I quite enjoyed this album after a few listens and as a whole i thought it works well and there are some nice tunes on it. If you didn't know paul Simon was a good song writer already. I must admit I've always been a Simon and garfunkel fan, much more than his solo work.
I always think paul Simon is a great singer and songwriter but his attempts at modern arrangements (for the time) are questionable. When he keeps it simple it really does work. So the acoustic number on this album 'st judys comet' really stands out for me. But when he tries too hard on 'tenderness' to try and come cross over into a big band crooning number, assuming he wrote this, it doesn't work as well as his basic folksy stuff. Take me to the Mardi Gras works better as a pop type country and western track for my tastes, but again it goes off of what he does best. Folk.
But the problem with this album for me is just this. If you've listened to him at his best with Simon and garfunkel and classical folk, in something like the album 'bridge over troubled water', it's a bit like owning a Ferrari and then going to a BMW with this album - it's won't be regarded as good as simply the ownership before was much better.
But it's often difficult for artists to really work as a solo artist, experimenting with styles, when they've found their name elsewhere. So albums like Graceland are just a bit annoying for me. Where he does too much, it detracts from the simplicity of his songwriting talent because at heart I think he is a folk writer. And what paul simon does best is write melodies and when he gets it right, boy does he - eg something like 'el condor pasa'
So if 10/10 was the quality of tracks like the boxer or bridge over troubled water etc, these tracks cannot consistently match that quality. So it's not a 10/10 for me. I'd give it 7/10. I definitely buy it but it suits a mood and it's definitely good, but not the best of his work.
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