Though he recorded the album's prominent percussion tracks in Brazil, Paul Simon fashioned The Rhythm of the Saints as a deliberate follow-up to the artistic breakthrough and commercial comeback that was the South Africa-tinged Graceland. Several of the musicians who had appeared previously were back, along with some of the New York session players who had worked with Simon in the 1970s, and the overall sound was familiar to fans of Graceland. Further, Simon's nonlinear lyrical approach was carried over: he continued to ...
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Though he recorded the album's prominent percussion tracks in Brazil, Paul Simon fashioned The Rhythm of the Saints as a deliberate follow-up to the artistic breakthrough and commercial comeback that was the South Africa-tinged Graceland. Several of the musicians who had appeared previously were back, along with some of the New York session players who had worked with Simon in the 1970s, and the overall sound was familiar to fans of Graceland. Further, Simon's nonlinear lyrical approach was carried over: he continued to ruminate about love, aging, and the onslaught of modern life in disconnected phrases and images that created impressions rather than telling straightforward stories. But where Graceland had seamlessly merged its styles into an exuberant whole, The Rhythm of the Saints was less well digested. Those drum tracks never seemed integrated effectively into what had been dubbed over them; at the same time, they tended to lock the songs into musical patterns that reined them in from the kind of excitement the South African music on Graceland generated, making the melodies harder to grasp. At the same time, Simon sang his lyrics in a less involved way, which sometimes made them seem like collections of random lines rather than the series of striking observations Graceland seemed to contain. No Paul Simon album could be lacking in craft or quality, and The Rhythm of the Saints was a typically tasteful effort. But this time around, Simon hadn't quite succeeded in bringing the wide-ranging elements together; the album sold about half as many copies as Graceland (that is to say, a none-too-shabby two million), and that's about right -- where Graceland was an exotic adventure, The Rhythm of the Saints was more of an anthropology lesson. [In 2004, Warner Strategic Marketing reissued Simon's studio albums as remastered editions with bonus tracks, packaged in cardboard digipacks. Like the other Simon reissues in this series, the remastering is excellent. Rhythm of the Saints contains four bonus tracks, three of them previously unreleased. "Thelma," an outtake originally released on the box set 1964-1993, is the one cut that has been released before. There is an original acoustic demo of "Born at the Right Time," and "Work-in-Progress" versions of "The Coast" and "Spirit Voices."] ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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Add this copy of Rhythm of the Saints to cart. $4.11, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Orange County rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Ana, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Rhino.
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Good. This item has very light surface scratches that do not affect the use of the disc/s. This is a USED item and case may have light wear. All items unless otherwise noted will include disc, case, and artwork. Codes have been used. Other contents such as booklets may vary, please inquire for details. All items ship Monday-Friday within 2-3 business days.
Add this copy of Rhythm of the Saints to cart. $5.49, like new condition, Sold by Broadband ERA rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BEAVERTON, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Rhino.
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Add this copy of The Rhythm of the Saints to cart. $6.39, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Rhino.
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