I have always loved Paul Simon, after he went solo way back when. After Bob Dylan got the Nobel Prize in Literature recently, I began to think about who the great lyricists really are. We just lost Leonard Cohen, and of course he was #2 after Bob. But I really think Paul Simon sits in the number three position. I’d like to hear who you think should also be in there. Especially of the women writers. Of course, Joni Mitchell was spectacular, although she isn’t writing anymore. But Paul Simon really is special and it is his use of world instrumentation, rhythms, along with exquisitely selected musicians and the great Roy Halee as co-producer. People will be talking more and more about Roy as the years go by as the co-architect of Paul Simon’s sound, much as George Martin was “the fifth Beatle.”
Join us on KALW 91.7 fm in San Francisco on Feb. 18 for some really gorgeous and fabulously rhythmic songs by Mr. Simon. We’ll talk about his roots in the hood, too, and about how he is also quite reveered in the hood.
