Maps of Music

The Rhythm of the Saints (1990)

Where the lyrics of The Rhythm of the Saints take you, and where it was really made.

The album was built on Brazilian rhythms, and its recording began in Salvador before it was finished in New York.

Key places

Recorded at The Hit Factory (1990)

Recording site The Hit Factory — The Hit Factory in New York City is listed as a recording location for the album. The page says the band used the recording studio for promotion in August 1990. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell (1990)

Recording site Guillaume Tell Studios (Paris) — Studio Guillaume Tell in Paris is listed as a recording location for the album. The page only notes that the album was promoted from a recording studio in August 1990. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Rhythm of the Saints: eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon
• Released 16 October 1990 by Warner Bros.
• Drew on Brazilian musical traditions, as the previous album Graceland (1986) had drawn on South African music
• Like Graceland, commercially successful and mostly favorably reviewed

Background

• Simon traveled to Brazil on five different occasions between 1988 and 1989
• He was drawn to the sounds of the street musicians he met there
• Eddie Palmieri's remark about the route of the drum from West Africa to Brazil and up the Caribbean encouraged the trip
• In Salvador, Bahia, he heard that the ensemble Grupo Cultural Olodum was rehearsing and was impressed by their playing
• He recorded the ensemble two days later for The Obvious Child, which became the opening track
• Simon built many tracks around polyrhythmic percussion patterns, and the rhythms influenced some melodies and lyrics
• He described the chord progressions as more adventurous than those of Graceland

Recording

• Brazilian sessions were recorded, and the album was completed in New York
• The original release date was set for September 1990 but was pushed back because Simon was not satisfied with the mixes and track sequencing
• He decided less than three days before the planned delivery to retail stores
• He used the delay to redo some of the vocals
• In August 1990 he invited press to the recording studio and sang material over the instrumentation, which was not yet final

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

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

• Music & Media reviewed the album and said it continues Simon's expedition into the headlands of world music
• Music & Media said the album is spiced up with Brazilian style elements
• Apart from The Obvious Child, none of its three singles, including Proof and Born at the Right Time, charted or received substantial radio play in the US
• A KLOS DJ said the station played the album once and abandoned it when the drum-heavy material came on
• Simon said radio programmers called the album too exotic for AOR, too hard for AC, and not like the CHR format

Records

• Peaked at No. 4 on the US album chart, while Graceland had peaked at No. 3
• Reached No. 1 on the UK album chart
• Sold over 1.3 million copies within one month of release
• The Obvious Child peaked at No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 15 in the UK, staying on the singles chart for ten weeks
• Proof was a minor hit, reaching No. 89 in the UK and No. 23 in Ireland
• Earned two nominations at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992: Album of the Year and Producer of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was inspired by Brazilian traditions and recorded in Brazil before it was finished in New York.
• The Discogs master lists the release as 15 October 1990, one day before the 16 October date given for the album.
• Simon performed live versions of many songs from the album at a free concert in Central Park, New York City, on 15 August 1991, before an audience of around 500,000 people.

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

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