Bob Sarlin wrote a book in 1973 "Turn It Up" about songwriters and the magic music and lyrics they create. The interesting thing is, that he rereleased it in 1992 with a new introduction and a look back.
In 1973 he had chosen seven main people as the best: Of course Bob Dylan, then Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Randy Newman, Van Morrison, Don Mclean and Robert Hunter (of the Grateful Dead).
Others were handled much shorter, as Paul Simon, of whom he wrote: "If Paul Simon had not departed S & G he would surely not be included here. Simon seemed trapped in the kind of preciousness and overdramatic poetry that wows high school classes across the nation. The students who listen are capable of perceiving the poetry in Simon`s work, if only because he has been writing at their depth for years. But now ... he has moved up to cofront the world and the emotions of adults.... "There goes rhymin` Simon" was released in the spring of 1973. With this masterful recording, Simon established himself as a solo artist once and for all. It is stronger and even more varied than his first album."
In 1992 he wrote: "Having reviewed the record output of my key seven subjects from the last 20 years, I came to an inescabable conclusion: no one has significantly improved upon the work he did before 1973, and some have gotten much worse." - Then he praised Sting and Bruce Springsteen shortly as new good artists. -
"But I finally settled upon a gentlemen to whom i`d given polite but very short shrift in 1973 - Paul Simon. Simon has emerged as a transcendentally talented singer of lyrics that can be compared to the best of today`s poetry. And he is getting better all the time. At his worst he is way ahead of the crowd, and at his best, well, he is the best."
Then he choses two albums as his best, Still crazy and Graceland, most critics favourites, and wrote about them quite
a lot. |