You're the One

Paul Simon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 3, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B00004XQP0
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  DVD Audio
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (259 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,759 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Listen to it more than once!! It grows on you!!, October 15, 2000

By 

"rjk28" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You're the One (Audio CD)

I was very disappointed to read some of the negative reviews about this CD - not because I disagree with them (which I do - but everyone is entitled to an opinion) but because if you only listen to this CD once or even a few times you are missing out. It seems that most of the people who don't like the CD did not persevere with it because they were not feeling it after their first listen or so. Believe me this CD grows on you. Don't give up after one listening! I too was somewhat underwhelmed when I first listened to the CD and I felt disappointed. But after playing it a number of times, I have come to absolutely love everything about it. Listening to "Quiet" just sends shivers up my spine - it is so hauntingly beautiful;"Old" is great - it reminds me of "Kodachrome" and "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard"; "Pigs Sheep and Wolves" is so different from any other song I have ever heard... I could go on and on. In sum, I love this CD and I can't recommend it highly enough. That is not the point of this review though - a lot of the reviews already written make the same point much more eloquently - basically, I just wanted to urge people not to give up after one listening!

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Typical Paul Simon!, October 3, 2000

By 

M. Evans "Yorkshireman" (Yorkshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You're the One (Audio CD)

From beginning to end this new album from Paul Simon is truly beautiful. The songs have a style not recognised as Paul Simon (except the distinctive voice of course) but are great to listen to. The album is one of his best and may even rank up there with Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints. Paul Simon's word play and well written lyrics come through on top of some stunning if mellow tracks containing diverse instruments like - the pump reed organ and vihuela. The best song in my opinion is Darling Lorraine - a typical Paul Simon story song much in the mould of Hearts and Bones, Duncan or The Boxer. It follows a relationship through marriage and turmoil to eventual death. The variation in tempo and rhythm mean the music tells a story on its own and Paul's lyrics deal with the issue sensitively, witily and cleverly. The story is simple yet intricate and it is a classic song. Old and Hurricane Eye are both easy on the ears and pleasant to listen to and in my opinion the most worthy of a release on single. Other tracks like The Teacher, Look at That and Love are well written and thought provoking if not immediately accesible. Quiet the final track is emotionally touching and finishes the album in the same melodic way as That's where I Belong. You're the one is in my opinion one of the weakest tracks on the album even if it is the title track. Pigs Sheep and Wolves is a funny way to deal with the topic of capital punishment but is clever and amazingly well sung dramatically and I love this bizarre and very different Paul Simon song. The album is typical and sophisticated and I would advise anyone to buy it. Paul Simon is a lyrical genius and his band is outstanding. It may not be picked up on for the masterpiece it is due to the commercialised state of the music industry and prejudice of many music listeners but if you put aside the age of the artist and his public standing with many people and buy it you will not be disapointed.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reflective songs are pure Simon mastery., October 5, 2000

By 

Carol Alaniz (near Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You're the One (Audio CD)

'You're the One' is an album really unlike any of the other albums Paul has produced. As with quite a few of Paul's other albums it takes a little while to get used to this one. Don't let that scare you.

Full of the percussive sounds that will remind his fans of 'Rhythm of the Saints', Paul pulls out the stops once again with his wonderful lyrics and music. This album has more of Paul's great storytelling on it. The title song, 'You're the One' is an bouncy pop tune about a broken heart--this song could be a radio hit and possibly a Grammy nominee if the radio stations would play it. 'Darling Lorraine' is about a couple's marriage. Paul puts their fighting in the lyrics which is an unusual thing to do but it makes the characters seem real. 'Pigs, Sheep and Wolves' is a funny and unusual song about capital punishment. Paul has fun with this one and he sings it in a laid-back humorous way. A real departure from his usual way of singing. 'Old' puts age in its place by comparing a person's age with the age of the Earth, the Bible and the Koran. The first two verses are a small peek into his life--"First time I smoked, guess what--paranoid/First time I heard 'Satisfaction' I was young and unemployed/Down the decades every year/Summer leaves and my birthday's here/And all my friends stand up and cheer/And say Man, you're old."

Aside from unusual lyrics one other thing stood out: Paul is refecting on his life. There are quite a few mentions of spirituality in "You're the One". In 'Quiet' Paul sings of "Heading for a place of solitude/Where the sage and sweetgrass grow/By a lake of sacred water from the mountains melted snow."

This album may not be as good as 'Graceland' but it is a very fine effort by Mr. Simon. He has not lost his touch at all but as with fine wine, is getting better with age.