ALBUM REVIEW: Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years

    Paul Simon's third solo album after Simon & Garfunkel was highly anticipated for a number of reasons. His preceding There Goes Rhymin' Simon album had made major headway in the charts, peaking at number two and birthing a decent share of hit singles like "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock," both of which hit the top 5 - Simon's commercial stake was hotter than ever. Even more enticing, Still Crazy was preceded by two top 25 singles with "Gone at Last" and "My Little Town," the latter even being a billed reunion with Garfunkel and peaked at number 9. When Still Crazy finally came out, it topped the charts and yielded a number one single with "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," both of which being his only number ones. The sounds of soft rock further permeate Still Crazy After All These Years, as well as darker themes of loss of love - the album was made in the wake of his divorce with Peggy Lee. The end result is probably Simon's most commercial-sounding album yet, but it nonetheless showcases his varied songwriting ability, his ear for melody, and his continuously shifting ambitions and ideas.

    Four of the album's ten track were top 40 hits, which is undoubtedly an impressive feat. Many of these songs, as it stands to reason, showcase Paul's adaptable lyrical style and ear for a hook and melody. The biggest hit of these, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," in many ways is an embodiment of the album's themes and style. A smooth drum line, softer rock ideas, a dash of gospel sound, and Paul Simon's most infectious hooks and choruses yet - the listing off of ways to leave, from slipping out the back to dropping off the key, will be rattling off in your head for ages. I would be remiss to not mention the Simon & Garfunkel reunion on "My Little Town," to date the only new studio material the group has released since Bridge Over Troubled Water, and the song proves to be an interesting and disparaging putdown of the "Home Sweet Home" mindset. Nothing but the dead and dying in their little town. The title track is another excellent example of Simon's storytelling, detailing an encounter with a former lover, and the ensuring reflection on himself, the lover, and his emotions - it's a clean opening track that immediately immerses you in the darker atmosphere of the record, especially after the mention of "doing damage one fine day." The upbeat duet with Phoebe Snow on "Gone at Last" is about the end of a losing streak on love, lively and filled with an energy and hope that juxtaposes the rest of the album - Simon's gospel influence on full display with this track.

    The rest of the album is largely soft-rock material, filling out the spaces and ideas neatly and cleanly. This isn't to say that it's filler, I should clarify. Most of these songs follow in the downbeat, low energy of the album's ideas and concepts - it sounds like Paul Simon's own Lost Weekend in some sense. "I Do It For Your Love" has clean overdubbed vocals, and snappy bridge, and openly addresses the end of love by the end of the song - love emerges and it disappears. The smooth slide guitar and rhythm of "Have a Good Time" could have made a fifth hit with its optimistic lyricism and a soaring vocal performance from Paul. The nocturnal Side A closer of "Night Game" is an odd tale about a sudden death during a baseball game, mysterious and cold, as if the sudden loss of the pitcher could be related to Simon's divorce from his wife. The penultimate "You're Kind," is a full addressing of the end of love - a relationship that he once loved now feels restraining and trapping, the window closed when he wants the window open. Album closer "Silent Eyes" is just as miserable, and leans heavily into Paul Simon's Jewish faith - it plays like a bold tale of the plight of the Jewish people - everyone standing before the eyes of God to speak of what was done. A continuance of Simon's focus on human silence, now on a larger and more massive scale.

    While Still Crazy isn't beating out his '72 self-titled, I find it's overall stylistic atmosphere and cohesion probably give it a leg up over Rhymin' Simon. It's probably the darkest we've heard Simon's solo work up to this point, consistently focused on love's end, usually with a moody approach to soft rock backing his vision and ideas. The result is a pretty cohesive record that, if nothing else, has great atmosphere. This would be Simon's last solo record for five years, when he released the part-soundtrack-part-album One Trick Pony, but that's for another time. Until then, kick back, sit by the window, and let Simon do the damage for you.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Still Crazy After All These Years.