New Paul Simon album "Stranger to Stranger" (spring 2016) + Tour

It also doesn't sound anything like "Graceland." The rhythm, the upright bass, the horns... not the same kind of sound at all.

 

A song in the long tradition of frustration expressed over exclusion:

"Oxford town, around the bend,
He come to the door, but he couldn't get in,
All because of the color of his skin,
What do you think about that my friend?"
- Bob Dylan

"There I was at the immigration scene, shining and feeling clean,
Could it be a sin?
I got stopped, by the immigration man, says he doesn't know if he can,
Let me in."
- Graham Nash

"The man in the mac, says 'You gotta go back",
You know they didn't even give us a chance."
- Lennon/McCartney

"As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said 'No Trespassing.'
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me."
- Woody Guthrie

 

This article makes me really excited to hear the album!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/a...s&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

 

I will buy the album but not at the current price for the "Deluxe" edition (which has 5 bonus tracks but is still a single CD).

Nor will I buy the "Standard" version, knowing that I am missing out.

So the clever marketing ploy has lost a customer, at least for the initial release.

Tim

 

Five bonus tracks!

1. "Horace and Pete" (2:30)
2. "Duncan" (4:43) (Live from A Prairie Home Companion)
3. "Wristband" (3:28) (Live from A Prairie Home Companion)
4. "Guitar Piece 3" (1:10)
5. "New York Is My Home" (duet with Dion) (4:30)

 

Fixed

Tim

 

New song from NPR:

Paul Simon Talks Upcoming Album, Shares New Song »

 

Wow, that's cool. 38 minutes on a single song.

 

Bonus Track # 5 was already released earlier this year on Dion's new album …

 

Little peed off by his UK tour, but I'm looking forward to the album. Deluxe version for me.

 

A real shame he's only doing a handful of shows over here.

 

Here's another track from the forthcoming album. I'm not sure that this will be the finished mix & the quality is what it is, but it's a studio cut. This came out at a lecture he was doing a few years ago (looks like Oct. 2013- see link below) & a recording leaked. Anyways it's yet another great song.

Here's another source... similar quality... http://paul-simon.info/PHP/files/3110_The Riverbank.mp3

Here's the tale of where it was leaked from:
https://nyupopculture.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/tem-fun-facts-we-learned-from-paul-simons-appearance-at-the-new-yorker-festival/

 

I think this might be more interesting once I'm familiar with the song. A 40 minute discussion about a song I've never heard kinda goes on a bit long. I'll try again later.

 

Well you can just listen to the song (that's all I've done)...

 

Yeah, but I'd have to listen to it several times to become familiar with it. I'd rather wait to do that until the album is out. I won't have an interest in the minutiae until I've digested it a bit.

 

I like what I've heard so far. Deluxe for me!

 

I can't wait to get the vinyl version. "NPR first listen" will stream the album next week!

 

Well, I have to say I was a little disappointed in the show here last night. I realize Paul is 74. The other septuagenarian Paul I saw this spring (Macca) wasn't in very good voice that night, but at least he put on a generous show (39 songs, and 2hrs, 50mins). Including encores, Simon played a grand total of 1hr, 50mins and that's just not really acceptable in my book. I was excited to hear "Proof" (from Rhythm of The Saints) kicking off the show, but then disappointed to realize it was an abbreviated version performed by his band only, with no vocals - he didn't come on stage until that number was concluding. Similarly, after performing Homeward Bound, he said something about "here's another from that era" and the band started playing El Condor Pasa (If I Could). But again, this was just an abbreviated instrumental run-through. I'd say, if you don't want to perform S&G songs, then just skip them altogether, Paul (the only other one he did was final encore, The Boxer). I will say he was in much better voice than I expected and the band did sound fabulous, but it was just a little disappointing to be at an outdoor show that started at 7:19pm and concluded before the sun had even set.

Hope those of you attending later shows aren't as picky as me!

 

How many songs did he play from the new album? How did they sound? Anything interesting picks from the back catalog?

 

He only did Werewolf and Wristband from the new album and they sounded great. Pretty much all of the songs sounded good - my disappointment was with the relative brevity of the set (SLC got three more songs the night before). The full set is here:
Paul Simon Setlist at Idaho Botanical Gardens, Boise »

It was also a serious cluster---- with a new promoter running their first gig at the venue (which has a 4000 capacity) There were four entry lines, plus the "members" entry. We got there at 5pm, an hour before the scheduled entry (6pm) and were about 20th in line, so we should've had a great spot on the lawn. However, apparently the ticket scanners weren't working properly and so they didn't open the main gates until 640pm (no tickets were scanned or taken). Meanwhile, they opened the gate for the members an hour earlier and I'd guess there were 1000-1200 people seated before we even got in, so the primo spots were all filled in. Similarly, they couldn't figure out how to direct people out of the venue, and it took us 45 minutes to make the roughly 3-block exit and head home.

I've probably seen 10-12 shows at this venue in the past and never had any of these problems.

 

Seriously, you think that playing under 2 hours is unacceptable? I'm usually good with a 90 minute show before I start to lose interest!

 

Looking at the previous set list, "Stranger to Stranger" was dropped - hopefully that was only for one night. I'd much rather have the new songs than Simon & Garfunkel songs (unless he's dipping deep for them, which is unlikely). If he's already gone from 3 new songs down to 2, that's a bummer.

When I saw Graham Nash a while back (also 74), he played a bit less than you got from Paul, including an intermission.

 

Yup! If I'm seeing a new artist with not much of a discography, I'm ok with a shorter set. However, of the hundreds of concerts I've attended over the last 35 years, I'd say 85% have been two hours or more, so that's my "yardstick" for what's expected. When it's a "heritage" act, with decades of recorded work, and there isn't even an opening act, I'm definitely shaking my head if they're wrapping up their main set at the 85-90 minute mark, and that's what Paul did last night. Not to mention these are the acts with the highest ticket prices. Simon was "only" $70 here, which is cheap compared to what he's charging in other markets, but that's still a pricey show for most.

In the last couple years I've seen Springsteen, McCartney, Paul Weller, Neil Finn, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Ringo, John Fogerty, Richard Thompson - all older acts, and all but one did lengthier shows than Simon (last summer Fogerty had terrible weather in SLC - the show started an hour late and it POURED throughout, so I understand that one). I'm not hugely disappointed, and perhaps the logistical disasters with the promoter played a part, but it was just a little underwhelming overall.

 

Played "Stranger to Stranger" last night in Portland, along with the other two.

Seemed like over a 2 hour show to me. Phenomenal show.

 

3 June. Really looking forward to it.