Harper Simon

Harper Simon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 13, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal Music
• ASIN: B002MW50EA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,629 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Incredible debut, October 20, 2009

By 

Craig (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harper Simon (Audio CD)

I can't believe I am only the 2nd person to review this album. Yes, it may be highly derivative, but who better to be influenced by than Paul Simon, especially when he is your father. The album is chock full of melodies that will not leave your head easily, a sign of a truly great album. I find myself constantly humming songs from it. The guitar playing is great and Harper often employs the finger picking style of play that his father uses so effectively. His voice fits the music perfectly and at times, it sounds as if Paul himself is singing even though his involvement in this album was limited to co-writing three songs. While the lyrics may not be on par with his father's, whose is? My personal favorite song is "The Shine," but I cannot say enough great things about the album as a whole. "Berkeley Girl" is the only song that borrows a little too heavily from S&G in my opinion both with its lyrics and similarity to the great S&G song "The Dangling Conversation." Nevertheless, if this were a Simon and Garfunkel album, it would not only be a massive success, but would be a welcome addition to their body of work. As an additonal note, and I don't know if Amazon will print this, but the Itunes version of the album contains two excellent bonus tracks and is less expensive.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TURN TOWARD THE LIGHT OF HARPER SIMON, July 27, 2011

By 

Andrew H. Lee "Constant Listener" (Snohomish, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harper Simon (Audio CD)

This is the first album by the first son of legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon. The baby boy that Simon sang to sleep in "St Judy's Comet" grew up to become an accomplished musician in his own right, and far from making his "famous daddy look so dumb" he has honored his father's musical legacy by crafting his own debut album with the kind of poetry, wit, and magnetic melodicism that is found in Paul Simon's best work. Harper Simon looks, sounds, and writes like Paul Simon just enough to make things interesting - the similarities add to and enhance his work rather than detract and distract. Family business indeed.

The album begins with a meditative prayer ("All to God") and ends with another sort of meditation - this time on a beautiful woman (Berkley Girl), effectively book-ending the ten-song cycle with matters of the spirit and matters of the flesh. In between Simon explores a range of topics, including loneliness, alienation, and life on a Native American reservation. He plays and sings through it all with the quiet confidence of a man who knows that at thirty-seven years of age and with songwriting in his blood, he has more than earned this chance to stand alone in the spotlight - the question is whether music lovers will turn toward that light.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It goes on the "take to the desert island" list, October 14, 2009

By 

N. J Sandwick - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harper Simon (Audio CD)

I really like this album a lot. It must have been difficult for Harper to try to step out of his Dad's shadow, and I think he has done that with this endeavor. Some of the songs sound more like Simon and Garfunkel. It is a very melodic and beautifully recorded CD. It would be on my list for the "desert island".