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If you've been here long, you know that I was raised on Paul Simon and am pretty unhinged about his music. So when Rhiannon Giddens informed me (me personally, of course) on Instagram that the tribute to Paul Simon that she'd participated in was finally airing, did I call my mama and ask her to record it for me? I sure did!
And it recorded! I saw it! But then it somehow disappeared from the TiVo (or whatever it's called)! I was bereft.
But thanks to the lovely gryfndor_godess, I got to watch it and y'all have to read my thoughts. Actually, no you don't, you can just scroll on past this, but here they are if you for some reason care about an uneducated listener's opinions.
First off, I was deeply moved to hear that the last living member of the Graceland band was in the band. Totally teared up at that. The choices of who was included was pretty all over the place. Obviously it was nice to see Dustin Hoffman and I liked Woody Harrelson opening. There was one young woman I didn't know who talked as much about herself ("As an artist who has just released my debut album...") as she did Paul Simon, and she seemed like a weird choice, but whatever. But the good choices were SO good!
And yes, I am going to rate every single performance here we go.
Brad Paisley (Kodachrome) - 6.5 - The cover is fine (literally just a straight cover with a country twang), but he gets an extra point and a half for his guitar skills, which are significant though we don’t hear too much of them in this particular song.
Jonas Brothers (50 Ways to Leave Your Lover) - 3ish. I have nothing to say about this.
Garth Brooks + Trisha Yearwood (The Boxer) - 7. Their voices still sound so great together, but the lack of the big build-up at the end is SUCH a disappointment.
Susanna Hoffs (Hazy Shade of Winter) - 8.5 - This is more like it!!! At first I wasn’t sold on the contrast between the rock approach and her more delicate voice, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it.
Sting (America) - 8 - He let the lyrics be the star, which is always the right choice with this song. I like the harmonica.
Billy Porter (Loves Me Like a Rock) - 10 - Made it his own!!!! Remembered that it was rooted in gospel!!! Good job!!!!
Stevie Wonder with Sheila E. and some other people (Mrs. Robinson) - 7.5 - I love how he made it sound like a Stevie Wonder song! I like the groove, though it’s missing some of the manic edge that I love about the original.
Bonnie Raitt with Brad Paisley (Something So Right) - 9 - Gosh, I love her. She picked the perfect song for her style, and she still sounds as good as she ever did. I appreciate the chance to hear more of Brad Paisley on guitar.
Stevie Wonder + Ledisi (Bridge Over Troubled Water) - waffling between an 8.5 and a 9 - Going gospel with this was an excellent choice both because it lends itself to that and because it’s a way of keeping me as a listener from comparing it to the original. No one can ever deliver this song as earnestly and purely as Art Garfunkle, so going in a completely different direction was the best thing they could have done. It didn’t quite give me goosebumps the way the original can after roughly a hundred thousand listens, though. So probably the 8.5.
Jimmy Cliff and Shaggy (Mother and Child Reunion) - 8.5 - Leaning waaay into the regge for this! Cliff’s voice is still SO wonderful and it's perfect for this song and Shaggy’s works well with his.
Trombone Shorty and Irma Thomas (Take Me to the Mardi Gras) - 9 - Irma’s voice is perfect for this song (people did a great job of choosing their songs!), and I like the trombone solo. When they really kicked into it at the end, it was perfect.
Eric Church (Homeward Bound) - 6 - I don’t know this guy, but he sounds like he’s trying to channel Willie Nelson? This song definitely works as a country song, but I don’t find this cover all that interesting? Now I’m kinda wishing we could have heard how Willie Nelson would have sung it lol.
Little Big Town (Slip Slidin’ Away) - 6.5- A good choice for a vocal group. I don’t really have anything else to say about this?
Take 6 (Homeless) - 9 - Such a lovely tribute to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Gorgeous harmonies that absolutely do justice to the original. I love everything about this. As Paul said later, Joseph Shabalala would have been so very moved.
Angelique Kidjo + David Matthews (Under African Skies) - 8.5 - Kidjo is the perfect artist to deliver this song, though I’m less thrilled by Dave Matthews’ contribution.
Dave Matthews (Call Me Al) - 6.5 for his part, 8 when Take 6 and Kidjio come out - A pretty straight cover. It’s fine! I’m just glad they retained the penny whistle and then brought Take 6 back out to elevate it, though the finale didn't last long enough.
Paul himself (Graceland) - Not rating these because that's just not fair at this point in his life. His voice isn't up to it anymore (though reasonable for 81!), but it's still touching to hear him sing his songs. When he got to the line about brushing her hair from her forehead, I couldn't help but imagine Carrie up in heaven (if there's an afterlife) shaking her head in that way she had as she watches him.
Rhiannon Giddens with Paul (American Tune) - 10 - I'm biased, though. She had asked on her Instagram several months ago which song she should sing, and I was one of the ones who requested this, so I feel like she sang it for me personally. I'm never going to be over this song, so to hear it sung by one of my favorite artists was especially meaningful for me.
Her banjo! Her voice! Her understanding! How tall and stately she was as she towered over him! AND THEN WHEN SHE CHANGED THE LYRICS OF THE FINAL VERSE. Good Lord, lady. Thank you.
Paul (The Sound of Silence) - The guitar solo opening was gorgeous--he's still got it as a guitar player, which is pretty astounding. And then he started singing and, reader, I cried.
So that was pretty uneven, but the highlights were SO great, and there was definitely more good/very good than mediocre. It was joyful to me to know every word of every song. I don’t know every Paul Simon song, especially not in his later albums, but I know so so so many. They're written on my heart and bones.
And it recorded! I saw it! But then it somehow disappeared from the TiVo (or whatever it's called)! I was bereft.
But thanks to the lovely gryfndor_godess, I got to watch it and y'all have to read my thoughts. Actually, no you don't, you can just scroll on past this, but here they are if you for some reason care about an uneducated listener's opinions.
First off, I was deeply moved to hear that the last living member of the Graceland band was in the band. Totally teared up at that. The choices of who was included was pretty all over the place. Obviously it was nice to see Dustin Hoffman and I liked Woody Harrelson opening. There was one young woman I didn't know who talked as much about herself ("As an artist who has just released my debut album...") as she did Paul Simon, and she seemed like a weird choice, but whatever. But the good choices were SO good!
And yes, I am going to rate every single performance here we go.
Brad Paisley (Kodachrome) - 6.5 - The cover is fine (literally just a straight cover with a country twang), but he gets an extra point and a half for his guitar skills, which are significant though we don’t hear too much of them in this particular song.
Jonas Brothers (50 Ways to Leave Your Lover) - 3ish. I have nothing to say about this.
Garth Brooks + Trisha Yearwood (The Boxer) - 7. Their voices still sound so great together, but the lack of the big build-up at the end is SUCH a disappointment.
Susanna Hoffs (Hazy Shade of Winter) - 8.5 - This is more like it!!! At first I wasn’t sold on the contrast between the rock approach and her more delicate voice, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it.
Sting (America) - 8 - He let the lyrics be the star, which is always the right choice with this song. I like the harmonica.
Billy Porter (Loves Me Like a Rock) - 10 - Made it his own!!!! Remembered that it was rooted in gospel!!! Good job!!!!
Stevie Wonder with Sheila E. and some other people (Mrs. Robinson) - 7.5 - I love how he made it sound like a Stevie Wonder song! I like the groove, though it’s missing some of the manic edge that I love about the original.
Bonnie Raitt with Brad Paisley (Something So Right) - 9 - Gosh, I love her. She picked the perfect song for her style, and she still sounds as good as she ever did. I appreciate the chance to hear more of Brad Paisley on guitar.
Stevie Wonder + Ledisi (Bridge Over Troubled Water) - waffling between an 8.5 and a 9 - Going gospel with this was an excellent choice both because it lends itself to that and because it’s a way of keeping me as a listener from comparing it to the original. No one can ever deliver this song as earnestly and purely as Art Garfunkle, so going in a completely different direction was the best thing they could have done. It didn’t quite give me goosebumps the way the original can after roughly a hundred thousand listens, though. So probably the 8.5.
Jimmy Cliff and Shaggy (Mother and Child Reunion) - 8.5 - Leaning waaay into the regge for this! Cliff’s voice is still SO wonderful and it's perfect for this song and Shaggy’s works well with his.
Trombone Shorty and Irma Thomas (Take Me to the Mardi Gras) - 9 - Irma’s voice is perfect for this song (people did a great job of choosing their songs!), and I like the trombone solo. When they really kicked into it at the end, it was perfect.
Eric Church (Homeward Bound) - 6 - I don’t know this guy, but he sounds like he’s trying to channel Willie Nelson? This song definitely works as a country song, but I don’t find this cover all that interesting? Now I’m kinda wishing we could have heard how Willie Nelson would have sung it lol.
Little Big Town (Slip Slidin’ Away) - 6.5- A good choice for a vocal group. I don’t really have anything else to say about this?
Take 6 (Homeless) - 9 - Such a lovely tribute to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Gorgeous harmonies that absolutely do justice to the original. I love everything about this. As Paul said later, Joseph Shabalala would have been so very moved.
Angelique Kidjo + David Matthews (Under African Skies) - 8.5 - Kidjo is the perfect artist to deliver this song, though I’m less thrilled by Dave Matthews’ contribution.
Dave Matthews (Call Me Al) - 6.5 for his part, 8 when Take 6 and Kidjio come out - A pretty straight cover. It’s fine! I’m just glad they retained the penny whistle and then brought Take 6 back out to elevate it, though the finale didn't last long enough.
Paul himself (Graceland) - Not rating these because that's just not fair at this point in his life. His voice isn't up to it anymore (though reasonable for 81!), but it's still touching to hear him sing his songs. When he got to the line about brushing her hair from her forehead, I couldn't help but imagine Carrie up in heaven (if there's an afterlife) shaking her head in that way she had as she watches him.
Rhiannon Giddens with Paul (American Tune) - 10 - I'm biased, though. She had asked on her Instagram several months ago which song she should sing, and I was one of the ones who requested this, so I feel like she sang it for me personally. I'm never going to be over this song, so to hear it sung by one of my favorite artists was especially meaningful for me.
Her banjo! Her voice! Her understanding! How tall and stately she was as she towered over him! AND THEN WHEN SHE CHANGED THE LYRICS OF THE FINAL VERSE. Good Lord, lady. Thank you.
Paul (The Sound of Silence) - The guitar solo opening was gorgeous--he's still got it as a guitar player, which is pretty astounding. And then he started singing and, reader, I cried.
So that was pretty uneven, but the highlights were SO great, and there was definitely more good/very good than mediocre. It was joyful to me to know every word of every song. I don’t know every Paul Simon song, especially not in his later albums, but I know so so so many. They're written on my heart and bones.
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It didn’t quite give me goosebumps the way the original can after roughly a hundred thousand listens, though.
Nothing can ever top the original, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is one of those absolutely perfect songs, isn't it?
They're written on my heart and bones.
<3 <3 <3
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"Mother and Child Reunion" is probably my favourite Paul Simon song, so I want to hear that one too!
I think you'll love the cover! It's really lovely.
Nothing can ever top the original, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is one of those absolutely perfect songs, isn't it?
YES. Every time I listen to it, I thank God that Paul let Art sing it. Like, lyrically and musically it is already perfect, but Art's delivery is just...there aren't words.
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This just delights me and makes me giggle :P I'm glad you got to watch this!!!
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