Paul Simon - Seven Psalms

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 3 / 7 / 2023

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Review

Paul Simon has never been afraid of taking chances with his solo albums. Though he and Art Garfunkel will always be best known for their epic standards – like ‘The Sound of Silence’ and ‘Mrs Robinson’, Paul Simon broke new ground on 1986's ‘Graceland’ by combining South African township rhythms with Western pop and more recently by employing a chamber sextet to revisit his back catalogue. On his last (2016) album of original material, the UK chart-topping ‘Stranger To Stranger’, Simon enlisted the help of Spanish flamenco players, Latin American percussionists and the Italian dance artist, Clap! Clap! But Simon's latest album, ‘Seven Psalms’ is audacious, even by these past bold standards. It is a continuous piece of music lasting 33 minutes which consists of seven interwoven segments in which Simon's instantly-recognisable voice is set against delicate acoustic arrangements plus his wife Edie Brickell's fine backing harmonies. At 81, Simon is now looking to the Old Testament for inspiration - but with attractive melodies and clever lyrics that are all his own, inspired, he says, partly by his dreams and often written in the early hours. The album begins with ‘The Lord’, thanking The Almighty for all that is good in the world. But as the tempo quickens, Simon holds God responsible for pain and suffering (including Covid) and at one point he comments wryly, “The Lord is my record producer”. There is the odd reference to past work - like his 1977 hit single, ‘Slip Sliding Away’ and ‘My Professional Opinion’ takes gentle aim at the whole artistic process, deciding that the only opinion that ever really matters is God's. The bass harmonica used on this track is reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel's ‘The Boxer’. Throughout the album, Simon’s writing is both rich and astute – though the mood is mystical and melancholy. Edie Brickell's voice comes nicely to the fore on ‘The Sacred Harp’ which talks of “two hapless hitchhikers” on the road of life. ‘Seven Psalms’ comes to an end with Simon's playful take on his own mortality. “I'm not ready/I'm just packing my gear” he sings a tad plaintively. His many fans will be relieved to hear this and, even if this new record may not be to everyone's taste, Paul Simon's ability to still produce such finely-crafted original songs and music reaffirms to us all that his creative ability is undiminished.

Track Listing:-

1 The Lord
2 Love Is Like A Braid
3 My Professional Opinion
4 Your Forgiveness
5 Trail Of Volcanoes
6 The Sacred Harp
7 Wait

Band Links:-

https://www.paulsimon.com
https://www.facebook.com/paulsimon
https://twitter.com/PaulSimonMusic

Label Links:-

http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/sonymusicsouth
https://www.facebook.com/SonyMusicSout
https://www.youtube.com/user/essonymus
https://instagram.com/sonymusic
https://plus.google.com/+sonymusic/pos

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