Stranger To Stranger

In his mid 70's now, most singer songwriters of his vintage would be putting their carpet slippers on, staying in their comfort zone, playing it safe, with an eye on the cabaret circuit, predictable and boring. Not Paul Simon ,however, he has come up with an innovative new album that pushes preconceptions. His voice is instantly recognisable, his songwriting still shines out, this album shows some great social conscience and his sense of humour and playfulness comes to the fore, well done for continuing to innovate.There are a couple of instrumentals ,The Clock is a short fragment of filler while In the Garden of Edie is more substantial , One of the tracks I like best is Wristband, on preliminary listening a wry humorous anecdote where a concert doorman stops and challenges Simon from going in the door to play his own concert, not recognising who he is. The final verse however turns this around from a small personal situation to a much bigger social observation that those in society without privilege are not allowed through the door and are 2nd class citizens, nicely done. Opening track The Werewolf also observes that "Life is a lottery a lot of people lose, and the winners ,the grinners with the money -coloured eyes eat all the nuggets then they order extra fries. " For a multi millionaire who is so comfortably off, he is very sympathetic and well aware of the challenges facing everyday citizens. The Riverbank looks at the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on wounded veterans, then cleverly linking it with one of the gun massacres at an American school, a current big issue sympathetically dealt with in a deft way. .As you would expect, he has a fine cast of supporting players, with a world music flavour at times, and some unusual instruments thrown into the mix, like pipe organ, tuba, harmonium, cloud chamber bowls and harmonic cannon, but it is all classily arranged and subtly done.The main album has just 10 tracks, and there are then 5 bonus tracks which are simpler typically more acoustic based ,including his early solo track Duncan, and an alternative live version of Wristband, which bring the overall running time up to a more creditable 54 minutes.On initial listening a few of the tracks washed over me, but having lived with this album over a few weeks with repeated plays, it has definitely grown on me , with hooks and quirky touches lodging in my head, and increasing progressively in stature.So well done Paul for taking another interesting career turn, doing the bold and unexpected, pulling it all off remarkably well to add another fine twist to a magnificent career, showing he is still crazy after all these years, but in a delightfully good highly entertaining way.

A lifetime ago I was lucky enough to see Paul Simon in a small local folk club and I have been along for the ride ever since. I have seen him several times since at much bigger venues either as a solo artist or with Art Garfunkel and hope I will see him again.. Whilst he is not the only person of my generation to manage to still be creative it is a tremendous joy to hear a musician in his 70s engaging with new sounds and still writing meaningful songs that deal with personal relationships and the world around us. This album has a number of really warm sounding tracks. If this were the first Paul Simon album you bought it shouldn't disappoint but if you are like me and it is the umpteenth you will find it a great pleasure.

A great album from a great craftsman. However, I bought the vinyl version, which is sold at a premium price and should be a premium product, but isn't. Other artists do make an effort; vinyls I’ve bought recently have had download codes for lossless FLAC or WAV, plus additional booklets and artwork. Not so here - bare bones packaging only.Surely Paul Simon doesn't need the money, and has some influence with the record label? Although the AutoRip is welcome, the meticulous production of this album would benefit from listening in lossless when the vinyl isn't practical.

As usual I loved many of songs and the remarkable range of musical sources that Paul Simon continues to explore for our delight. My only disappointment was to find that the (most expensive) vinyl version of the album has 5 tracks less than the cheaper "deluxe" CD version .To add insult to injury there is no download card included unlike his previous album 'So Beautiful'.Excellent work from the musicians undermined by ConcordRecords(Universal) charging a premium price for a lesser version. Presumably on the expectation that the vinyl customers will pay for the "deluxe" CD as well if they want to hear the entire work or expect to listen to a digital copy. I may like vinyl and love Paul Simon's music but the LP version shortchanges those customers who pay considerably more and receive less music in return.

Some people need to get a life.A reviewer gave his one star because of swearing on "one track in particular"Where are the profanities on the other tracks? If you want a Paul Simon album to shock your granny then avoid the brilliant "Songs From The Capeman", and please never buy an,album by the late great Ian,Dury!!This is not my favourite Paul Simon album by a country mile, but every play reveals new treasures. Only three stars in comparison to other work.

I absolutely love this album and I can't believe anyone who has enjoyed following the career of Paul Simon will feel anything but love for this wonderful album by the master. After all these years it's to be celebrated that he is still prepared to experiment and push the envelope. There are songs on this album that remind me of Simon and Garfunkel and some of Graceland, but there are some, such as the title track that to my ears have no precedent in Mr Simon's output, but and here's the thing that pleases me the most, Stranger to Stranger is the stand out track. I could go on for hours about how wonderful this collection is. You should stop reading and start buying it!