Paul Simon’s newest album, entitled Surprise, was released Tuesday, May 9. His first major studio release in six years, the album features ten new songs plus the previously-released “Father and Daughter” from the Wild Thornberries Movie soundtrack. (“Father and Daughter” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2002, but lost to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”.) Simon, who helped pioneer the singer-songwriter and worldmusic traditions in American popular music, integrates synthesizer and electronic effects into his new tracks with the help of Brian Eno, who co-produced the album. Eno co-wrote three of the new songs and lends his distinctive electronic style throughout. Amazingly (but not unexpectedly) the combination works, and the result is clever, interesting, fun, and—typically for Simon—profound. After my initial listening, I particularly like the songs “How Can You Live in the Northeast”, which mocks/observes the way we bicker about geographical, political, and religious differences, and the smooth and soulful ”Wartime Prayers”, in which Simon comments on how humans react to adversity, expresses dismay at the state of spiritual discourse in the post-9/11 world, and admits (somewhat self-referentially) that he doesn’t have all the answers.

It is hard to believe that the man who sang “I started to think too much when I was twelve / going on thirteen” (on the album Hears and Bones in 1983) and had a top 50 hit (with Art Garfunkel) when he was still in high school is now 64. Although his range is somewhat reduced, he compensates for it well, in part by adding half-spoken lyrics and more complex instrumentals.

Read the rest of this entry »