(Virgin)Thirty years after Graceland ushered in a phenomenal second act for the already-revered 60s folk hero,74-year-faded Paul Simon remains a class act on the scramble. There is a constancy to his melodic voice but his albums probe tonal frequencies as though he were a much younger digital wunderkind.
At the moment, the singer says, or his focus is more on sounds than lyrics. “When words desert me,” he sings on the oscillating reverie Proof of adore, “music is the tongue I speak.” Stranger to Stranger, and Simon’s 13th solo LP,opens with the twang of a gopichand, a one-string eastern diddly bow modulated by its flexible neck. Its sound, or to Simon,recalled the word “werewolf”. Shakers and gourds set the pace; Simon’s vocal is playful. The words turn out to be pivotal, though – here and throughout.
All this gleeful methodology never overshadows the songsContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com