Paul Simon Complete Studio Box

[kulu se mama]

i found this billboard article in the "ice" chatroom.

i have to admit, this and the faces box (now pushed back to july) have me pretty excited.

Unreleased Cuts Bolster Simon Boxed Set

As first reported here last week, Warner Bros. will on June 29 release the nine-disc Paul Simon boxed set "The Studio Recordings 1972-2000." The set comprises the six albums the artist has recorded for Warner Bros. plus his first three post-Simon & Garfunkel solo releases, originally issued by Columbia. All nine albums have been digitally remastered and expanded with previously unreleased bonus cuts.

Simon's 1972 self-titled solo debut is bolstered with demos of "Duncan" and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" recorded in February 1971 in San Francisco, plus a previously unreleased version of "Paranoia Blues." His 1973 sophomore set "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" will now include acoustic demos of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" and "Loves Me Like a Rock," an unfinished run through "American Tune" and a work-in-progress rendition of "Let Me Live in Your City."

Simon hit an artistic peak on 1975's "Still Crazy After All These Years," which reached No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and won the Grammy for album of the year. Bonus tracks on its new edition are demos of the No. 5 pop hit "Slip Slidin' Away" and "Gone at Last" with the Jessy Dixon Singers and the track "Silent Eyes" from the film "Shampoo."

The artist then took a nearly five-year break and signed a new deal with Warner Bros. for the 1980 release of the soundtrack to his film "One Trick Pony." Four previously unreleased cuts enrich the new version: "Soft Parachutes," "All Because of You," "Stranded in a Limousine" and "Spiral Highway."

At No. 35, Simon's 1983 album "Hearts and Bones" notched the lowest album chart ranking of his solo career, but has endured as a fan favorite in the years since. Bonus cuts include acoustic demos of the John Lennon elegy "The Late Great Johnny Ace," "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War" and "Train in the Distance," plus the previously unreleased work-in-progress track "Shelter of Your Arms."

Simon roared back into the mainstream with 1986's South African-inspired "Graceland," which has been certified for U.S. shipments of 5 million copies by the Recording Industry Association of America. The set, which won Simon his second Grammy for album of the year, is bolstered by a demo of "Homeless," an unreleased version of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" and an early take on "All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints."

Continuing Simon's world-music dabbling, 1990's "The Rhythm of the Saints" has been expanded to include the outtake "Thelma," an acoustic demo of "Born at the Right Time" and work-in-progress versions of "The Coast" and "Spirit Voices."

Another extended break from the studio followed before the 1997 release of "Songs From the Capeman," Simon's short-lived Broadway musical. The album will now feature a demo of "Born in Puerto Rico" featuring Jose Feliciano, the demo for "Can I Forgive Him" and the unreleased "Shoplifting Clothes."

The set is rounded out by Simon's latest solo release, 2000's "You're the One," which will include live renditions of "Old," opener "That's Where I Belong" and "Hurricane Eye."

[DrJ]

I'm hot and cold on Simon's music - GRACELAND never really did it for me, for example. But I enjoy much of the rest, especially the earlier stuff immediately post-S&G, and definitely have to agree with the following passage from above:

Simon hit an artistic peak on 1975's "Still Crazy After All These Years"

One heck of an album, with the title track and "I Do It For Your Love" being two of the most gorgeous pop songs ever written. Musicians or hack wanna bees (like me)should take the time to sit down and figure out "Still Crazy" sometime; pretty sophisticated stuff! I'd like to hear it covered in a straight ahead acoustic jazz rendition some time.

Edited May 28, 2004 by DrJ

[bertrand]

'Stranded In A Limousine' was already issued as a bonus cut on a best of album along with another piece whose title escapes me and which is not listed above.

Why do press releases always screw up these things?

Bertrand.

[jazzbo]

Because record industries share the thought with the current administration that we're stupid.