(Credits: Far Out / Album Cover)
Sun 23 November 2025 16:30, UK
An artist like Paul Simon usually has those few records in their catalogue that they aren’t the most proud of.
Even if the songs are there and the playing is pretty good, there could be something going on with the production or the passion of the musicians that doesn’t translate onto the final version of the record. When everything is firing on all cylinders, there are few things in this world that could compare to hearing the right track come together in the studio.
But the reason why a lot of records resonate that well usually comes from a sense of hardship. Bridge Over Troubled Water is a classic because of all those classic songs, but when looking back on the record, it’s probably easier for Simon to hear all the hours that he put into making the record with Art Garfunkel than focusing on the version of the song that everyone resonates with today.
When Simon first started making his solo material, he had no plans of trying to ride the coattails of anyone else. He wanted to make the sounds that he heard in his head, and even if that meant going through a lot of red tape to get it, he was willing to go the distance to make sure each song came out right.
Which probably explains the level of detail that went into making a project like Graceland. Anyone else would have been too afraid to make a record like that amid the growing political conflicts going on at the time, but Simon was never trying to make a sweeping statement. He wanted to play music with like-minded musicians, and judging by the music that wound up on the record, you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect pairing on tracks like ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’.
After years of trying to push his sound, though, Simon wasn’t about to make some grand musical overhaul on his later records. He had settled into a groove that worked for him, and when working on his later albums, he knew that he finally found the perfect middle ground where he could never go wrong .
He had finally settled into domestic bliss, and while there were a lot more celebrated records in his catalogue, he felt that he tried to translate that musical sense of nirvana whenever he went into the studio, saying, “The thing about getting older is I really know what I like. And when I find it, I’m in heaven. And that’s what I try to do: Make a record that is so pleasurable for people who like what I like that they can just swim in it. I really tried to do that.”
And that doesn’t mean that every single thing needs to be precise, either. Rock and roll never prided itself on having the most pristine production or the most profound lyrics on every single track, but even if there are some blemishes, Simon knew that there was a feeling that came from him playing together with the best musicians that he could find that would find its way onto the final tape.
Because that’s what makes some of the best albums work regardless of genre. There are countless songs that sound absolutely heavenly when they touch your eardrums, but the most enjoyable records usually comes from those where you can feel the excitement bleeding through the speakers as the band is playing.
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