Customer Reviews

Songs From The Capeman (1997 Concept Cast Album)

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What a shame the production of The Capeman failed, because that failure will probably mean that not very many people will ever hear this album, which is not only one of the best things Paul Simon has ever done, but one of the best albums I have ever heard.

If Bob Dylan was the poet of the rock era, Paul Simon has always been its finest storyteller. Think of Old Friends. Me and Julio. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. They all tell perfectly crafted little three minute short stories. This album has the overall framing story of Salvador Agron, a teenage murderer in the 50s, who spent 20 years in prison, becoming educated, writing poetry, rehabilitating himself and never again committing any violent act. Some of the songs are from AgronŐs point of view, the rest are from the point of view of various people in his life. As the different points of view layer and overlap, and the various stories come together, this album begins to seem like a great novel that just happens to be set to music. It is beautiful and challenging, sometimes crude and sometimes poetic (and often both at the same time). It makes you think hard about prejudice, justice, redemption and a lot of other issues that donŐt find a place in popular music very often.

And the music is fabulous. Simon has been working in many musical styles and genres for decades and that preparation really comes to fruition here. The basic styles are 50s streetcorner doo-wop and Latin, but Simon knows both of those styles so well that he finds great variety where another composer would recycle the cliches.

After the failure of The Capeman, itŐs unlikely Paul Simon will be tempted to try another Broadway musical. But I hope he doesnŐt give up on concept albums like this one. This is the kind of work he was born to write. Nobody else could have done it so brilliantly.

Maybe enough time has now passed for the initial negative reaction to The Capeman stage show to fade into the distance. Like everyone else, I never saw it, so can only rely on the accepted wisdom that it was bad. This "soundtrack" album, though, is a complete and utter masterpiece no matter which way you look at it.
I'm certainly a Paul Simon fan, but not blindly so - like most enthusiasts I have my opinions about the higher and lower points in his career (and no two opinions about these things are ever the same). The Capeman is perhaps Paul Simon's highest achievement; sheer unadulterated brilliance from start to finish. Its lack of acceptance, even among many Simon fans, could be due to the perception of it as overly self-indulgent. I find great artists like Simon are often at their best when they are at their most self-indulgent, if self-indulgence is what this is.
Simon synthesises the musical influences from his youth - doo-wop and salsa from the end of the 50's in NYC, to tell a story he remembers from the same period and place. The musical combinations are often incongruous and "challenging", but ultimately brilliantly evocative, while never resorting to pastiche. On top of all this is the "theatrical", storytelling aspect of the album, which somehow works perfectly in its own right - I can only imagine that any stageshow would have been a distraction to the words and music. Even with Simon himself taking on the vocals for multiple roles, the story and characters come across vividly, and the narrative power and scope are unprecedented (I think he intended to but never got around to releasing a full cast album?). Simon's "character" monologue-style singing shows his narrative vocal strength like never before (and yes, there is some rude language - the kids better skip this and go back to their Limp Bizkit and Eminem albums if you don't want them to grow up warped). Marc Anthony and Ednita Nazario have never had better material to sing, and do a magnificent job.
Ultimately, this album stands as a monument to top-class, brave and adventurous songwriting. As such, it of course had to fail commercially, and it's a shame to think of someone like Paul Simon being discouraged by poor public reception to great work such as this. Some people are used to working their whole lives in obscurity, but to someone like Simon it may come as a shock when something he does is so disparaged. I guess Amazon is one place to try to address the balance.

Full disclosure: I never saw the musical. The reviews were just too terrible. However, I had enough faith in Mr. Simon to purchase the "Concept Cast Album"; it has become one of my most listened to CDs. I believe the reviews of the show said that the music was well-written and performed, but the book was average and the direction (by Mr. Simon) was subpar. I don't normally listen to theater reviews, but I guess the show closed before I could even get to New York to see it. About the songs: Paul Simon is a genius. The melodies, the poetry, the harmonies, it's all there. Doo-wop is hard to make interesting, but Mr. Simon does it. Latino music can sound bland if poorly written, but Mr. Simon writes and sings like he's done it his whole life. This album is very special to me. "Bernadette" is a great love song that I always sing along to full blast. "Trailways Bus" is a somber tune that I saw Mr. Simon perform at Madison Square Garden, and although I was in the highest reaches of the arena, it still touched me.

For those who don't know, this album is a studio recording of songs from a musical that flopped. I won't talk about the musical - just the music. This is some of the best stuff I've heard from Paul Simon. The entire album is a mix of latin and doo-wop music that blends wonderfully. The opening track, Adios Hermanos, is great to sing along with as it showcases Simon's incredible yet everyday-man voice. Granted, you'll be surprised by the language that flows into the song, but - it flows! I loved West Side Story, but, if I had my way, this would be the soundtrack for it. Born in Puerto Rico makes me feel proud to be Puerto Rican even though I'm not Puerto Rican. Bernadette is a jumpy little tune that's fun and light-hearted, especially in the mix of heavy themes represented throughout the album. Killer Wants to Go to College is funny and disturbing at the same time as it describes a prison guard's view of notable prisoners. Trailways Bus reminds us of the other side of discrimination. All in all, this album reveals things about ourselves as well as the characters from the story, often with shocking honesty. The great collection of vocalists and impressive musicianship adds to the total effect. Not for kids, but definitely for adults.

There are various reasons why the Paul Simon's 1998 Broadway production "The Capeman" failed, and one was that people felt Simon glorified the murderer Salvador Agron. The production received sharp brutal criticism from the press. Eventually, the production closed after few weeks.

As a youth living in New York, Simon remembers when a sensational crime took place; a young boy Simon's age represented a hoodlum in the 50's. The musical CD of The Capeman guides us through the journey of an uneducated Puerto Rican teen Salvador Agron, who, during a rumble in 1959, stabbed to death two bystanders. Agron was said to wear a black cape with a red lining. Also involved was a gang associate who was referred to as "The Umbrella Man" who at the time carried an umbrella during the fight. Agron served 20 years in prison and was released in 1979. He died of natural causes in 1986 at 43 years old.

Interspersed between the songs are actual chilling snippets from news archives that feature Agron answering questions like "why do you wear a cape?" or "how do you feel about your mother and father, you sorry about that?" He seems cold, unmoved by this crime. These little news snippets sprinkled between the songs gave the documentary musical a feel of the "real" hard core murderer.

Paul Simon uses the "F" word. Since it is relative to the tough street gang life, I don't take issue with Paul Simon for frequently using the F words and its variations as these lyrics represent the life in the Capeman's world.

Joining Simon is Latin heart throb singing sensation Marc Anthony. They duet on "Satin Summer Nights." In "The Vampires", Salvador is recruited by The Umbrella Man (Hernandez) into the gang.

Some really diverse fine songs are here, like the more doo wop/rock and roll tune about a Sal, a teen idol who says .....the way you move, It's got "Quality." This upbeat danceable song is filled with powerful female backup singers.

Latin actor Reuben Blades joins Marc Anthony for the soft mellow song "Time Is An Ocean of Endless Tears." This colloboration is enhanced by a full orchestra that includes piano, cello, flute, bongos, maracas, drums, violin, etc. This is where Paul Simon's extensive talent for musical arranging comes to play. Equally great is "Trailways Bus" the end of the journey.

Surprisingly, the song "Virgil" comes on with a country western influence. It has the feel of a country beat, danceable, sing-along. In it, a prison guard who can't afford his children's education refuses to believe Salvador has the right to earn his degree in prison.

This CD just gets better and better everytime you listen. It is a story, a journey. Paul Simon did a remarkable job of reinventing himself again, venturing into the unusual showcasing his brilliance.

Now, I only wish I could have seen the failed Broadway production of The Capeman....MzRizz.

I was thrilled when I found out that Paul Simon had released a new album. I rushed right out to my local C/D store and purchased it. I was unable to listen to any samples in the store, but I wish I had, because I would never have bought it. I was terribly disappointed in this album. This is not Paul Simon, it's Paul Simon in an "Off Broadway Musical", and that was definitely NOT what I was expecting. Yes, its new, and different... but not in a good way. Fortunately for me, the store allowed me to return the album...which I did.

You know, a good musical COULD have been made of this bit of history, if its authors had thought to make that musical about good and evil (as in Hemingway's short story "The Killers", for example). Or a good musical COULD have been made about racial prejudice in America with a different bit of history. The obvious problem is that Simon picked the capeman's bit of history for personal and subjective reasons and then went searching (vainly) for a point. Even so he might have found a VALID point, or alternatively, he might have declined to make the piece didactic or pointed at all and just indulged his subjective whims.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with using the particular four-letter word (begins with "f") that Simon uses over and over and over here. But it's obvious that Simon is trying to get more dramatic leverage out of single word than a single word (especially this one) can possibly give any dramatist. Simply put, he is using it for its shock value; he is using it cheaply and ineptly.

"Songs from the Capeman"'s music is probably a statistically reasonable sampling, so to speak, of "Latin" and "doo-wop", but this is just what makes it so drab. Let's hear, instead, some ORIGINAL, ATYPICAL "Latin" and "doo-wop". The performances here are energetic and accomplished, but the songs themselves can serve artistically only as "source" music. (In other words, they would work fine in a--non-musical--film if they were depicted as playing in the background, say, in a bar or on a car radio, etc.)

I am compelled to write this review as I just read the official review on Amazon.com of Paul Simon's new album and they described this album as a "misbegotten setback". I can not disagree more. This album, is not for people who are looking for typical Paul Simon pop. This album, rather, is more for people with more open or artistic interests in music. This is a broadway based album that is purely magical, with more concept and cohesion between the melodies than any album other than possibly o.k. computer by radiohead of the 90's or even Pink Floyd of the 70's. The style derives mostly from latin and doowop. If you understand that, and the album still sounds compelling, than go out and buy it, you will not be sorry. Quite simply I regard it as one of the top 10 albums (easily) of the 90's. Put it on, it'll make you feel. It trully is melodic, soulful, and complex, and the ambiance isn't so rosy. The album beats to a peaceful, introspective, dissonant and electric pulse (all at the same time). It is not for a quick fix of easy, accesible, homogenized pop, it is a work that you take in and experience with not so simple yet totally satisfying results.

I've been a Paul Simon fan since my first Simon & Garfunkel concert in 1968. Starting with the fantastic Graceland album, his explorations of other musical styles have brought a real refreshment to popular music. With The Capeman, he delves into Latino music, combining it with the 1950's doo-wop to tell the sad story of Salvador Agron, a Puerto Rican immigrant gang member convicted of killing two young boys in New York in 1959.

Starting with 'Adios Hermanos', where Agron's sentencing to the electric chair is depicted, the album then flashes back to tell us how he was "recruited " to join the Vampires by Hernandez, the Umbrella Man ("you either belong, or you get hurt"......"You want to fight for your people, don't you Sal?"). Along the way, we're treated to some of Paul's nicest songs, with "Bernadette" being a real standout.

While the album seems sympathetic to the murderer, at times making you think that he was a victim, a listen to "Can I forgive him?" certainly describes the pain felt by the families of the murder victims, as well as Salvador's family.

In the end, the story of the Capeman to me is a story of not quite redemption. You never feel that even though Sal escaped execution and lived 30 more years, he never really came to deal with his crime and its' consequences for himself and his victims.

A tragic story, but the music will haunt you, educate you, and entertain you. Yes, there is some profanity in the lyrics, but when you're depicting life in the gang world, to not use profanity to me would have been dishonest.

I recommend this album without reservation.

I don't know why people have panned this album. Perhaps it was all the bad press on the musical, which I never ended up seeing. However, I have listened to this album over and over, can't stop singing it, and believe it to be one of Paul Simon's best. The story is interesting and the music is touching and catchy. It is great stuff.