Discussion
Enjoying my usual Sunday early routine (bed, coffee, TV.) I was flipping through the channels trying to find something interesting that wasn't a repeat of Top Gear/Mythbusters/Friends, when on Sky Arts I came across a documentary about the making of Paul Simons Graceland.
I'd forgotten what a great album it is. Cheerful, uplifting and intelligent, sometimes you forget how good things are when you haven't listened to them for awhile.
He was saying that basically he was extremely depressed when he began to make it but whole process was very cathartic for him and cheerful way the South African musicians lived their lives despite all the oppression that was going on in that country at time, made him change his outlook on life and music making.
I remember at the time the massive outcry at the time from the Islington career leftists about how terrible it was that he did an album that didn't reference the troubles in South Africa in a political context.
"He's made an album about South Africa and not even mentioned Saint Nelson or Saint Biko!! Ban him!!"
Simons point was that other people were doing that better than he could and he was celebrating the joy in the country and the culture.
40 million copies later those same luvvies....
"Marvellous celebration of the human spirit & the resilience of the South African population, helped break down barriers, helped end Apartheid...."
Great album in any respect. Off to turn it up now.
I'd forgotten what a great album it is. Cheerful, uplifting and intelligent, sometimes you forget how good things are when you haven't listened to them for awhile.
He was saying that basically he was extremely depressed when he began to make it but whole process was very cathartic for him and cheerful way the South African musicians lived their lives despite all the oppression that was going on in that country at time, made him change his outlook on life and music making.
I remember at the time the massive outcry at the time from the Islington career leftists about how terrible it was that he did an album that didn't reference the troubles in South Africa in a political context.
"He's made an album about South Africa and not even mentioned Saint Nelson or Saint Biko!! Ban him!!"
Simons point was that other people were doing that better than he could and he was celebrating the joy in the country and the culture.
40 million copies later those same luvvies....
"Marvellous celebration of the human spirit & the resilience of the South African population, helped break down barriers, helped end Apartheid...."
Great album in any respect. Off to turn it up now.
The Hypno-Toad said:
Enjoying my usual Sunday early routine (bed, coffee, TV.) I was flipping through the channels trying to find something interesting that wasn't a repeat of Top Gear/Mythbusters/Friends, when on Sky Arts I came across a documentary about the making of Paul Simons Graceland.
I'd forgotten what a great album it is. Cheerful, uplifting and intelligent, sometimes you forget how good things are when you haven't listened to them for awhile.
He was saying that basically he was extremely depressed when he began to make it but whole process was very cathartic for him and cheerful way the South African musicians lived their lives despite all the oppression that was going on in that country at time, made him change his outlook on life and music making.
I remember at the time the massive outcry at the time from the Islington career leftists about how terrible it was that he did an album that didn't reference the troubles in South Africa in a political context.
"He's made an album about South Africa and not even mentioned Saint Nelson or Saint Biko!! Ban him!!"
Simons point was that other people were doing that better than he could and he was celebrating the joy in the country and the culture.
40 million copies later those same luvvies....
"Marvellous celebration of the human spirit & the resilience of the South African population, helped break down barriers, helped end Apartheid...."
Great album in any respect. Off to turn it up now.
Yes, it's funny to look back now and think that the album was so controversial at the time. Now, we only see it as a mega-hit and one of the finest albums ever made. The fact that it's a timeless juggernaut of an album has steamrollered over history and the controversy is now largely forgotten. I'd been a fan of the album for a couple of years before I really discovered the troubled history of it all. The criticism directed at Simon was wholly unjust, I thought. He was accused of having pillaged the local musicians and their musical culture for his own gains rather than putting the limelight on them. That's complete rubbish; he brought them to worldwide audience which they'd never have reached other wise. Ladysmith Black Mambazo went worldwide in their own right thanks to Graceland! Similarly, the cultural embargo on South Africa made little difference to anything anyway, since the terrorist ANC would soon be in control of the country! It's also funny to think that Paul Simon's career was in the toilet at the time. He soon went back there too; after releasing 'The Rhythm Of The Saints' he just seemed to fade into releasing largely hopeless records. In that sense, I never considered Paul Simon an immensely talented musician or writer, but with Graceland and Rhythm Of The Saints, he seemed possessed by some musical genius and was uniquely placed to surround himself with musicians capable of producing his vision. After that brief period of enlightenment, he went off the boil and will never get it back. I should note also, his career before Graceland was also largely of little interest to me.I'd forgotten what a great album it is. Cheerful, uplifting and intelligent, sometimes you forget how good things are when you haven't listened to them for awhile.
He was saying that basically he was extremely depressed when he began to make it but whole process was very cathartic for him and cheerful way the South African musicians lived their lives despite all the oppression that was going on in that country at time, made him change his outlook on life and music making.
I remember at the time the massive outcry at the time from the Islington career leftists about how terrible it was that he did an album that didn't reference the troubles in South Africa in a political context.
"He's made an album about South Africa and not even mentioned Saint Nelson or Saint Biko!! Ban him!!"
Simons point was that other people were doing that better than he could and he was celebrating the joy in the country and the culture.
40 million copies later those same luvvies....
"Marvellous celebration of the human spirit & the resilience of the South African population, helped break down barriers, helped end Apartheid...."
Great album in any respect. Off to turn it up now.
Anyway, about the album itself. What a gem it is. It's probably my all time favourite record alongside Shawn Lane's 'Powers Of Ten' and Rush's "Hold Your Fire". I really couldn't pick a favourite out of those three. I really got into it when I was about 18, I bought the Japanese Import version with a few extra tracks on it, and listened to it religiously. I think I first got into it by recommendation from friends, as I am a bass player and they all raved about Bakithi Kumalo's amazing playing on the record. It's almost flawless when you consider that the awful 'That Was Your Mother' was the only dud track. At the time I got the record, I was travelling cross-country a lot, between Preston and Newcastle, and I listened to Graceland from end to end on many a journey, often on miserable trains and freezing cold station platforms! It simply defined about two years of my life, and I still think that if the masters and every copy were destroyed, I could resurrect it and recreate it from memory alone.
One of the highlights of the record for me if the demo of 'Homeless'. It's often missed, because it was one of the bonus tracks on the Japanese version. But the guitar playing is excellent, and so intricate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZXOi7gsME
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