SURPRISE
CD by Paul Simon. Sony Music.
Paul Simon, recently named by Time as “One of the 100 people who shape our world,” is still hip and relevant after all these years.
His latest effort, “Surprise,” co-produced with Brian Eno, anchors Simon’s place as a master stylist and collaborator, a clear-eyed observer of cultural drifts and an iconoclastic voice for characters on the fringes.
Eno’s vibrant, sonic backdrop enhances the songs and provides a cool, musical space for Simon to work, or rather, play, in.
In “Outrageous,” Simon points his finger at thieves of the poor and even the quality of public-school food, amid sharp, upbeat guitar chords. As the song moves on, he sings, as if to shrug his shoulders, “I’m tired, tired. Anybody care what I say? No! I’m painting my hair the color of mud.”
He seems fully aware of the futility of complaining, especially when you’re old.
The album’s slow-flowing opener, “How Can you Live in the Northeast?” poses a series of existential questions in the wake of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina (“If the answer is infinite light, why do we sleep in the dark?”).
In “Another Galaxy,” one of three songs co-written with Eno, Simon tells of a bride who gets cold feet and “leaves yellow flowers on her wedding cake” to cross the border for a new life.
It seems sometimes Simon spends too much time preaching to the progressive choir. And “Surprise” isn’t above clich & #233; at times. But an honest listen reveals subtle, sublime surprises,musical and otherwise,that are sure to impress, perhaps maybe even the scoffers.
,Christopher Hannigan
