The Rhythm Of The Saints
by Paul Simon

From telefunker 06/01/2009 12:35 | #4502 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

i expected to really like this album, given how moved i was by graceland and my fondness for brasilian music.. and it gets off to a great start, just falls flat as a pancake in the middle, which is such a shame.. picks up again near the end with "born at the right time", "the cool cool river" and "the rhythm of the saints" though

I always had trouble with the album falling short of breath quite early on. Until I discovered the actual track sequence Paul Simon had in mind for this (which, when considering the actual sequence on the album as produced is 3-6-4-7-8-1-2-9-5-10). I tried it and only then discovered the masterpiece it truly is. But don't take my word for it: try for yourself!

The long awaited follow up to Graceland, rythym of the saints, sees Paul Simon swapping African grooves for the sounds of south America. Again, the playing is faultless, and the songs are excellent. However, some of the songs don't feel quite so fully formed as they could have been. This doesn't apply so much to the more ambient tracks such as, further to fly, and, she moves on, but songs like, born at the right time, the coast, and, proof, end up sounding a lot better in their live incarnations, especially on the, concert in the park, album in 1991. On that record, the songs sound rich and finished in a way they don't on this one. Still, they're excellent songs. Elsewhere, the LP is very good. The obvious child, is a genuine Paul Simon classic, can't run but, is also very good, featuring guitar from J.J.cale. spirit voices, is lovely, and, the cool,cool river, is good, but another of those tracks that sounds better live. Simon left outtake, Thelma, off the album, which is a pity as it's a good song. The record ends with the title track, which is probably the weakest song here. All in all, another very good and inventive album from a great artist.

I disagree with you all, this album is nothing like Graceland it wasn't trying to be it's far superior, my #10 album of all-time, it's amazing.

From paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/03/2014 17:13 | #99669 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Paul Simon can't put out a bad album. This is another solid outing from a man making music for 25 years + at this point. I will agree that this feels like he was trying to recapture the magic of Graceland, and to an extent, he does. The melodies and rhythms are quiet fun to jam along with. There are some pretty good songs on here like "the obvious child" and coast. This album doesn't reach the highs of Graceland or some of his other best albums, but he shows off his songwriting and producing skills, masterfully capturing latin american energy amidst these fine songs.