Singer/songwriter/guitarist and all-around pop culture figure Paul Simon creates a new language for himself on his 13th album Stranger to Stranger.
Although Simon’s conversational commentary style of singing is essentially unchanged from 30-50 years ago, his backdrop is radically different here.
How he reacts to that sets the character of the album. His lyrics are humorous and unsettled and his delivery edgy. Don’t expect folky strums or tinkling electric guitars here.
Stranger to Stranger is an odd record, and is Simon’s most experimental to date. He paired up with long-time producer Roy Halee (Bridge Over Troubled Water) to create an abstract sound based on Simon’s love of vocal/percussion interplay. Instead of guitars providing a rhythmic/harmonic link, there are horns, woodwinds, keyboards and “found” sounds to provide it.
If Simon was a painter, this album would be his late period Impressionism.
Despite the percussion-driven abstraction, it’s remarkable how recognizably Paul Simon this album is. Halee and Simon cooked up bouncy rhythm tracks before turning Simon loose to conjure up wordplay and wayward imagery (The Clock, In a Parade).
The potential singles, The Werewolf and Wristband, are too left-field to be widely received but they hit the mark anyway. They’re potent and focussed slices of Simon’s sharp world view.
Stranger to Stranger is an unexpected release from an aging musician whose creative spirit is still razor sharp. His modus operandi is deceptively simple here: Get some unusual sounds, back it up with pristine production, whack it into shape with vocals and head out for the frontier. If he wants to get all Salvador Dali with his music, why not?
– Dean Gordon Smith is a Vernon-based musician who reviews new music releases for The Morning Star every Friday.