Maps of Music

Paul Simon (1972)

Where the lyrics of Paul Simon take you, and where it was really made.

This album is often treated as Paul Simon's first solo record, yet his actual first solo album, recorded in England in 1965, stayed unreleased in the U.S. until 1981.

Key places

Paris studio session (1972)

Recording site Studio CBE — Part of the album was recorded at Studio CBE in Paris, one of the several locations used for the record. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles studio session (1972)

Recording site EastWest Studios — One track on the album was recorded at Western Recorders in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

San Francisco studio sessions (1972)

Recording site San Francisco — Most tracks were recorded at CBS Studios in San Francisco and New York, the main studios for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Kingston session for Mother and Child Reunion (1972)

Recording site Dynamic Sounds — The opening track was recorded at Dynamic Sounds Studios in Kingston, Jamaica. The point is shown at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Corona, Queens in the song (1972)

In the lyrics Corona, Queens — The song Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard is set in the multicultural New York City neighborhood of Corona, Queens. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Album story

Overview

• Paul Simon: second solo studio album by Paul Simon
• Released January 24, 1972 on Columbia Records
• Later issued under Warner Bros.; has since returned to Columbia through Sony
• Came nearly two years after the split with longtime partner Art Garfunkel
• Topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Norway
• Reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Albums
• Certified platinum in 1986

Background

• Written after the acrimonious breakup of Simon & Garfunkel
• Simon taught songwriting classes at New York University in summer 1971
• His first solo album, recorded in England in 1965, stayed unreleased in the U.S. until 1981
• Aim was to move beyond the musical style he had been linked to in the 1960s
• Album's themes split between lighthearted and solemn moods, and between bitterness over his failed marriage and social portraits

Recording

• Recorded in several locations: San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, and Kingston, Jamaica
• Production is more understated than his earlier work with Garfunkel, with Simon's guitar and vocals in the centre
• Mixes Latin music, jazz, blues, and reggae
• Guest musicians include violinist Stéphane Grappelli, jazz bassist Ron Carter, and percussionist Airto Moreira
• Roy Halee served as co-producer and engineer
• "Mother and Child Reunion" was recorded in Kingston and became the album's biggest hit
• Single reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1972

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Paul Simon (born October 13, 1941, Newark, New Jersey) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• He met Art Garfunkel in elementary school in 1953 and they became known as Simon & Garfunkel in the 1960s.
• The duo's folk-rock hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer" defined the 1960s counterculture.
• Their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), is among the best-selling albums of all time.

Career

• As a solo artist, Simon explored gospel, reggae, soul and world music.
• Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973) and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) drew acclaim and hits such as "Mother and Child Reunion" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".
• Graceland (1986), incorporating South African influences, became his most successful and acclaimed album.
• He wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998), which was poorly received.
• His later albums include You're the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011), Stranger to Stranger (2016) and Seven Psalms (2023).
• He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice and won 16 Grammy Awards.

Honors

• He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize in 2007.
• He co-founded the Children's Health Fund, a nonprofit providing medical care to children.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice in 1972, called the album the only thing in the universe to make him positively happy in early February 1972
• Jon Landau, writing for Rolling Stone that year, described it as Simon's least detached, most personal and painful work to that point
• Noel Coppage, writing in Stereo Review, called it undistinguished and suggested Garfunkel's arranging work might include sending Simon back to rewrite songs
• Other Stereo Review critics still gave the album one of its Record of the Year honors despite Coppage's negative review
• Critical praise was widespread, though some reviewers were less enthusiastic

Reappraisal

• Rob Sheffield, in a 2022 article for the album's fiftieth anniversary, called it the funniest, nastiest, leanest, meanest, and possibly weirdest masterpiece of Simon's career
• Sheffield added that for some fans, including himself, it is the best album Simon has made, with or without the other guy

Records

• Topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Norway
• Reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 on April 1, 1972
• Certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
• Certified platinum in 1986
• Ranked No. 268 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• Ranked No. 425 in the 2020 update of the same list
• Ranked No. 984 in All-Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd edition, 2000)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• While making the album, Simon told Jon Landau that he did not want to sing "Scarborough Fair" again.
• The album's first disc carries a stiff-paper lyric inner sleeve.
• Three singles were released to promote the album: "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", and "Duncan".
• Simon's earlier release Paul Simon Songbook was withdrawn early at his request, so this album was long treated as his first real solo album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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