The Rhythm of the Saints [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Paul Simon

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 27, 2004)
• Original Release Date: July 27, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino Records
• ASIN: B0002EQ7EC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,662 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Paul Simon, The Rhythm of the Saints

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As graceful as Graceland, January 9, 2005

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Paul Simon followed up the classic Graceland, his fusion of African and Western pop music with this stunning album of great songs with a South American and more particularly Brazilian flavour. This reissue includes four previously unreleased tracks.

The Obvious Child is my favorite, a powerful melodic song with great drums and guitars and a wistful, nostalgic feel. Another favorite is The Coast, a story about a family of musicians taking shelter in a church; this song really impresses with its flowing melody, polyrhythmic drum patterns and moving lyrics.

Proof is another charming pop song, particularly noted for its evocative backing vocals and gentle, lilting rhythm whilst Further To Fly and She Moves On are more subdued, melancholy numbers with bubbling and insistent rhythmic patterns.

The mood lifts with the uptempo and buoyant Born At The Right Time, once again a lyrical and musical masterpiece and filled with catchy hooks. The guitar and atmospheric backing voices of Spirit Voices are beyond compare whilst the title track is a meandering piece with innovative instrumental flourishes.

What makes these songs particularly moving is that Simon tells the stories of ordinary people and that his perceptive, poetic lyrics are carried so well on the exotic instrumentation. Of course, the beautiful tunes have a lot to do with that. Rhythm Of The Saints may not be as immediately appealing as Graceland and may not offer quite as many classics, but it remains a major achievement, a brilliant marriage of Brazilian and Western popular musical styles.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I know this is a silly way of ranking albums, but..., June 15, 2006

By	Enderby scout (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

I really think it's Simon's best. This, and perhaps (in a very different style) "Paul Simon." I'm just listening to it again after several years...the melodies are intricate, the words are vivid and allusive, the range is astounding. Graceland has a wonderful rock-style going on, but I really think this is my favorite. I know a lot of non-Simon fans who love this one album. It's just fantastic.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Graceland, July 5, 2005

By	Ham On Wry (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the rare CD's that get better every time you hear it. There's no catchy hooks like the ones in Graceland, but it's suffused with the same spirit. Simon has always been the master of couching dark lyrics in emotions in upbeat tunes (think Sound of Silence). Listening to Cool, Cool River, Can't Run But and The Obvious Child makes you realize that he's still that dark spirit yearning upward for spiritual redemption. Not all the tunes are as much fun as the title song or Born At the Right Time, but they all hold out hope for a lost generation.