Track Listing

1. Kodachrome
2. Tenderness
3. Take Me to the Mardi Gras
4. Something So Right
5. One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor
6. American Tune
7. Was a Sunny Day
8. Learn How to Fall
9. St. Judy's Comet
10. Loves Me Like a Rock
11. Let Me Live in Your City [Work-In-Progress][#][*]
12. Take Me to the Mardi Gras [Acoustic Demo][#][*]
13. American Tune [Unfinished Demo][#][*]
14. Loves Me Like a Rock [Acoustic Demo][#][*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1487 in Music
• Released on: 2004-07-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered

Album Description
Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork.

Amazon.com essential recording
In the early '70s, Paul Simon sounded old before his time: while his harder-rocking peers were hanging on to themes of youthful rebellion and romantic obsession, Simon, already a pop veteran who'd notched records since his teens, focused on the smaller details and defining quirks of real life. His second solo album finds him regarding the passage of time and the fragility of relationships with his usual mix of smart-aleck observations and gentler, more deeply felt melancholy. "Kodachrome" was a breezy delight upon its release that now sounds prescient in its backwards glance at myths of youth, "An American Tune" sustains its mood of graceful maturity against a Bach-inspired guitar arrangement that's still gorgeous, and "Something So Right" remains Simon's most luminous declaration of love. Actually produced in varied studios with shifting session bands (including the chameleons in the Muscle Shoals Sound section), the set also introduced the Roches and notched Simon's first plunge into gospel on "Loves Me Like A Rock." --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

America's Troubador
What a wonderful CD. We bought the album when it first came out in the early '70s and we've never tired of the tracks. The bonuses on this release give you a nice window into Simon's creative process, as they offer some alternate lyrics, pacing, and instrumentation of several cuts earlier in the disk.

Keep in mind that Paul was quite a young man when he came up with this musical poetry. His lyrics demonstrate a depth of understanding regarding human nature far beyond his years.

This CD is a joy to listen to and, in the case of my wife, sing along with!

Four of His Best Songs, Nothing Less than Very Good
I took some time to re-listen to "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" and it's still a very enjoyable album. "Kodachrome," "Take Me to the Mardi Gras," "Loves Me Like a Rock," and (my all-time favorite) "American Tune" make this recording a keeper, and the other six songs are solid and enjoyable. The production throughout is excellent. I haven't grown tired about this one!

A classic of American songwriting
The Rhino remastering job is excellent.

You've already heard three or four of these songs on the radio, probably. For me, it is harder to describe what makes an album great than it is for me to describe the faults in an album that doesn't measure up. And I can find little to fault here. A couple of the songs on side 2 (thinking back to the vinyl LP days) are a bit less accomplished, but still highly listenable. The bonus demo tracks at the end are interesting, but not essential.

Rhymin' Paul Simon did a much more intricate production on this album than on his first solo (eponymously titled) record following the split with Garfunkel. Here he expands from that earlier folk base to add elements of gospel, jazz, lush orchestral arrangements, a bit of dixieland on the Mardi Gras tune, and all but the kitchen sink. Paul Simon's singing is unleashed on this record too, compared with the straightlaced stuff he did with Simon and Garmfunkel. It sounds very spontaneous, and yet perfectly executed at the same time. I find the variety of instrumentation, the different beats, the continuous innovation, the changing parts and rhythms within a song -- all of it is very entrancing. There's hardly a dull moment. Even St. Judy's Comet, a kind of lullaby for his son, is sincere and on target, instantly loveable.

The songs are short, so they don't wear out their welcome. The original album was less than 40 minutes. Hey, do you want quality or just quantity? I think movies and pop songs are both too self-indulgently long nowadays.

Simon was in the zone when he wrote and recorded Rhymin'. Most artists would be satisfied for one timeless classic like American Tune on a record. But Loves Me Like A Rock is just as timeless, and so is Something So Right, for my money. The other tunes are not embarrassed in the company of such greatness, either. That's saying a lot.