"EB: Well, I´ve been learning a new style of finger picking on the guitar, and it´s led to a lot of new songs. Paul (Simon) and I are making a little duets record together, and it features a lot of that finger style picking guitar, and that´s been a real lot of fun. I mean, I can see how he really knows how to make a record, and it´s fascinating to watch him throw something so simple together and make it grow into this sonic landscape that is gorgeous. So that´s been exciting, and that´s creatively what´s going on."
Thats the news I Love.
Could become one of the best albums (also in therms of sales and recognition) including(or by?) Paul Simon in the last decades. I expect it to have a lot of simpl and guitar based songs, catchy tunes and nice melodies - something that reminds us more on the S&G days, especially because there will be a lot of harmonies - but all that in a fresh way. That would please the part of the audience Paul could not catch with the last 2 or 3 albums.
Well, thats just my expectation. BTW.: I still love Edie Brickells last years album a lot, maybe I even play it more often to friends now than So beautiful or so what. It´s a kind of music that pleases everyone.
[Readers: 382 ]
Carol Apr-20-2012, 15:51 GMT USA - United Staates America
I disagree with Bodo here on one point. I think the SBOSW adventure has shown that even with good songs, Paul does not sell anymore much. I guess many of us thought at some point that Paul was not selling because his albums were lacking hits (YTO, Surprise). But came SBOSW, and even with a few catchy tunes, it was not a hit.
Yes, the decline of CD sales is a lot to blame, but still, you probably get my point. It was best summarized years ago by Roger Friedman: Simon has a legendary status, a high-class act, but no longer a best seller (still, to be fair: his 2011 tour was highly successful).
All this to say that even with catchy tunes and duos with Edie Brickell (who has a modest popularity by the way), I do not expect more commercial successes on Simon´s front.
[Readers: 382 ]
Jay Apr-20-2012, 22:24 GMT USA - United Staates America
I Love YTO Surprise and SBOSW but I do see what Bodo is saying. They aren´t straight forward pop songs and therefore less people are likely to get into them. But I also agree with Mog in that SBOSW does have a lot of catchy tunes on it
But on May 1st we´ll get to hear a sampling of what this is going to sound like, then we´ll have a clearer picture of how it´ll do.
[Readers: 382 ]
Phil Apr-21-2012, 02:12 GMT USA - United Staates America
I used to be bothered by album sales, or lack there of; beginning with Surprise. That Simon could not go gold was beyond comprehension.
But, I think we really need to take into account the state of the recording industry. Big sales are RARE these days. There is the occasional Adele. But those are few and far between.
I see Madonna opened a week or two ago with 359k - a great opening, then plunged to 48k (a record 2nd week decline).
Paul opened SBOSW at #4, his highest solo opening . . . but look at 20 yrs ago, what a #4 would sell, or indeed what ROTS sold. The industry is dying, or changing or the very least.
Madonna was cheating, that was a big article in the media some days ago. It´s not only Madonna doin that, they all do it (they sell thousands of CDs to big stores and in a few months those stores will send back the unsold items...I have no clue why that counts in the charts)
Well, I believe (haven´t checked now) that musicians like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel a.s.o. do not sell more albums than Paul, but they are still recognized a lot more by the audience. People at my age which know Paul Simon only know ´Graceland´ and usually think he hasn´t done anything since that time. All those other musicians got their 60 (and 70) years birthday special on TV and big articles in newspapers. Paul didn´t. I do not really know the reason why. It can´t be Pauls decision because when there is some S&G talk they are asked for interviews and agree on doin it.
Interesting discussion, although we have visited this subject here and there for sure.
There is of course the decline of the selling of the physical product (CD), but I kind of take into account the selling of digital music. This is non-scientific, but when I was getting on the Canadian iTunes store, I was rapidly checking if SBOSW was put under the tab ´Recent Hits´ (which is side by side with novelties)*. If I remember well, the album simply never showed up there. Alyson Krauss, who released an album the same week, was there, even if she is very popular, but with a style of music that is not everyone´s cup of tea.
There are plenty of things to celebrate about SBOSW: a strong album that has been recognized as such by music aficionados + magazines and a highly successful tour that was gathering people from 7-77 years Old (compare that with the usual S&G nostalgia tours). Once again, Paul achieved a mini-rebirth: people were actually still paying attention to him. Indeed, SBOSW has gotten the attention of people who had never heard about Paul´s music since Graceland/ROTS. I am grateful for that.
What I was saying is I thought that his previous albums did not sell quite well because they were lacking hits, but with SBOSW, the point was made that realistically (another Graceland being very unlikely!), Paul now sells very little. But with people showing up at the concerts, I guess Torrents have been extensively used...
* in all fairness, I am say that I have received year-long the newsletter of HDtracks.com web site and SBOSW was almost always listed as one of their best sellers in pop music. So people who appreciate great sound liked SBOSW ;-)
James Taylor, Neil Young, Paul Mccartney and Leonard Cohen don`t sell well either. Bob Dylan too. Joni Mitchell obviously has retired. Mccartney`s and Cohen`s recent albums sank like a stone after a short visit in the Top Ten. As Kate Bush, Suzanne Vega etc.etc.
Sbosw was in the top ten of about ten countries and given the fact, that CD-sales dropped by about 70 Percent since 2000, it was quite successful. His real flops were Hearts And Bones and The Capeman. One-trick pony also only went Gold, not Platinum, containing his last Top-Ten-Hit in the US (Late In The Evening).
