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Johnny
Jun-04-2006, 21:30 GMT
IP:
Sweden

"The problem isn`t so much Simon`s lyrics but his melodies, which lack their usual grace. Only `War Time Prayers� reveals some hint of his Old melodic craft."
Mhhh... Just because the melodies are not as catchy as his S&G melodies he says they are bad? They´re more complicated but that shows Simon´s genious...

Bodo
Jun-04-2006, 21:58 GMT
IP:
Austria

IMO Wartime Prayers is the only song with an easy and usual melody.... something you would expect from every song like that, no surprises and changes..it flows as any usual ´anti war hymne´. It is a great song, but a album with 11 Wartime Prayers would be horrible boring.
And in fact, it is the only song which you could imagine today as a S&G song..... you know, it is one of the songs you could maybe also find on a AG solo album (when Paul writes the song and gives it to Art)...and ´Howard´ again was angry that it is a PS solo song ;-)

There are songs with wonderful (soft) melodies on that album - everything about it is a Love song
beautiful
I don´t believe
and wartime prayers
f&d

all great and easy flowing melodies.
Also the middle part of ´Thats me´ has one of the best (and typical) PS melodies. This song includes what we expect, and what Simons genious made out of it.

ErthsFirefly
Jun-05-2006, 00:45 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America

I don´t like the tone of this review, it reminds me of some of the reviews for Lord of the Rings back when it was first published. People didn´t like the style or content so they dismissed it as crap. And yet look what it´s become.

So as far as I´m concerned, the guy´s an idiot who probably didn´t really listen to the album. I´m not sure if it beats out Graceland but it´s pretty close.

Beth
Jun-05-2006, 02:05 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America

I have said before...I Love ´Surprise´.....I think this CD is a treasure...I,also, cannot get the songs out of my head...I sing or hum them in the grocey store...all the time, everywhere.....Some of the figurative language is so touching...so right...beautiful...
"Acts of kindness, like breadcrumbs in a fairytale forest, lead us past dangers as light melts the darkness."

The CD is about love... as Paul says, we have more things alike than we have differences.....

´Surprise´ takes Paul´s music to another level.....One we had not seen....ever.....

But I´ve only been a PS fan since the 60´s...What do I know?

nancy
Jun-05-2006, 02:38 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America

I have also been there since the ´60´s. What a lovely journey it has been and certainly made more interesting by Paul Simon´s wit, wisdom, and search for universal truths. I think it is very difficult to write about Love with getting treacly, but I feel that Paul has accomplished that with Surprise. I love the melodies. They grow on you if you take the time to listen and absorb them. Not everyone is going to like them beecause everyone has astonishing and quite different expectations for Paul Simon, but I love this album. I totally expected to not enjoy it (worried about Brian Eno), but I certainly was wrong. I think it is my favorite P.S. album and that really is a most pleasant surprise.

Scaaty
Jun-05-2006, 11:13 GMT
IP:
Ireland

Back to the AG thing, obviously reforming S&G would be a dreadful stepbackwards for Paul. However I was just listening to My Old town and it is an amazing deep and dark song, the organ? adding a wonderful sense of foreboding at the beginning - definitely not an S&G song, but AG adding to it. A few more songs done like that (ie Artie as backing vocals) might not be a bad thing. But no more S&G tours or albums please.

David_Johnson
Jun-05-2006, 15:47 GMT
IP:
United Kingdom

Don´t say that, If S&G Brought out a new album, Would you go?
If they went on another tour, Would you go?

Of course you would!!

If it wasn´t for S&G they would not be as succeseful now!

Scaaty
Jun-07-2006, 23:21 GMT
IP:
Ireland

You´re right of course I´d go and buy, just like I get anything with paul on it and Artie certainly wouldn´t be as successful now. But PS would be - maybe even more so. there a lot of people out there who dismiss PS because of the sweetness of S&G.

Micky
Jun-07-2006, 23:31 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America

That ´sweet´ sound of S&G wasn´t even Paul. I can remeber Paul talking about that in an interview he did, for a 7 part radio 2 series about himself. He said that there were three people involved in the S&G sound. Artie, Roy Halee and himself. Artie and Roy always liked the sweeter sound and as it was two against one Paul was, for the most part, out voted.

I Love listening to the Paul Simon Songbook because the songs have more of an edge to them that is lost by the time Paul & Artie record them. I still love the S&G stuff, but PS Songbook does have the edge. It´s raw!

Scaaty
Jun-09-2006, 00:58 GMT
IP:
Ireland

And I reckon if Paul had continued from there Bob Dylan wouldn´t no 1 in the top 100 liveing song writers and paul stuck at no 13.

scaaty
Jun-09-2006, 22:20 GMT
IP:
Ireland

Link for above info:http://www.velvetrope.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?
Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=795898&page=2&a
mp;view=collapsed&sb=5&o=2&fpart=1

Sumit
Jun-10-2006, 10:59 GMT
IP:
Australia

Haha..just saw a review on Amazon that wanted to give "Surprise" NEGATIVE stars! Some people really DO hate this album.

Jeroen
Jun-10-2006, 12:15 GMT
IP:
Netherlands

It should say: best living lyricst, since Stevie Wonder is definitively a better writer than Bob Dylan. Horrible list.

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