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| Headline | New Biography |
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| Author | Comment |
Klausi
Oct-07-2016, 11:47 GMT
Germany
 | Peter Ames Carlin, Homeward Bound, Life of Paul Simon.
415 pages, released October 11/2016
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| | 1  Scaaty
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Scaaty
Oct-09-2016, 09:07 GMT
Ireland
 | Is it an official biography? |
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Brenda
Oct-09-2016, 11:43 GMT
Australia
  | No it is not Scatty The official one is in the process of writing by Robert Hilburn. He recently said publication date approx 2017 . |
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Håkan
Oct-10-2016, 09:20 GMT
USA - United Staates America
 | There is also a new S & G biography called "Simon & Garfunkel: Together Alone" by Spencer Leigh
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0857161504/ref
=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AHRB
2OK2Q2YCL |
| | 1 Brenda
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Bodo
Oct-10-2016, 16:38 GMT
USA - United Staates America
 | The target audience for that biography is more the anti-Paul-Simon-fan (or the Art Garfunkel only fan?) so be cautious. It is about Paul stealing songs from other artists and how it was his fault that S&G broke up. At least this blog entry gives the expression:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/pau
l-simon-biography-paints-world-class-music-thief-a
rticle-1.2822766
(nothing new is said)
I wonder who really is buying those books, where something bad about an artist is written. |
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mog
Oct-11-2016, 19:00 GMT
Canada
 | I browsed through the book a bit earlier today at Chapters.
Was disappointed that all post-Capeman stuff is expedited in a few pages at the end. So it looks like it is going to be the usual stuff: time in London, S&G and the story of Graceland. Unfortunately, it is too late for me to cancel my Amazon order as the book is being expedited. Grrr...
As for the thief stuff, I don't really expect to learn a lot. We know the story with Berg, Los Lobos, the zydeco group already. We know that Paul has a few skeletons in his wardrobe. |
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Joey
Oct-11-2016, 20:42 GMT
Canada
 | I am 150 pages in and there's loads I didn't know about Paul's childhood, teenage years and early career. The author has done a lot of research. I don't think you'll be disappointed... |
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SimonD.
Oct-12-2016, 11:14 GMT
United Kingdom
  | Why is Paul Simon so ill served by so called biographers ?
I have not seen the Carlin book, but browsing Spencer Leighs "updated" offering in my local Waterstones I was staggered by its incompetence. Poorly written, under researched, smudged photos, error strewn, and shoddily presented. This copy even had thirty pages missing !
Indeed a snare for the unwary, and a trap for the gullible in the approaching Xmas tide. |
| | 1 Brenda
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Håkan
Oct-12-2016, 12:39 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| There are so many errors in that Daily News article that I lost count (don't know if it is the reporter who wrote the article or if her source is the book by Peter Ames Carlin?). If it is Carlin who hasn't checked his fact better, it certainly makes me wonder how accurate he is about other facts that I don't know if they are true or not. |
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Bodo
Oct-12-2016, 15:39 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| Thank you Joey for the insight on the book.
It seems so far, that most book reviews only pick out the really bad parts.
But there is also that one short story, when Paul saw the author in the audience and had only cold eyes for him.
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Bodo
Oct-12-2016, 16:03 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| Wasn't there a recent article/interview with Paul, where he said something like:"Did I really steal all that stuff" Brenda I am sure you know what article I am talking about, it was just a few weeks back.
Overal I do not think Paul has "stolen" a lot of the music.
Even if we look back at the most prominent example Graceland, there is no doubt he has written all of the big hits, Graceland, Al, Diamonds. He clearly wrote SOS, Bridge, Boxer, Kodachrome, 50 ways, Still crazy, Late in the evening, Hearts and Bones. The questioned examples are maybe a hand full of not famous songs where musicians have add more than just playing their instrument note by note.
As a solo artist he is forced to use session musicians a lot to receive a special sound, so the question usually would be: Did Steve Gadd write "50 ways to leave your lover"? Well he added a famous drum pattern to it, but IMO thats not songwriting. Bakithi also wrote that bass solo for "Al" but in the end it was Pauls decission to reverse it and he also could have decided to simply ask him playing a different solo.
But then some of those session musicians think different, or they have their own band and then work in the studio for other artists.
I guess the difference is more about how the instrumentalist sees his own contribution later. I am sure that Olodrum could also say they have written "The obvious child". Or was it just drums recorded and then mixed together by Paul and Roy to a song. Well, I prefer Pauls version of the song.
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Klausi
Oct-12-2016, 17:17 GMT
Germany
| Have ordered the book and will read it partly or in full.
My comment of stealing is, there are very few musicians who could be so happy being invited by Simon including to have the chance presenting their own ideas.
What is a creative process? To say to the best and skilled session musicians: now you should play what I have in mind and postpone your own suggestions? To say this to guys like Toots Thielemans 20 years older or Quincy Jones?
My favourite Album still is TGRS. Recorded in Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, where a few talented musicians took permanent residence so that somebody who recorded there could stay instead of going into an empty studio and invite all sessinon musicians to this place.
Paul Simon was the most important and early guest there and recorded six songs within three days, which of course were written before but got changes because of proposals from this stuff. (Roger Hawkins, Bary Beckett etc, see the cover of TGRS). But Paul invited the Dixie Hummingsbirds to this place too and Loves me like a rock was recorded and perfect in one session.
TGRS came out in May 1973, 14 months after Paul Simon, also because there was no tour between.
It was only in this century that this place was closed.
So Simon the stealer is really Simon the ready for influence and supporting other musicians guy. |
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mog
Oct-12-2016, 19:08 GMT
Canada
| I propose we do read the book first and then discuss in full knowledge.
It seems that we might be a bit too strong on giving Paul the benefit of the doubt on everything.
Me too, I was struck by this statement by Simon himself in his interview where he was saying that he was very harsh with himself at one point, asking if he was indeed the big stealer.
I am not a musician, so I don't know how typically things come together. I guess there a few models you can follow, and Simon himself have written in different ways throughout his career.
It looks there has been a bit of lies with Graceland. Al : the hook came from Ray Phiri, bass from Bakhiti. Crazy Love Vol. II is based on a lullaby from Malawi. The Myth of Fingerprints is probably a total steal. Let's not forget that for this entire project, Paul had nothing on paper. And this applies to the two 'american' songs on Graceland.
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Klausi
Oct-12-2016, 20:40 GMT
Germany
| Hi mog,
Simon in his words in the Omnibus Special 1988: Music is a free floating area and when you can make some good of it it`s ok.
Of course you have to pay attention and respect for melodies and rhymes still existing with legal rights not to make a copy and risk a law suit.
But you can use melodies from Bach or Beethoven as you want.
Paul thought the melody of "American Tune" was from Bach, but it was not true, Bach had stolen it from a guy who composed it many years ago.
But I am sure this was not even the case with that last song on Graceland about a talk show host.
But the whole discussion about Graceland about whether it was against the cultural boycott and stealing music helped the album to get more popular and sell more copies, and for that we should be grateful, because from the point of now this discussion was nonsense.
Paul was forced to do his 1987 African Concert in Zimbabwe instead of S.A. but what Mugabe did to "his" country in the meantime was worse than what ever happened in S.A. |
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brenda
Oct-17-2016, 04:38 GMT
Australia
| Bodo, this might be what you remember. Paul mentioned in the recent Grammy Museum interview that there was a time when he was really down on himself and he took a ego beating from from an inner voice saying his voice stinks, he was a thief because he took ideas from here or there. It was an open wound. It took about six months before he realized the voice could be lying. (the live streaming ended before this but it was included in the You tube upload a couple of days ago. I think Paul also referred to this episode in the lyrics of "Sure Don't feel like Love '
Regarding Los Lobos Paul, finished recording in the studio with them in June 1985 . You can see Paul's working on the lyrics of the Graceland songs in his handwriting in the Notes and Lyrics book which was included with the 25 th Anniversary Box Set. "All Around the World is dated 17 Nov 1985 . Lyrics were definitely all Paul's own work so I cannot understand Los Lobos referring to it as their song. Steve has never actually said what Paul took. Was it a melody or a lick or what? Can never understand why they did not sue. If it was a complete song like they said they must have had a recording of it somewhere. |
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