984

THE ARTIST RETURNS ...

Paul Simon: Graceland (Warner Brothers)***

Review by Jack Barron, Sounds, 6 September 1986

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE ...

Paul Simon: Graceland

Review by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 13 September 1986

OF COURSE Paul Simon has always been blessed with a remarkable facility for penning eminently hummable melodies, but since the heyday of his association with ...

Paul Simon: Graceland (Warner Bros.)

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 23 October 1986

IN HIS TYPICALLY understated way, Paul Simon has been an ardent musical explorer since he went solo in 1972. His songs have incorporated almost every ...

Paul Simon: Graceland (Warner Bros.)

Review by Glenn O'Brien, Spin, November 1986

Graceland is a pilgrimage. On the title track the singer heads for the Presley estate in Memphis, filled with faith, trailed by doubt, led by ...

Paul Simon: Graceland (Warner Bros. 25447-4)

Review by Hank Bordowitz, High Fidelity, December 1986

SIMON SAYS, "JIVE!" ...

Paul Simon: Graceland (Warner Bros.)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, January 1987

OUT OF AFRICA ...

Paul Simon: Still Mbaqanga After All These Years

Interview by RJ Smith, Spin, January 1987

For 20 years, Paul Simon whined and kvetched about the same things. Then he went to Africa and finally had fun. But he broke the ...

UN Group Attacks Paul Simon

Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 12 February 1987

Says Graceland broke cultural boycott of South Africa ...

Paul Simon: The Boy in the Boycott

Report by Mark Sinker, Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 4 April 1987

Is PAUL SIMON "a genius and a loathsome coward"? Does the lack of anti-apartheid statements on Graceland amount to condonation of Botha's regime? Or has ...

Paul Simon: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 18 April 1987

LET'S NOT beat about the bush. This is a celebration of black South African music with an anti-apartheid spirit mixed into its magic. And it ...

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: "God sent Paul Simon to do this"

Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Q, June 1987

With glorious results. Times have changed for Ladysmith Black Mambazo. ...

Hugh Masekela: Grazing in Graceland

Interview by Roy Trakin, Creem, October 1987

HUGH MASEKELA hasn't been back to South Africa since he left his homeland 27 years ago to study trumpet in London and New York, but ...

Paul Simon: Melancholy beat of a backpacking magpie

Report and Interview by Mark Cooper, Independent on Sunday, 1990

Mark Cooper on Paul Simon's latest borrowings and his lucrative flair for domesticating the alien ...

Paul Simon: Spirit Voices Vol. I

Interview by Paul Zollo, SongTalk, 1990

"There is a girl in New York City Who calls herself the human trampoline And sometimes when I'm falling, flying or tumbling in turmoil I ...

Paul Simon: Spirit Voices Vol. II

Interview by Paul Zollo, SongTalk, 1990

"Some stories are magical Meant to be sung Songs from the mouth of the river When the world was young And all of these spirit ...

Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Loup Garou: Indian Field Ranch, Montauk LI

Live Review by Gene Santoro, Musician, November 1990

Still Ethnic After All These Years ...

Paul Simon: Rhythm Of The Saints

Review by David Quantick, Vox, November 1990

FOUR YEARS AFTER GRACELAND and Paul Simon returns with another album of Third World inspired pop music, this time songs recorded with Brazilian musicians. Rhythm ...

Paul Simon: The Rhythm of the Saints

Review by Tom Graves, Rock & Roll Disc, November 1990

AFTER WORLD WAR I, Kenya became a refuge for rich, spoiled British expatriates who had dishonored their family name or provoked scandal – enough anyway ...

Paul Simon: The Rhythm Of The Saints

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, December 1990

IN THE CHARTS The Rhythm Of The Saints has already proved itself an apt follow-up to Graceland with 'The Obvious Child' a sizable hit single ...

Paul Simon: Across The Tracks: The Rhythm of the Saints

Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, December 1990

'Obvious Child' "I THOUGHT IF anything was going to be a single it would be that. I thought that as soon as we recorded the drums, ...

Paul Simon: Oakland Coliseum Arena, California

Live Review by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 7 March 1991

THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE at the Oakland Coliseum was dancing to Paul Simon's Graceland hit 'You Can Call Me Al'. ...

Paul Simon: Simon Reports Back To Base

Interview by Simon Reynolds, The Observer, 5 May 1991

PAUL SIMON'S management company has one client: Paul Simon. Based in Broadway's legendary Brill Building (where Simon and Garfunkel first attempted to sell their songs ...

Paul Simon: Concert In the Park

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, January 1992

TEN YEARS after Simon And Garfunkel crowned their short-lived reunion with a concert in Central Park, Paul Simon returned solo to claim the patch as ...

Paul Simon (1993) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1993

This is a transcript of Adam Sweeting's interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Paul Simon: Graceland; Warner Bros 925447-2, Released September 1986

Review by Chris Charlesworth, unpublished, 1997

IN THE SUMMER of 1984, as he faced the problem of furthering a critically successful but commercially waning career, Paul Simon received a gift from ...

Paul Simon: Sounds Of Simon

Interview by Anthony DeCurtis, New York Magazine, 9 October 2000

After getting clobbered by critics for Capeman, Paul Simon returns to folk-rock form with You're The One, an upcoming tour, and a few choice words ...

Paul Simon: Life After The Capeman

Interview by Chris Ingham, MOJO, November 2000

PAUL SIMON AND I are alone in a large, dim, empty room in a Manhattan rehearsal complex and he’s zippered up to his throat, ever-present ...

Paul Simon: Still Crazy?

Interview by Chris Ingham, MOJO, November 2000

PAUL SIMON and I are alone in a large, dim, empty room in a Manhattan rehearsal complex and he’s zippered up to his throat, ever-present ...

Paul Simon: You're the One (Warner Bros.)

Review by Eric Weisbard, The Village Voice, 22 November 2000

PAUL SIMON has an image you wouldn't wish on a real estate developer. ...

Mike Ross-Trevor: "Are We Rolling?"

Interview by Paul Gorman, The Word, May 2004

In forty years of recording everyone from Dylan and Hendrix to Abba and Lena Zavaroni, a studio engineer sees a lot of strange things. ...

25 Essential Music DVDs

Guide by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, September 2004

1. The Last Waltz THE BAND'S elegant swansong is the ultimate rock concert movie. Director Martin Scorsese's discreet camerawork and superb sound captures inspired performances from ...

Paul Simon: Bloomsbury Theatre, London; Allen Toussaint: Bush Hall, London

Live Review by Mark Pringle, Rock's Backpages, 3 June 2006

LET'S LOOK at what Paul Simon and Allen Toussaint share. They both wrote songs that helped shape this thing of ours, this culture we've shared ...

Surprise Surprise: Paul Simon

Interview by Bill DeMain, Performing Songwriter, September 2006

"THE TRUTH is flexible and complex," says Paul Simon. On the eleven songs that make up his latest album Surprise, the legendary songwriter sizes up ...

School of Rock Study Guide: Singer-Songwriters

Guide by Barney Hoskyns, iTunes, October 2008

"WHERE DO YOU have left to go but in?" It was a question posed by Joni Mitchell, the brilliant Canadian blonde who specialized in intensely ...

Paul Simon: "He is a foreign man. He is surrounded by the sound"

Retrospective by Graeme Thomson, Uncut, October 2010

25 years ago, PAUL SIMON was going nowhere, until a bootleg cassette from Soweto inspired him to set off on a fantastic South African adventure. ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, February 2011

A GREAT SONGWRITER'S imagination knows no bounds. Take Paul Simon. His 70th birthday is coming up in October and his musical and verbal cornucopia of ...

Paul Simon: So Beautiful Or So What

Review by David Hepworth, The Word, April 2011

After a 70-year emotional odyssey, Paul Simon offloads his hard-won black humour and shrugging folk wisdom. ...

How does Paul Simon deal with his compulsive side?

Interview by David Hepworth, The Word, September 2011

THE MEASURE OF Paul Simon's output first came home to me over 20 years ago when I went to see him perform at Wembley Arena. ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Alan Light, MSN.com, October 2011

"CAN YOU IMAGINE us years from today?" wrote Paul Simon in 'Old Friends', from Simon and Garfunkel's 1968 album Bookends. "Sharing a park bench quietly/How ...

Paul Simon: Stranger To Stranger

Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, July 2016

2011's So Beautiful Or So What was an unheralded marvel from Paul Simon. It was a poised, wise set of songs that hinged upon Simon's ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Alan Light, MOJO, December 2016

"YOU GOTTA stop making hits at a certain point," says Paul Simon, 74. And yet, when his thirteenth solo album, Stranger to Stranger, was released ...

Peter Ames Carlin: Homeward Bound – The Life Of Paul Simon

Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, December 2016

IF EVER A career in music was pre-ordained, it is that of Paul Simon, the ambitious, gifted and ever-so-scrupulous first son of a professional double-bass ...

Paul Simon: The Final Concert

Review by Wayne Robins, Rock's Backpages, September 2018

THE FLUSHING Meadow Park concert area is a stout walk from both the Citi Field parking lots and subway stations. ...

Paul Simon and the Road to Redemption

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, June 2019

YOU COULD ARGUE whether Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years deserved its trophy for Album of the Year when the Grammys were handed out in ...

Simon & Garfunkel and the battle of Central Park: Inside the concert that tore them apart

Retrospective by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 3 June 2020

IN THE SUMMER of 1981, Paul Simon received a call from the Long Island concert promoter Ron Delsener. The 44-year-old Tri-State impresario was speaking on ...

How Graceland saved Paul Simon — and offended the anti-apartheid world

Retrospective by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2020

Forged in South Africa, the 1986 masterpiece drew accusations of 'cultural appropriation', offence and theft. What were Simon's intentions? ...

see also Simon & Garfunkel

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