Thank you very much Marc, your video gives me a good idea. Philip Glass is such a various artist, he is a great piano player. I like his work from the Philip Glass Ensemble and his work with other musicians.
Ian Mar-21-2009, 12:18 GMT USA - United Staates America
In 1984 I bought an album called ´Songs from Liquid Days´ mostly because of Paul Simon´s input on one song-and partly because I absolutely loved the Haunting minor key coda that Glass composed for ´The Late Great Johnny Ace´. The ´Liquid Days´ LP was perhaps a little too advanced for my 16 year Old ears at the time,but I think it might be time for a re-listen. Actually,late 83 early 84 was a good time to be a Paul Simon fan,as apart from the Fantastic ´Hearts And Bones´ and the Philip Glass song,there was also ´The Blues´,a Randy Newman song that Paul supplied with an excellent vocal contribution! I think that those few lines in ´The Blues´ are some of Paul´s best recorded vocals. What do you all think?
I happy that mog became Marc ! I think I have finally completed my gender transformation :)
On Glass, yes, I like him and own lots of his CD´s.
As for Late Great Johnny Ace, unfortunately, I do not share the common enthousiasm toward the piece. It has always left me puzzled...I mean, the Glass part is nice, but seemed to have been juxtaposed at the end of the pop song. Not well-merged.
I guess they could do a better job now with the softwares that we have. Hé hé.
I always was very fascinated with the piano players on the Glass pieces, because they play different rhythms at the same time. Also with the flute players, because they did things I did not think of as possible (I play the flute myself) I once had a chance to visit a performance of "One thousand airoplanes on the roof" in Vienna and was really impressed with the players who did that life (maybe they were lip-syncing *lol*)
I also like Songs of liquid days a lot and I agree with the vocals on the "Blues". Randy Newmann is an artist that I really like and I thought that colaboration was perfect.
Ian Mar-21-2009, 18:16 GMT USA - United Staates America
Hi Mog,I get what you mean about the Glass coda sounding tacked on,but I actually think it works very well. That song uses several musical techniques to help create an uneasy aural experience for the listener. The opening BflatM7flat5 - E7 chords(actually they are a full tone lower due to Paul tuning his guitar down) immediately creates an angular tension and the ending does that again by virtue of a change to a minor key that has no relation to the (majority) of music used in the main body of the song. I think it´s great,but by no means is it an easy song to enjoy for a lot of people.
Another studio collaboration I like is the song "Written On The Subway Wall/Little Star" with Dion in 1989.
Not a collaboration but the song Carlos Dominquez came to my mind, I really like Paul´s singing on this song.
Ian Mar-23-2009, 14:39 GMT USA - United Staates America
Hi Ans,I feel a little embarrassed at not knowing the answer to this following question,but can you or anyone tell me if during the period that Paul recorded Carlos Dominquez,Flame etc,did he write those songs or was he just the recording artist? I have always thought Carlos Dominquez sounds like a young Paul Simon composition,but in no way am I sure...
Hi Ian, you don´t have to feel embarrassed, to give you a complete answer I had to look it up myself , it´s too hard to remember everything about Paul´s long career :)
Here is what I found on the site of AMPS:
This Spanish-guitar flavored song was originally released on the Oriole label under the pseudonym Paul Kane, more commonly available on the E.B Marks "Paul Simon: Early Songs" album and the accompanying vinyl single on the "Tribute" label. It was also included on the 1975 BBC S&G broadcast series.
CARLOS DOMINGUEZ is the flip side to the first version of He Was My Brother, released on single.
Here are the lyrics:
Carlos Dominguez
An unhappy man
Always running away
What are you searching for
Carlos Dominguez?
Who do you cry every day?
I´m searching for something
That I cannot find
I look for a way
I might find peace of mind
I run ´cause I´m lost
I´m afraid so I cry
You ask why I search
There are many reasons why
Carlos Dominguez
An unhappy man
Always running away
What are you searching for
Carlos Dominguez?
Who do you cry every day?
I search for a truth
All I found was a lie
I look for eternity
But I find all men die
I´m looking for answers
But find only fate
I´m searching for Love All I find in this world
Is hate
Carlos Dominguez
An unhappy man
Always running away
What are you searching for
Carlos Dominguez?
Who do you cry every day?
Ian Mar-24-2009, 02:20 GMT USA - United Staates America
Thanks for the info Ans. I like Carlos Dominguez for it´s ersatz Spanish/Mexican feel,and Paul´s youthful,and mournful vocal. Yet,seeing the words printed out like that,with a publish date of 1963,is startling when one remembers that Paul wrote SOS the same year,because the huge jump in lyrical sophistication used in the latter song is striking in comparison.
For the same reason I like to listen to this song from time to time.
It´s quite interesting to see how Paul developed his songwriting through the years, I guess it´s normal to write some really good stuff and some simple songs in the same period of time. On every album there are very strong songs but also one or two weak songs. FE one of the weaker songs for me is "Was A Sunny Day".
Ian Mar-25-2009, 12:04 GMT USA - United Staates America
Yes,that´s true Ans,I hadn´t really thought about that. I guess songwriters create in many different minds. Songs like ´Sunny Day´ are written purely for fun,and writing them can be just as rewarding as the more serious pieces. That´s not to say I don´t like ´Was A Sunny Day´. I actually really like it,as I do ´Carlos Dominguez´.
The singing on Was A Sunny Day is indeed nice, what disturbs me about this song is that it is an unfinished story, Carlos Dominquez is more complete. I guess a songwriter needs that, to write purely for fun, it would be depressing to write only serious songs.
