They say the left side of the brain controls the right
4 Out of 5 Stars
It was the year of Flock of Seagulls, it was the year of The Clash, it was 1983, to paraphrase Paul Simon's best song on "Hearts and Bones." It was also the year of "Thriller," and the kind of music that was pushing old hands like Paul Simon off the radio. It was also the time he was in his final phases of breaking up with wife Carrie Fischer, and not long after the assassination of John Lennon. All these things filter into what is, in my opinion, Paul Simon's most overlooked album.
4 Out of 5 Stars
It was the year of Flock of Seagulls, it was the year of The Clash, it was 1983, to paraphrase Paul Simon's best song on "Hearts and Bones." It was also the year of "Thriller," and the kind of music that was pushing old hands like Paul Simon off the radio. It was also the time he was in his final phases of breaking up with wife Carrie Fischer, and not long after the assassination of John Lennon. All these things filter into what is, in my opinion, Paul Simon's most overlooked album.
"Hearts and Bones" originally started life as a Simon and Garfunkel reunion album with a working title "Think Too Much." But the usual animosities came between the duo and Simon went solo. It may have to do with the extremely personal nature of the songs, like the title track that takes a sad look at 'one and one half wandering Jews' as their arc of a love affair comes to an end and the sublime "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War."
Less obvious but still interesting is "Allergies," which was the first single. While Michael Jackson took Eddie Van Halen to light up a cross-over single, Simon lured in jazz guitarist Al DiMeola to let fingers fly across the frets. It's brilliant. I also found the presence of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards on "Think Too Much B" as a cool move on Simon's part.
Most impressive, though, was "The Late Great Johnny Ace," which was also performed at the S&G reunion in Central Park. It ties Simon's musical growth over the years to the full-stop-shock of John Lennon's death. It may be the one song on "Hearts and Bones" that misses Garfunkel; his high voice would have added to the emotional heft of a song that's already a tear-jerker. Phillip Glass adds a moving instrumental coda to the song that closes the album with the kind of tug that most S&G albums were beloved for. "The Late Great Johnny Ace" is one of the best tribute songs ever recorded, and easily among Simon's finest works.
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