In the Blue Light

In the Blue Light

by Paul Simon
In the Blue Light

In the Blue Light

by Paul Simon

CD(Digi-Pak)

$14.99 
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Overview

Paul Simon designed In the Blue Light as a way to focus attention on songs of his that he believed never got the acknowledgment they deserved. It's a reflective project, so it's fitting that it arrived in September of 2018, as Simon was in the process of wrapping up a farewell tour. By their nature, farewell tours are exercises in nostalgia, but self-cover albums offer an artist an opportunity to surprise. That's an opportunity Paul Simon seizes on In the Blue Light. Working with a diverse set of collaborators, including Bill Frisell, Wynton Marsalis, and Bryce Dessner of the National, Simon winds up with an elastic, elegant album that plays with jazz and chamber music as much as it does folk and worldbeat. With the exception of "Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy," whose flowing lines now seem abstract thanks to opaque cloisters of piano and saxophone, the arrangements aren't radically different, yet the execution differs wildly from the previous versions. Everything on In the Blue Light is deliberate, gentle, and subtle, placing as much emphasis on the words and melody as the instrumentation, which isn't necessarily the case with the dense original albums. It's possible to enjoy In the Blue Light as high-end background music, but it also rewards close listening, not only because the arrangements invite appreciation of the clever song construction but what the song selection reveals about what Simon thinks of his own work. Taken on that level, In the Blue Light shows he has the same affection for deep tracks as many of his fans -- "One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor," "Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy," "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War," and "Can't Run But," all being the relatively better-known songs that would snag the curious -- but it also shows that he thinks 2000's You're the One is underappreciated. A whopping four songs -- amounting to nearly half of Blue Light -- come from You're the One, including the epic seven-minute "Darling Lorraine," where Simon demonstrably acts out the lyrics. Here, it's possible to hear the lively wit not just in the song but in the performance, revealing that for this singer/songwriter, this is not a collection of confessions: this is craft, through and through. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 09/07/2018
Label: Legacy / Sony Music
UPC: 0190758414423
Rank: 63327

Tracks

  1. One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor
  2. Love
  3. Can't Run But
  4. How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns
  5. Pigs, Sheep and Wolves
  6. Ren¿¿ and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War
  7. The Teacher
  8. Darling Lorraine
  9. Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy
  10. Questions for the Angels

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Paul Simon   Primary Artist,Vocals,Harmonica,Harmonium,Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Renaud Garcia-Fons   Bass,Percussion
Wycliffe Gordon   Tuba
Wynton Marsalis   Trumpet
Sullivan Fortner   Piano,Celeste,Harmonium,Chromelodeon
Nate Smith   Drums
Marion Felder   Drums
Mark Stewart   Guitar (Acoustic)
Dan Block   Clarinet
Hideaki Aomori   Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Gabriel Cabezas   Cello
Nadia Sirota   Viola
Carmen Camerieri   Trumpet,Piccolo Trumpet
Chris Crenshaw   Trombone
Jim Oblon   Guitar
Alex Sopp   Flute,Flute (Alto)
Joel Wenhardt   Piano
Skip La Plante   Percussion
Steve Gadd   Drums
Andy Snitzer   Saxophone
Odair Assad   Guitar
Sergio Assad   Guitar
Bill Frisell   Guitar (Electric)
Jack DeJohnette   Drums
Joe Lovano   Saxophone
Edie Brickell   Finger Snaps
Vincent Nguini   Guitar (Electric)
John Patitucci   Bass
Jamey Haddad   Percussion
Rob Moose   Violin
Herlin Riley   Tambourine
Marcus Printup   Trumpet
Walter Blanding   Saxophone

Technical Credits

Roy Halee   Mixing,Producer
Wynton Marsalis   Arranger
Robert Sirota   Arranger
Chris Allen   Engineer
Brett Mayer   Engineer
Owen Mulholland   Engineer
Nate Odden   Assistant Engineer
Grant Valentine   Assistant Engineer
Matt Soares   Assistant Engineer
Elana Schlenker   Design,Illustrations
Jim Corona   Session Coordinator
Joost Evers   Photography
Mark Pernice   Design,Illustrations
Paul Simon   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Andy Smith   Engineer
Bryce Dessner   Arranger
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Rob Moose   Arranger
Marco Antonio Guimaraes   Arranger
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