Even nearly 60 years after the real start of Simon's musical career, Seven Psalms sits as one of the most uniquely structured works in his brilliant and meticulous catalog. Even when compared to Simon's conceptual albums such as Bookends or the conceptually similar So Beautiful or So What, Seven Psalms is structured around a singular, 33-minute movement across seven parts inspired by the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament. Because of this unique structure, it gives the album a truly great flow, and one that is kind of singular in that regard - it helps that there's many musical and lyrical motifs that reappear in other segments of the album, which gives it a very unified feel. What also helps with this is the production and instrumental style of the album, which is easily his most bare-bones work since So Beautiful or So What, and potentially even more minimal than any of his 70s albums, but don't quote me on that. Most of the album is relegated instrumentally to just Simon's acoustic work and his continuously gentle voice - even 50 years gone from the start of his brilliant solo career, Paul Simon's voice maintains its warmth and earnest qualities, and you can hear it on these recordings. The result is an album that is every bit as down to earth and thoughtful in its sound as just about any album by Simon that precedes it, and that atmosphere is all but brought to the next level by the album's lyrical contents.
Seven Psalms is an album of a few bold and touching concepts, with the two biggest being spirituality and death - it seems that all of Simon's grandest concepts always come back to human mortality. Straight from the album's first movement "The Lord", Simon's religious views are made known - the lord is my engineer, the earth I ride on. Other lyrics referencing the great migration call back to Exodus in the Bible, and the overall lyricism of the song has Simon seeing the Lord everywhere within the world, from the green forests to the Covid virus. This motif comes up later in the suite during the "My Professional Opinion" segment of the record, which follows after that segment's reflection on dissatisfaction and purity, with imagery calling back to the Garden of Eden. The motif returns towards the end of the album during "The Sacred Harp", which fittingly references King David's harp that can join heaven and earth. The almost hopeful nature of this segment contrasts with the more chaotic "Trail of Volcanoes" that depicts a destroyed world and "little time for amends" as we all go down the same road of volcanoes. The album ends with the finality of "Wait", one of Simon's most poetic and touching reflections on death and the great beyond that sits in the afterlife - it's a very touching way to end, and if it does end up being his final work, than it's a beautiful way to bow out.
It's been a great thrill to have more Paul Simon music in the world - more of his beautiful compositions and rich lyrics can never be a bad thing. Although I don't necessarily find Seven Psalms to be in the upper half of his catalog, it remains a largely fantastic and classy late-stage release from Simon, and one that I frankly find better than his previous solo record - you certainly can't say he isn't ending on a high note, but in a career of highs it's hard to point out the gems. Seven Psalms is Simon's most minimalist and reflective work in years, and the poignant and often beautiful results speak for themselves. Simon has done it yet again, but do you really expect anything less at this point?
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Seven Psalms.
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