{"id":484098,"date":"2026-03-19T14:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/484098\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:00:13","slug":"paul-simon-on-the-singer-whose-brilliance-held-them-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/484098\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Simon on the singer whose brilliance held them back"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Paul<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Record Sleeve)<\/p>\n

Thu 19 March 2026 5:00, UK <\/p>\n

Paul Simon<\/a> has had nearly every kind of hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In songs like \u2018You Can Call Me Al\u2019<\/a> and \u2018Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard\u2019, he\u2019s got the playful singalong hits that have a big chorus along with it, ready to pack a punch. But alongside that, Simon has crafted a legacy built around storytelling profundity, with songs less concerned about baselessly hypnotising the brains of the masses and instead, concerned about tapping into something more existential and spiritual. <\/p>\n

He saw songwriting as not just an art form, but a duty, and to deliver lyrics<\/a> that were carefully thought out was something of a bare minimum for Simon. Bearing that responsibility didn\u2019t come lightly to him, and so whenever Simon felt as though a fellow artist was falling short of that measure themselves, he was never shy to call it out. <\/p>\n

He once took aim at Billy Joel\u2019s songwriting for lacking the sort of lyrical depth he felt was necessary for a great song. The \u2018Uptown Girl\u2019 and \u2018Piano Man\u2019<\/a> hitmaker was well known for his ability to write a singalong anthem, and while he was less revered for any lyrical influence, that was fine for him. But not for Simon, who claimed that Joel was \u201clyrically naive,\u201d adding, \u201cHe thinks about larger issues, but he doesn\u2019t think about them hard enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

While cutting and harsh, it is difficult to completely argue with Simon in that regard, especially through the lens of Joel\u2019s hit \u2018We Didn\u2019t Start The Fire\u2019. Joel\u2019s simple listing of cultural names isn\u2019t quite as sharp a narrative as Simon\u2019s \u2018Bridge Over Troubled Water\u2019, and fails to fully exercise his ability as a performer by cheaply thrilling his musical audience.<\/p>\n

But Simon didn\u2019t just take aim at Joel\u2019s lyrical ability. No, he had a similar issue with Joel\u2019s vocal style as well, and regarded it as a representation of his wasted potential, especially given how underwhelming his lyrics are.<\/p>\n

Simon continued, \u201cMeanwhile, he makes very good, solid rock tracks and sings with a powerful, clear, cutting rock \u2018n\u2019 roll voice. I think he\u2019s insufficiently credited for how good his voice is. In fact, part of his weakness is that his voice is so good, he\u2019s able to imitate \u2013 and I always felt that Billy should be stretching more to find out who Billy Joel is.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded, \u201cBeing an artist doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re a good artist. It\u2019s just a certain type of person. And he is that type of person by temperament, a creator.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to tell whether or not Simon is a fan of Joel, who wants more from the artist, or whether he is simply adopting the role of scathing critic. It\u2019s likely the former, for Simon never cut the figure of a disgruntled musician looking to punch down on his fellow industry companions. <\/p>\n

Because clearly, there is a yearning for more that comes from Simon\u2019s quiet fandom of Joel. A belief that behind the baseless rock singalong hits, sits an artist who could have achieved so much more and created a back catalogue that displayed a heightened sense of artistic meaning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ Record Sleeve) Thu 19 March 2026 5:00, UK Paul Simon has had nearly every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[9494,96,128,37050,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-484098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-billy-joel","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-paul-simon","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}