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(Credits: Far Out \/ Album Cover)<\/p>\n
Tue 27 January 2026 20:31, UK <\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to really define the kind of draw that Paul Simon<\/a> has every time he makes a new record. <\/p>\n Whereas most artists would be focused on hopping on trends or trying to have the best musicians on every one of their records, Simon was a songwriter first, and he knew that no album was completed until there were no duds across the entire record. But even with that kind of track record, Simon knew that the hits spoke for themselves every time he came across one of his contemporaries.<\/p>\n Because even though Simon has had countless tunes that would be considered perfect, it\u2019s not going to matter unless you have countless people singing along with you. He may have disliked John Lennon\u2019s more political songs with a passion, but the reason why \u2018Power to the People\u2019 holds up over time has a lot more to do with the way that it has impacted everyone. A good melody might be half the battle, but if any singer makes it to an arena, it\u2019s because they made songs that sound good in arenas.<\/p>\n That said, it\u2019s not like Simon was making some avant-garde jazz every single time he performed. He did appreciate having true professionals on every one of his records, but even when making Graceland<\/a>, it was about interacting with those South African musicians rather than trying to make an auditory masterpiece. When playing live, you pick up little pieces that the studio can\u2019t capture, and that comes from everyone in the audience reacting to everything as well.<\/p>\n But for all of the great tunes that Simon has made over the years, he knew that Neil Diamond truly belonged in a different class of songwriter. He wasn\u2019t a shouter like Little Richard nor did he have that distinct vibrato like Elvis Presley, but when listening to everything from \u2018Cherry Cherry\u2019 to \u2018Sweet Caroline\u2019 to \u2018You Don\u2019t Bring Me Flowers Anymore\u2019, Diamond has made the kind of tunes that have made millions of people want to sing along for years.<\/p>\n