Paul Simon - The Studio Recordings 1972-2000 (9 CD Box Set, Expanded And Remastered) (2004)

09 Feb, 09:40
change text size:

Artist: Paul Simon
Title: The Studio Recordings 1972-2000
Year Of Release: 2004
Label: Warner Bros. Records 8122-78909-2
Genre: Folk Rock , Pop Rock
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue,log,scans)
Total Time: 08:01:50
Total Size: 2.81 GB
WebSite: Album Preview

Paul Simon - The Studio Recordings 1972-2000 (9 CD Box Set, Expanded And Remastered) (2004)

Look closely at the title to this nine-disc box set -- it's Studio Recordings, not the complete studio recordings, which means there are things missing, and they will be things that you will miss. Naturally, the emphasis on studio recordings means that neither of Paul Simon's two live albums -- 1974's Live Rhymin' or 1991's Concert in the Park -- are here, but this also doesn't contain all of Simon's released studio recordings, somehow bypassing "Slip Slidin' Away," the Top Five single originally released as one of two new songs on his 1977 compilation, Greatest Hits, Etc. Since that single was not on a proper album, it has been overlooked on this box, which serves up remastered and expanded digipack reissues of Simon's nine solo albums from 1972's Paul Simon to 2000's You're the One. Since these reissues not only sound terrific -- the clarity, particularly on the first two albums, is startling -- but are graced with genuinely interesting bonus tracks, the omission of the original version of "Slip Slidin' Away" is a little easier to forgive, particularly since an excellent, loose-limbed alternate version is added to Still Crazy After All These Years and "Stranded in a Limousine," the other new song on Greatest Hits, Etc., finally reappears on CD as a bonus track on One Trick Pony. These are only two bonus tracks of 30 that are spread over these nine albums. With the exception of "Stranded in a Limousine," "Thelma" on Rhythm of the Saints (an outtake originally released as part of 1993 box set 1964-1993), and three live tracks on You're the One, all of these bonus tracks are previously unreleased. While there is a handful of rare songs, the majority of these are either demos or works in progress, and they're fascinating, such as a radically different version of "Duncan" with an entirely different narrative, different final verses on "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "Loves Me Like a Rock," and a skeletal working version of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" containing little more than Simon's vocal and a fretless bass. By and large, these are significant additions to Simon's catalog, and combined with the terrific remastering, they make this essential for any serious Simon fan (although it would have been nice if either the individual albums or the overall box were given new liner notes, particularly since Rhino's similar Jerry Garcia box set, All Good Things, had such a stellar booklet). For the less dedicated, a better bet will be cherry-picking from reissues of the individual albums, which are scheduled to go on sale in the month after the release of this box set.

Tracklist:

Paul Simon - 1972 [43:06 min.]

01 - Mother And Child Reunion
02 - Duncan
03 - Everything Put Together Falls Apart
04 - Run That Body Down
05 - Armistice Day
06 - Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
07 - Peace Like A River
08 - Papa Hobo
09 - Hobo's Blues
10 - Paranoia Blues
11 - Congratulations
12 - Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard (demo - San Francisco 2/71)
13 - Duncan (demo - San Francisco 2/71)
14 - Paranoia Blues (unreleased version)

There Goes Rhymin' Simon 1973 [50:02 min.]

01 - Kodachrome
02 - Tenderness
03 - Take Me To The Mardi Gras
04 - Something So Right
05 - One Man's Ceilling Is Another Man's Floor
06 - American Tune
07 - Was A Sunny Day
08 - Learn How To Fall
09 - St. Judy's Comet
10 - Loves Me Like A Rock
11 - Let Me Live In Your City (work-in-progress)
12 - Take Me To The Mardi Gras (acoustic demo)
13 - American Tune (unfinished demo)
14 - Loves Me Like A Rock (acoustic demo)

Still Crazy After All These Years - 1975 [45:27 min.]

01 - Still Crazy After All These Years
02 - My Little Town
03 - I Do It For Your Love
04 - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
05 - Night Game
06 - Gone At Last
07 - Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy
08 - Have A Good Time
09 - You're Kind
10 - Silent Eyes
11 - Slip Slidin' Away (demo)
12 - Gone At Last (original demo with The Jessy Dixon Singers)

One-Trick Pony - 1980 [50:25 min.]

01 - Late In The Evening
02 - That's Why God Made Movies
03 - One-Trick Pony
04 - How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns
05 - Oh, Marion
06 - Ace In The Hole
07 - Nobody
08 - Jonah
09 - God Bless The Absentee
10 - Long, Long Day
11 - Soft Parachutes (unissued soundtrack recording)
12 - All Because Of You (outtake)
13 - Spiral Highway (unissued soundtrack recording)
14 - Stranded In A Limousine

Hearts And Bones - 1983 [54:23 min.]

01 - Allergies
02 - Hearts And Bones
03 - When Numbers Get Serious
04 - Think Too Much (B)
05 - Song About The Moon
06 - Think Too Much (A)
07 - Train In The Distance
08 - Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War
09 - Cars Are Cars
10 - The Late Great Johnny Ace
11 - Shelter Of Your Arms (unissued work in progress)
12 - Train In The Distance (original acoustic demo)
13 - Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War (original acoustic demo)
14 - The Late Great Johnny Ace (original acoustic demo)

Graceland - 1986 [53:51 min.]

01 - The Boy In The Bubble
02 - Graceland
03 - I Know What I Know
04 - Gumboots
05 - Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
06 - You Can Call Me Al
07 - Under African Skies
08 - Homeless
09 - Crazy Love Vol. II
10 - That Was Your Mother
11 - All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints
12 - Homeless (demo)
13 - Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes (unreleased version)
14 - All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints (early version)

The Rhythm Of The Saints - 1990 [61:51 min.]

01 - The Obvious Child
02 - Can't Run But
03 - The Coast
04 - Proof
05 - Further To Fly
06 - She Moves On
07 - Born At The Right Time
08 - The Cool, Cool River
09 - Spirit Voices
10 - The Rhythm Of The Saints
11 - Born At The Right Time (original acoustic demo)
12 - Thelma (outtake)
13 - The Coast (work-in-progress)
14 - Spirit Voices (work-in-progress)

Songs From The Capeman - 1997 [66:12 min.]

01 - Adios Hermanos
02 - Born In Puerto Rico
03 - Satin Summer Nights
04 - Bernadette
05 - The Vampires
06 - Quality
07 - Can I Forgive Him
08 - Sunday Afternoon
09 - Killer Wants To Go To College
10 - Time Is An Ocean
11 - Virgil
12 - Killer Wants To Go To College II
13 - Trailways Bus
14 - Shoplifting Clothes (unreleased)
15 - Born In Puerto Rico (demo with Jose Feliciano)
16 - Can I Forgive Him (original demo)

You're The One - 2000 [56:33 min.]

01 - That's Were I Belong
02 - Darling Lorraine
03 - Old
04 - You're The One
05 - The Teacher
06 - Look At That
07 - Senorita With A Necklace Of Tears
08 - Love
09 - Pigs, Sheep And Wolves
10 - Hurricane Eye
11 - Quiet
12 - That's Where I Belong (live)
13 - Old (live)
14 - Hurricane Eye (live)

DOWNLOAD LINKS

Paul Simon - The Studio Recordings 1972-2000 (9 CD Box Set, Expanded And Remastered) (2004)

My blog