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Matthew Evans
May-06-2006, 19:47 GMT
IP:
United Kingdom

I Love it, I listen to it and by the end of it I feel like IÄ«ve been on a journey!

Donīt really like the Yeah, Boo thing though Iīm afraid to say.

"I Donīt Believe" is my favourite.

SARUMAN
May-06-2006, 20:52 GMT
IP:
Croatia

IÄ«ve expected that Paul will finally finished with his "world" experience in his last albums. I really prefere his early solo works from PS till H&B. So I thought it will be return to the roots, and maybe that is the reason why I am a little dissapointed

Bodo
May-06-2006, 21:01 GMT
IP:
Austria

You expected him to do something again he had already done - does not work with Paul Simon.
(the result would be a song like īCitizen of the planetī ... no one talked long about this song)

SARUMAN
May-06-2006, 21:14 GMT
IP:
Croatia

Yes, but there were informations in a few newspapers that it will be acoustic album.You probably read it too.

Bodo
May-06-2006, 21:20 GMT
IP:
Austria

Maybe someone who was in studio with Paul in 2002-2003 could not hold his mouth and talked about his speculations (way too early). And I am sure that Paul has written most of these songs on accoustic and some electric guitars, and there might exist a lot of demo tapes with exact these songs and with only some accoustic guitars. Later when Brian Eno came it grew and became īSurpriseī.

Bart
May-06-2006, 21:22 GMT
IP:
Belgium

Surprise is a very very very good. Paul takes the best from every period in his career and puts it together in this perfect album. Itīs new, itīs challenging. I can understand that people who are stuck to the folk-part of Paulīs career are disappointed, but listen carefully - Surprise is sooo full of poetry, wit, intelligence, melody, new sounds, experiments... I was so happy to see the album in the Media Markt store in Belgium!!!

Micky
May-06-2006, 22:13 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America

I know...we donīt get it until mid June..grrrr! I think Iīll get it from Amazon.com, because I want it now....lol

Micky
May-06-2006, 22:17 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America

Youīve got to be kidding....I havenīt heard the whole akbum yet and I Love it. Depressing?....I think Outragious is hilarious! Sorry...I really canīt agree with you on this one at all.

I was listening to Still Crazy....and I felt that some of the songs reminded me of Paulīs work in the 70s which was brilliant.

Hà¥kan wrote on May-06 at 13:44

I just heard the album and I canīt say I like it very much. Where is the melody? Where are the fun, uplifting songs? It seems like Paul just "Thinks too much"! The whole album is a little depressing to listen to and I canīt see that it will be a bestseller at all. All "marketing talk" before the album release, comparing it with the best Paulīs done before, turns out to be just marketing talk, with very little truth.

You can tell that he has worked a lot with the lyrics (and the songs). But earlier Paul has balanced intricate lyrics with music that is easy to "take in", but this time the music is just uninspired and, well boring for most part. Certainly there is a phrase or a part of a melody here and there, but just when you thought you new what direction the song was about to take it changes into something different. Neil Finnīs album title "Try Whistling This" from 1998 comes into my mind!

Best track: The simple "Father & Daughter" (but that song wasnīt really made for the album). Wartime Prayer is also OK.

HÃ¥kan
May-07-2006, 12:32 GMT
IP:
Sweden

Sure there are fun lyrics-lines here and there, but is it fun listening to? My point is that if the music doesnīt coincides with the lyrics, then the songs gets "unbalanced" (canīt find a better word for it) and the total impression suffers. I donīt understand how anybody can claim that this album is as easy to "take in" as "There Goes Rhyminī Simon" or "Graceland" for example. And therefore I have a hard time believing that this album will sell even as good as "Youīre The One".

Take the song "Gumboots" for instance: Hilarious lyrics perfectly match by a happy, uplifting melody.
Take "Was A Sunny Day": Doesnīt the lyrics AND melody make you think about sailing boats, warm weather and Love?

Jeroen obviously thinks that I should listen to Spice Girls instead. Apparently Jeroen is not open to constructive critic of his (as well as mine!) favourite artist, but maybe he can keep from being insulting in the future?

Bodo: Iīm glad You like Paulīs "new direction"! Personally I would like him not to be so almost maniac about reinventing himself on every album. But on the other hand one must remember that sometimes it has come out favourable, though ("Graceland" being the most obvious example). There is a conflict of interest here somewhere: Paul wants so very, very much to be appreciated and acknowledged by a large listening public for the music he releases, but on the other hand he is never ever willing to compromise and give the public what they "expect" or "want to hear". Iīm not talking about us hardcore fans, but of the vast mojority of album buyers.

Bodo: Maybe the reason that Nobody talked for long about "Citizen of the planet" was that it never was promoted? It was hidden as an extra bonus track last on the CD & DVD, probably because Paul didnīt like it very much. And S&G should of course have sung it live on the tour too! Think about how much the new Beatles song "Free as a Bird" was promoted on their "Anthology 1". Here we have the first new song in 29 years from THE best selling duo of the 60īs and itīs not even released as a single? And why not? Sometimes the artist himself must take the consequences for bad marketing and bad judgement.

Bodo
May-07-2006, 13:06 GMT
IP:
Austria

Just one comment - I personally think that īFree as a birdī was nothing more than a big marketing and sales thing to make agan a lot of money.
The song itself will never team up with any Beatles song from the 60īs... they are known for Help, Canīt buy me Love and all these things.
As S&G are known for their 60Ä«s songs. Even if they would make 10 new albums now (S&G) no one will talk a lot about them in 20 years, S&G will always be the duo of the 60Ä«s, SOS, Mrs. Robinson and The Boxer, Bridge... thats it. Repeating something is what the mass of people, the music industry and everyone wants - except the artist himself. This is the same in every kind of art, music, painting, photographs, installations, sculptures - when you have a hit for 1 time everyone wants you to do the same thing all your live. And the artist himself hates his work, there are only a few exceptions.

Because Paul is changin his style on every album the music industry doesnīt like him, they do not want to spend a Dollar to promote his work - they only promote people who repeat themself, who are tested well and will sell enough.
That sucks, and I am glad to see how Paul can manage it to be 100% Paul Simon.

About īCitizen of the planetī - come on that song is not even in the league of any S&G song... itīs at the level of some early songs maybe (Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall or such things). I can understand if Paul does not like that song, cause it has nothing, it is some nice background music produced in a short moment.

HÃ¥kan
May-07-2006, 13:32 GMT
IP:
Sweden

Bodo, I agree with almost everything you say in your previous reply. But EVEN if "Citizen of the Planet" is no new "Bridge Over Troubled Water", there was no reason not to market it. The Beatles did this and it worked well for them in turns of publicity and number of albums sold (which of course isnīt all that counts).

Of course S&G (and Paul Simon) will ALWAYS be best remembered for their work in the 60īs. I agree. But that is also what Paul hates! He didnīt want to be remembered for "the guy who wrote Bridge Over Troubled Water", so then he goes on to write a musical that noone has seen! (Except myself and a couples of others). So in the end maybe he should reconcile with his paat, and not always only like his latest release most?

If it werenīt for "Graceland" Iīm afraid that Paul today would be pretty much be yesterday news.

And to some point I even agree that its fun that Paul reinvents himself. But when it takes 6 years to write 11 new songs that sounds like this, I only wish that he had taken half that time and written twice as many songs and released the 11 best of them.

Jeroen
May-07-2006, 14:01 GMT
IP:
Netherlands

Never mind, Hakan. I meant to say that catchy songs are easier to market cause they work on the first hearing. I did not suggest that you should... This is getting tiresome.

Klausi
May-07-2006, 17:53 GMT
IP:
Germany

I heard it on MSN for the first time completely.

I like it a lot, and think, we will Love it more and more. A very tasteful mix.

Not so surprising and strange as Graceland, but something new not only for Simon, but I think for all. Great. And enduring.

I won`t predict the commercial success, because in 1986 I thought that Graceland will be a total flop.

And in 1980 I thought, One-trick pony is great, but that album lost over the weeks and months for me.

Plou
May-07-2006, 20:52 GMT
IP:
Belgium

the very first thing I told myself when I heard the album was that it just sounded to me like a radio-battle between two songs (you know, sometimes when youīre driving your car you hear interferences from another broadcast on the music youīre listening to). I couldnīt tell if it was a good thing or not. Now Iīm going to listen to it for the third time, and I think that album will give us at least material to discuss. Which is - the way it will make people exchange feelings about - quite a success.
Thatīs not a review, just some feelings I had.
:-)

Anne-Mie 
May-07-2006, 20:54 GMT
IP:
Belgium

I have to agree with Klausi: the album gets better and better the more you listen to it. I agree also with some earlier remarks that have been posted: itīs not what you call īeasy-listeningī, but itīs very rich in lyrics, and melody-wise also. You have to invest in that, itīs not instant appreciation I mean, but then again, catchy songs you canīt sometimes seem to get out of your head, get boring over time, Paulīs music never does, on the contrary.

I hope for Paul the album is a hit, and for all us fans too, of course. But even if it isnīt, the songs are a gift to treasure for always. If the crowd doesnīt like it, it doesnīt mean itīs not fantastic.

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