Archive for May, 2004
May 25, 2004 at 7:41 pm · Filed under Paul Simon
Billboard Online announced today that Warner Brothers will release all nine of Paul Simon’s studio albums featured in the upcoming box set Complete Studio Recordings: 1972-2000 individually, featuring remastered sound and previously unreleased bonus tracks, during the month of July:
The nine albums that make up the June 29 Paul Simon boxed set “The Studio Recordings: 1972-2000″ will be issued individually by Warner Bros. the following month. Expanded editions of “Paul Simon,” “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “One Trick Pony” and “Hearts and Bones” are due July 13, while ” Graceland,” “The Rhythm of the Saints,” “Songs From the Capeman” and “You’re the One” will arrive July 27.
“The Studio Recordings” comprises the first digitally remastered editions of Simon’s solo work. The set also features six never-before-released Simon tracks plus an additional 25 demos and outtakes.
– Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
May 22, 2004 at 8:22 pm · Filed under Paul Simon
From the Associated Press:
Singers host Kerry fund-raising event
May 21, 2004
NEW CANAAN, Conn. — Singers Paul Simon and Edie Brickell hosted a $1 million fund-raiser with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry Friday night, but when it came to music there were only the sounds of silence. Simon and his wife Brickell did not perform at the fund-raiser although Simon briefly spoke to the crowd gathered under a tent on his lawn. He praised Kerry’s “illustrious life of service.”
“History has placed John Kerry in the middle of the most crucial presidential campaign since the days of Vietnam,” Simon said.
Among the guests were actors Richard Gere and Chevy Chase and producer Lorne Michaels. Half the money raised will go to Kerry’s campaign and the other half to the Democratic National Committee.
Kerry said he and Simon were in the same place in the 1950s, playing in a band.
“Now let me put the right spin on it tonight — between us we’ve won 16 Grammys,” Kerry said to laughter from the crowd. “It goes without saying that there is a little difference between us.”
Kerry told reporters on his campaign plane that Simon said he and his former partner Art Garfunkel would perform together in support of Kerry later this year.
May 21, 2004 at 11:13 pm · Filed under Paul Simon
Quite an interesting discussion today on the merits of the upcoming nine-disc box set at amps. Granted, much of the material to be included in the box has been around for a while (it is, after all, a box set), though Paul’s pre-nineties output could use a sound polish. However, the bonus tracks look riveting - here are my initial thoughts on ‘em.
According to Billboard, there seem to be three kinds of unreleased cuts: demos/works-in-progress, unreleased versions (presumably somewhat more complete than the demos, perhaps with substantial backing on the tracks) and live performances. Of these, a handful sound really exciting, because, to my knowledge, nobody - bootleggers included - has heard them yet: “Let Me Live In Your City,” from There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, an early version of “Something So Right” that Paul played on the Dick Cavett show on July 2, 1972; “All Because of You” and “Spiral Highway,” both of which come from One-Trick Pony (”Spiral” has been known as a didn’t-make-it from the film for years - whatever happened to “I Wanna Get High” and “Slow Man“?); “Shelter of Your Arms,” from Hearts and Bones; and “Shoplifting Clothes,” which was featured in The Capeman, and is featured on the unreleased soundtrack.
Of other interest are what should be some great demos, including what should be a smoking duet on “Born In Puerto Rico” from The Capeman with JosĂ© Feliciano; Paul’s solo demo of “Homeless,” before Ladysmith Black Mambazo added their blessed harmonies; and an acoustic (solo?) demo of “Born at the Right Time.”
I have to admit that I’m scratching my head a little bit about the demo version of “Can I Forgive Him,” since the recorded version always sounded like a demo to me (a spot-on, knock-your-shoes-off demo, that is) - you can even hear Paul adjust his sitting position about 45 seconds in. I’m also pretty stoked about the work-in-progress versions of “The Coast” and “Spirit Voices,” two songs which have continued to grow since they were recorded, most recently in magical new live arrangements. It will be interesting to hear the opposite of that, the embryonic versions of a pair of Paul’s most spiritual tunes. The in-progress version of “All Around The World” sounds interesting too - I wonder if Los Lobos will appear on it.
All in all, who would have thought that Paul Simon would dig around his archives and come up with 30 basically unreleased tracks. Can’t wait to hear ‘em!
May 20, 2004 at 10:26 am · Filed under Paul Simon
According to a reliable friend, May 20th was recently annointed Simon & Garfunkel Day in New York City. In celebration, we at Lasers will be spinning Bleecker Street and The 59th Street Bridge Song all day long. How will you be celebrating? Let us know in the comments!
May 19, 2004 at 8:14 pm · Filed under Paul Simon
The Empire State Building is lit up in blue and yellow tonight in honour of Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, who are about to receive a special honour from the Children’s Health Fund. The dynamic duo, who donated a million bucks to the charity Paul co-founded with Dr. Irwin Redelener in the eighties, will be honoured in a special ceremony hosted by NBC’s Al Roker at the fund’s annual gala dinner tonight. Peter R. Dolan, chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, is the honouree at the event (S&G are to be fĂȘted in a “special award ceremony”), and the evening will bop to the tunes of Paul’s better half, Edie Brickell. Support the CHF here.
May 19, 2004 at 1:20 pm · Filed under Paul Simon
From today’s New York Daily News, a story you may have heard before - of note is that Paul is the recipient of a couple of honours and that he and Edie are fighting the good fight for John Kerry:
When Joe D. waxed lyrical
Back in the ’60s, the entire country was singing Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” and asking, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?”
But the Yankee Clipper didn’t seem to appreciate their concern when Paul Simon introduced himself to the baseball legend at an Italian restaurant on Central Park South.
“These were the days of the hippie,” Simon remembers. “I think he thought it was some kind of mockery that he wasn’t privy to.”
DiMaggio told Simon that he hadn’t “gone” anywhere - that he was doing ads for Mr. Coffee and Bowery Savings Bank.
“He didn’t understand,” says Simon, who admits that his lyric pining for another true American hero “was kind of hard to understand. It just sort of came to me.
“I tried to tell him that it wasn’t in any way meant negatively about him,” Simon told us Monday, when he received the 2004 Joe DiMaggio Award at the Waldorf benefit for Xaverian High School and Loyola School.
The song must have grown on Joltin’ Joe. Every time they met afterward, Simon remembers, “he was always very affectionate.”
P.S. Simon and his wife, Edie Brickell are having a weekend fund-raiser for Sen. John Kerry at their spread in Greenwich, Conn. And tonight Simon and Art Garfunkel will be honored at the New York Hilton for their $1 million donation to the Children’s Health Fund.
May 19, 2004 at 1:57 am · Filed under Paul Simon
Amazon.ca has what it claims is the cover image for the upcoming nine-disc box set, Studio Recordings 1972-2000:
The handwritten manuscript featured here is the first draft of “You Can Call Me Al,” then known as “In The Himalayas.” It’s quite possible this is an early shot and that the final product will change - though the use of ITH suggests (to me, at least) that we’re on to something.
(Thanks to Marc-Olivier for the tip.)
May 19, 2004 at 1:23 am · Filed under Paul Simon
Billboard Online announced today that Warner Brothers has pegged June 29th as the release date of the rumoured nine-disc Paul Simon box set, The Studio Recordings 1972-2000.
In addition to providing remastered sound (like last year’s On My Way, Don’t Know Where I’m Goin’: The Paul Simon Collection and the non-U.S. greatest hits collection, Shining Like A National Guitar), Studio Recordings will package all nine of Paul’s post-S&G albums, each featuring bonus tracks - and, judging by this first look, the box may well be worth your hard-earned cash.
The bonus cuts:
Paul Simon - demos of “Duncan” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” recorded in February 1971 in San Francisco, plus a previously unreleased version of “Paranoia Blues.”
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon - acoustic demos of “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” and “Loves Me Like a Rock,” an unfinished run through “American Tune” and a work-in-progress rendition of “Let Me Live in Your City.”
Still Crazy After All These Years - demos of the No. 5 pop hit “Slip Slidin’ Away” and “Gone at Last” with the Jessy Dixon Singers and the track “Silent Eyes” from the film “Shampoo.”
One-Trick Pony - previously unreleased tracks, “Soft Parachutes,” “All Because of You,” “Stranded in a Limousine” and “Spiral Highway.”
Hearts and Bones - acoustic demos of the John Lennon elegy “The Late Great Johnny Ace,” “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War” and “Train in the Distance,” plus the previously unreleased work-in-progress track “Shelter of Your Arms.”
Graceland - a demo of “Homeless,” an unreleased version of “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and an early take on “All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints.”
Rhythm of the Saints - an acoustic demo of “Born at the Right Time” and work-in-progress versions of “The Coast” and “Spirit Voices.”
Songs from the Capeman - a demo of “Born in Puerto Rico” featuring Jose Feliciano, the demo for “Can I Forgive Him” and the unreleased “Shoplifting Clothes.”
You’re The One - live renditions of “Old,” opener “That’s Where I Belong” and “Hurricane Eye.”
I’ll have my thoughts on what looks like a promising collection of some recently unearthed threads in the fabric of Paul’s career.
May 18, 2004 at 10:17 pm · Filed under Paul Simon
Welcome to Lasers in the Jungle News v2.0 - the Web’s first Paul Simon blog.
For old news, including our that of our relaunch yesterday, click here. We at Lasers have decided to abandon the old straight news format, in favour of a more informal and interactive blog. I’ll be updating the news here on a (semi-) regular basis (don’t forget to check out The Dreamer of Music and The Neck of My Guitar for breaking news), but I’ll be adding some commentary, some insight and the opportunity for you to share, via the Comments; all you have to do is click “comments” below and follow the instructions.
I’ll be working out the kinks in the next little while, changing the look and feel of things, but hop right on in - the first blog news update is on its way. A couple of final points: (1) if you haven’t been here in a while, start at the bottom and work up, and (2) you can view this site as part of LitJ or on its own by visiting paul.simon.org/blog.
Enjoy!
