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So Beautiful or So What is Paul Simon’s first album in five years. Now pushing seventy, the pen that brought us Graceland and 1972’s Paul Simon is as sharp and on point as ever.
The record is short, running only ten tracks and thirty-eight minutes long, but great songs have a knack of staying around long after the iPod powers down.
Paul Simon has been revered for his storytelling and So Beautiful ranks right up there with his best work. Getting Ready for Christmas weaves a tale of a young solider returning to Iraq for another tour and Simon hasn’t lost his ability to make you think or feel through his lyrics.
Now heading towards the twilight of his career Simon tackles heavy themes ranging from God to the afterlife. On Afterlife he sings, ‘Buddha and Moses and all the noses from narrow to flat/Had to stand in the line Just to glimpse the divine,’ and he seems preoccupied with spirituality and the eternal.
Always exploring and fusing Americana with world music, Simon blends strumming with Indian percussion on Dazzling Blue and enlists the help of harpist Yacouba Sissoko on Rewrite.
The album is serious pop, profound and catchy all at the same time. Mixing folk with Americana, Gospel and anything else that intrigues the worldly musician, the songs are beautifully crafted and sure to become classics.
So Beautiful asks a lot of questions, questions about love, loss and beauty. But when it comes to eternity, the afterlife and God, it’s reassuring that even one of America’s greatest songwriters is still searching for answers.
So Beautiful or So What will be realesed June 13th