This, the second Killer Wants To Go To College of two from Paul Simon’s Capeman; he did a similar thing on the Hearts And Bones album; should’ve been titled Killer Wants To Go On TV as there are no direct school references here. It’s the better version though. Simon’s vocal melodies; he’s playing the role of Salvador Agron; sound stellar over the 1950s honky-tonk groove.
my rating : 4 of 5
1997
This isn’t just the best song from Paul Simon’s Capeman play and companion album, it’s one of the best he’s ever made. It’s sang mostly from the perspective of character (Saint) Lazarus; Simon also covers the roles of Sal and a “border patrol” officer while guest Sara Ramirez plays Wahzinak; and the vocals are wonderful.
That goes for both the melodies and the lyrics, apparently co-authored by poet Derek Walcott. “He can’t leave his fears behind; he recalls each fatal thrust,” one line goes in reference to Salvador Agron, who was convicted as a youth for killing two peers with a knife; “Screams carried by the wind; phantom figures in the dust.”
my rating : 5 of 5
1997
The title song is something special. It starts the album on such a satisfying note; “I fear I’ll do some damage one fine day,” Paul Simon confesses, “but I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers”; that most of the rest pales in comparison. The other best song is the other one with a funny title; 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover; on which the singer seeks relationship advice from a female companion.
my rating : 3 of 5
1975
2016
nytimes.com
1976
“Tears and flowers dry over time,” Paul ponders, “Memory leaves us; melody and rhyme.” He’s still Rhymin Simon, but his knack for melody left him a long time ago. It was 2000 to be precise when, after making his best albums in the 1990s, his inevitable decline began. I remember listening to You’re The One and being Surprised at how unremarkable his music had become.
These Seven Psalms, given his old age and the amount of time between projects, may be the final batch. The morbid concept certainly seems to suggest so. They’re Hebrew Bible songs about God and death; a thematic continuation of his previous (Stranger) album, which ended with the Insomniac’s Lullaby. It’ll be a sad day when Paul Simon dies, but he seems to be prepared.
It’s nonetheless his worst album if it can be considered as such. It’s described as a “seven-movement composition”; The Lord is resurrected in intervals as if the chorus to a very long song; “intended to be listened to as one continuous piece”. If the purpose were to put you to sleep, it would be a success. Paul Simon, singing over an acoustic guitar, has never sounded more lifeless.
my rating : 1 of 5
2023
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pushkin.fm
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