Customer Reviews

The Capeman [Explicit]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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 stick 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.

I have never heard a Paul Simon album I didn't like, but, having said that, I have long been wishing for a work to equal Hearts and Bones. Finally! In my opinion, Simon's best music isn't something you find yourself blithely humming along to, and I have never come away from listening to one of his albums for the first, second, or third time with a clear favorite track. Instead, it "grows" on you. Like Hearts and Bones, I had to listen to this album several times before I knew I loved it. I believe he is THE master of blending his music and his lyrics so that they not only complement each other, but texture each other as well. He is a thinking man's artist. This album is an excellent example.

I understand the play was soundly panned, but not the music. Listening to the tracks - the music and lyrics - I could imagine the actors dancing, actually visualizing in my mind the choreography and moves they would be making. His blend of doo-wop and Latin music is, incredibly, seamless.

Simon does not condescend to his audience: the lyrics are raw at times and he does not wrap up the ending in a pretty package. If he did, he wouldn't leave you thinking when you were through.

Concept albums frighten some, especially concept albums based on young minority convicted murderers, but if you are Paul Simon fan you absolutely have to have this album. Beautiful songs written in a 1950's style, complete with "shoo-doo-wops" and spanish guitars. Make sure you get the re-issue with the bonus tracks.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this album was. I thought Paul Simon was past his prime. I was WRONG! From the first track I think this album pulls you in. The doo-wop and latin tinges show that Paul still isn't afraid to try something different. It's a very enjoyable album that had me hooked from first listen.

I love this show. The previous cd however is mostly sung by Simon, who cannot begin to convey the intensity or nuance of the Broadway production (1998) which he wrote. I saw it 4 times in its brief run back then, but there was no cast recording released.

Well, I saw the concert version in Central Park last week (08-14-2010), which caused me to search again for the cast recording. To my chagrin, I find it has in fact been available (only as a download), right here on Amazon -- see Capeman [Explicit].... its wonderful... hope this helps another lost soul find the real thing... and here's hoping the 3 night Central Park concert production leads to a revival, as happened 2 years ago with "Hair", following a similar "under the stars" run.

No one was a more vehement critic of this album than I was. I got it as a gift for my 14th birthday back when I was just a casual Paul Simon fan, before his music had taken over and shaped my life. Needless to say it remained unopened for 12 years. I had seen the Storytellers show where he did quite a bit from this album and wasn't impressed with the music, 'Graceland' it was not. Then on the magical evening of Friday February 13th 2009, (Friday the 13th) my outlook of this album and the genius himself changed forever. I was sitting in the orchestra section of the newly renovated Beacon Theatre by the bodegas and the lights on upper Broadway during the intermission of Paul's triumphant concert, with my best friend, a casual Simon fan. When Paul Simon came back out after the intermission, he announced "Some Doo-Wop from the Capeman. After a heavy sigh, I leaned over to my friend and said, 'I should have brought my pillow'. Paul brought the original singers on and they did 'Satin Summer Nights', 'Bernadette', 'Quality' and 'Adios Hermanos' (arguably, the most commercial songs off the album). During Adios Hermanos, I had an epiphany about this album that I had loathed for so long. The next day, I removed the shrink wrap from the CD I had received 12 years prior and haven't stopped listening to it since. It would be a disservice for all of these self titled Paul Simon 'fanatics' and 'superfans' not to give this album the benefit of the doubt. While I don't care for every song, the positives outweigh the negatives.

I picked this CD up for $1.99. I heard briefly of the failure of the Broadway play. Perhaps I thought at that time that Paul Simon's genius just didn't expand in that direction. But he's Paul Simon, so I got a nice red wine, turned off the lights and sat in the dark to give The Capeman a fair listen. What I heard altered my opinion of Broadway. This is simply one of the great early albums of the 21st Century. The songs are sumptuous blends of rhythm and style unique to this album, as you expect from every Paul Simon album. The cohesion of the story, though, brought me to tears and made me think about my lifestyle, my country, and my relationship to my community. The Capeman is not about something that happened in 1959. It's happening right now. This is a story about gang violence, it's cause, it's results. Agron was not a throw-away person. He proved that, but he proved it too late to save his life or those of his victims.

Sometimes the term "genius" is applied to people who sing or write songs rather glibly. Paul Simon is not only a great musician and lyricist, he's an important thinker with a large vision of the future. I hope his story of The Capeman is not relegated to a Broadway failure. This brilliant social commentary needs to be applied to a more elastic media where it can reach a smarter audience. It's not West Side Story or The King & I. It's much better than that.

This is a beautifully done work with expressive and passionate music. It provides a heartfelt feel for life in the barrio and does so with wonderfully crafted songs performed with amazing feeling.

Unlike most, I was lucky enough to see the original production of this musical AND I saw the 2010 Central Park re-staging. The music just grows better better overtime and the re-staging actually has many glowing moments as the story is re-shaped. It's a shame that there wasn't a Broadway follow-up for the production. BUT, that said, the bigger shame is that the complete Original Broadway Cast Album has NEVER been released as a CD. Sure we have the selected songs from the Paul Simon release but the songs sung by the original stage performers are more than deserving of their own CD release. I would love to be able to share this album with my friends or play it in my car while I'm commuting. I would also love to add it to my collection of cast albums. The MP3 version is just not the same.
While they're at it, they should also release the cast album of the production done this summer as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival. I had my fingers crossed that the Public Theater had a Broadway run up it's sleeve, as was done with Hair and The Merchant of Venice recently. This musical was definitely better than the reviews would have you believe. I would never part with my Playbill from the original run....but I wonder if the short run makes it a rare collectible. How do I find out??
By the way, the only reason I didn't give this a 5-star rating was because of the MP3 format. It may be better than nothing but a 2-CD set would have gotten a 5-star rating from me.

I have had this cd for years and keep going back to it, almost more then all other Simon albums. I really love the music from this play and I love the harmonies and the vocals. My only negative criticism would be that the language is very strong at times, and seems kind of out of place with such sweet songs. But from what I hear doo wop songs from the 50's were often tamed down versions of a more slang street version, ie bad language. I think I remember Dion Dimucci saying that the original Runaround Sue wouldn't have been allowed on the radio. Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoy the blend of doo wop, ballads, and Latin flavor musics. Simon seems a genuis at blending types of music together. And I definitely enjoy when 50's music is somewhere in that blend, especially accapella street corner harmony.
It's fairly obvious why the play didn't succeed. The contrast of the characters from the songs and the characters, real life characters, that we hear in between the songs, the real audio of the Capeman and The Umbrella Man seems to say that they are not as sweet and innocent as Simon's songs portray them. And murderers don't usually make great lead characters.
This Album has me pining for another Simon album, rumored to be possibly coming out next year early 2011. I, for one, would love Simon to revisit 50's themed music once again and infuse it with any other music or just leave it alone. That is where he started out with back when he was singing Tenor for the Mellow-kings.
All and all I'm surprised at how much I continue to enjoy the music from The Capeman sung by Paul Simon.