That’s all fine and well, but it’s still an album of remakes. “One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor” becomes a big band slow blues, whereas “Love” (one of four songs from You’re The One) isn’t all that different, except that now it has Bill Frisell. “Can’t Run But” does get an orchestral treatment from the yMusic ensemble, who we first heard on a Ben Folds album. “How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns” goes for late-night jazz, with help from Wynton Marsalis, who infuses “Pigs, Sheep And Wolves” with New Orleans gumbo.
The yMusic folks return on “Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War”, downplaying the doo-wop references on the original but still lovely. “The Teacher” works better in this context, particularly with the focus on Spanish guitars and brief saxophone solos, but he still chooses to “act out” the emotions in “Darling Lorraine” rather than let the words and music carry them. That lengthy tune makes the moody jazz of “Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy” stand out that much more. It’s an especially nice lead-in to the very soft take on “Questions For The Angels”.
Throughout In The Blue Light his voice is tired, but he works with its limitations. Having different players on each track also gives the listener time to be immersed in each, rather than have them be lost in the sequence. It’s a nice album for easy listening.
Paul Simon In The Blue Light (2018)—3
I like easy listening ❤
ReplyDeleteThis one is a very mixed bag. Interestingly, I think another lead vocalist might have able to sing the hell out of the jazzy arrangements of the earliest stuff, more so than Paul himself (jazz covers exist of these, of course). Overall, the more intimate arrangements bring out the touching lyrics of songs like “Rene and Magritte..” and “Darling Lorraine”. My favorite is "Can't Run But", because it has a bit more energy than the rest, and it’s just as strange as the original version. My least favorite is "Pigs, Sheep and Wolves", but that was my least favortie on “You’re the One”. I always found the “Animal Farm”-esque lyrics really disturbing. The New Orleans sound of the remake only reemphasizes them. "Questions for the Angels" is a wonderful way to end the album, but the new recording doesn’t, in this case, add much.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a record for committed fans, more than anyone else. In the end, though, even they would be more likely to go back to the original versions.