Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated, understated, and sophisticated, October 30, 2004
After years of success in the folk-pop genre with Garfunkel and his own solo career, Paul Simon decided to get into acting. Bad move. I saw One Trick Pony in the theater and on video. As a movie, despite some very nice little scenes and live performances, it drags. Honestly, it is a little depressing.
However, the songs written for the movie are another matter entirely. Paul Simon took some study in musical composition, and this began to bear fruit in Still Crazy After All These Years and One Trick Pony. Everything here is pop music at the highest level, tinged with a bit of jazz -- the presence of jazz guitarist Eric Gale and keyboardist Richard Tee, the ultra-clean and always innovative drumming of Steve Gadd are an essential part of the superb mix. But the songs are heavenly, melodic, meaningful, poetic, mostly meditative, and well-crafted.
I'd have to say this is my favorite Paul Simon album. Others come close -- Still Crazy, and Rhythm of the Saints. I find this one the most consistent and most worthy of repeated listening. (Not counting the bonus tracks, which may be nice to have, but do not fit in with the original album as a whole. Most of the time you'll want to skip the bonus cuts.)
|
|
|
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet, Thoughtful, and Suprisingly Expressive, February 22, 2005
This album is a sleeper: one rarely goes to One Trick Pony when a Paul Simon mood hits you; certainly his first solo album stands as a testament to his songwriting abilities, and the many hits along the way often draw you to other albums in his catalogue.
But One Trick Pony really stands the test of time: tasteful, beautiful songwriting, a clear, effective concept album sustained through song after song, and superior songcraft and performances (jazz guitarist Eric Gale, keyboardist Richard Tee, drummer Steve Gadd) add an organic, naturally high level of sophistication to the arrangements. Some of the album tracks buried in here are among Simon's finest: "Jonah" is a great track, crying out to be covered again and revived by another artist; the closer "Long Long Day" perfectly captures the mood and feel of the album, "God Bless the Absentee" tastefully describes the drudgery and toil of the working man, sacrificing, putting in time for his family and a dream.
If you were put off by the rather weak film, or have not picked this up lately, you will be surprised. It takes active listening, but there are many rewards here to be found, and you will find yourself returning to the quiet joys of One Trick Pony.
|
|
|
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
His best album concept, start to finish., August 23, 2004
Never saw the film, but from the moment I purchased this album new in 1980 it has always been one of my favorite LPs. The effervescent first track, "Late in the Evening," is both descriptive and not, for "One Trick Pony" is a late-in-the-evening kind of record, but one you'll remember less for its three upbeat numbers than for its seven mellow session tracks performed with a terrific ensemble and some of Rhymin' Simon's most soulful writing this side of "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War." Indeed, I rarely play it before midnight anymore, and I sometimes sing the lyrics with Paul as a sort of late-night meditation. You purchase the Rhino version with the bonus tracks at your own risk, for the 10 tracks on the original are so complete, so satisfying taken as a whole, that I see no need to tamper with them.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
by Paul Simon 
