Graceland

Simon, Paul

album cover

Paul's Excellent Global Adventures

Paul Simon once said the inspiration for Graceland came from a cassette of South African "township jive" he'd listened to over and over. Enamored, the singer and songwriter eventually invited South African musicians to join him for an experiment. Simon captured basic rhythm tracks in Africa (with a band anchored by the impossibly nimble bassist Bakithi Khumalo), and then spent months singing along with those sketches, developing songs. Once he had an outline, he enlisted the heavenly chorus of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which until this project had primarily sung a capella. He then added accordion from Louisiana zydeco master Rockin' Dopsie, and the East Los Angeles band Los Lobos, and his own (often talk-sung) vocals.

From this ingredient list came a simmering, savory stew, music that was profoundly connected to the earth—but not tethered to any one region. Simon picked up bits of African pop but didn't cop every attribute of the indigenous styles—he was going for pastiche, a mingling of "roots" musics, and his assimilation was so thorough it's impossible to pinpoint where the African influence ends, say, and the gospel one begins. This wasn't the first time Simon explored rhythms from exotic locales—his 1980 film and soundtrack One Trick Pony contains a perky Caribbean fantasia entitled "Late in the Evening," which was a minor hit. Graceland represents the singer-songwriter's most concerted attempt at integrating diverse styles. It came out around the same time as similarly outward-looking integrationist experiments from Peter Gabriel and others, and is credited with helping to popularize African music in the U.S. and Europe.

The success encouraged Simon to keep going. He followed the drums of Africa across the slave routes, to Brazil, and on the entrancing The Rhythm of the Saints again sought collaboration with indigenous specialists, pairing them with several of Graceland's African musicians. These exchanges inspired an even broader range of songs—there is a dejected metropolitan love ode ("She Moves On") next to a poetic revery in waltz time ("Further to Fly") next to a mystical journey built around Brazilian vocalist Milton Nascimento ("Spirit Voices") that is among the most evocative pieces in Simon's songbook. The monumental Graceland is generally considered Simon's masterpiece, but the hybrid spirit he sought there is more fully realized on The Rhythm of the Saints, where it sounds like the rivers of Africa and Brazil are running parallel, proud and unstoppable.

Genre: Pop
Released: 1986, Warner Bros.
Key Tracks: "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," "Graceland"
Catalog Choice: The Rhythm of the Saints.
Next Stop: Various Artists: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto
After That: Peter Gabriel: So
Book Page: 704