Paul Simon - The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin'
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Free Music Notes for The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin'
Free Music Review: Worthy Purchase
Hit: 5 Stars
I think Paul Simon is an underrated artist. This ensemble is reflective of his ability to create music of different flavors such as Reggae ("Mother and Child Reunion" that could easily be a Bob Marley song) and A capella ("Adios Hermanos").
I got this CD because of "You can call me Al", heard the other tracks and was blown away. Notable tracks include "Mother And Child Reunion", "Adios Hermanos" - (that is based on the true story of the Capeman Murders. For more on the Capeman Murders, google "Salvador Agron"), "Spirit Voices" and "Late in the Evening".
Worthy purchase
Free Music Review: Enjoyable
Hit: 4 Stars
Paul Simon has a great range of styles. Sure he is labeled folk music but in his many travels he has picked up different styles of music and infused them with his own style and you get a taste of this in the CD "The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin.'"Free Music Review: Excellent collection marred only by some missing tracks still a great single disc collection of Simon's best
Hit: 5 Stars
There's no way a "Best of" can be perfect. Fans are always going to disagree about what's missing or what great song didn't make the album. Overall this collection gets it right more often than wrong unlike the two previous "Best of" collections that Simon has put together.
We get two of the strongest tracks from Simon's first album and they were singles as well. "Mother and Child Reunion" and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" both demonstrate that Simon was making World Music long before the term was created. "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock" were strong singles from Simon's second album and they are aided by a wistful ballad "Something So Right" covered by Annie Lennox which is probably why it was included. "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" and "Still Crazy After All These Years" were highlights from Simon's third solo album. Missing in action is "My Little Town" a Simon & Garfunkel "reunion" single that both men put on their respective albums. It still should be here as it's a great song.
Although "One Trick Pony" isn't Simon's best album is one or two omissions ("How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns", "Oh Marion") that should have been included from that album besides the brilliant "Late in the Evening". "Slip Slidin' Away" is from Simon's first collection "Greatest Hits, Etc". What's missing here is the brilliant "Stranded in a Limousine" (which incidently DOES show up as a bonus track on "One Trick Pony"). All definitely deserve to be here. Really this should have been a full two disc set with the live tracks thrown on to the second CD with these other tracks.
We get the powerful "Hearts and Bones" the title track from Simon's fourth solo album (fifth if you count the Paul Simon Songbook a collection of S&G songs he recorded before the duo broke through)but I miss "Allergies" which, from what I recall, was a single. The brilliant "Graceland" is well represented with "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes", "The Boy in the Bubble", "Graceland" and "You Can Call Me Al" all strong songs that got considerable airplay. The selections from "Rhythm of the Saints" is perfect except for the single "The Obvious Child" which seemed like an obvious inclusion on this set.
We close out the album with "Adios Hermanos" from "Songs from the Caveman" and two tunes from Simon's "The One". Both are solid selections overall. Early editions of this terrific album come with a second disc with live tracks featuring "American Tune", "Duncan","The Coast", "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" live.
"Shining Like a National Guitar" features "The Obvious Child" if you want that track as well as "Bernadette", "Take Me To the Madrdi Gras", "Trailways Bus", "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their God After the War" all of which aren't collected here. That album is missing some great material that's included here so, again, between those tracks the ones I mentioned and the live tracks we could have had a perfect "Best of". There is also a two disc "Best of" available as an important which I'd recommend. It digs into the Simon & Garfunkel catalog as well making it, aside from the boxed set, the single set with the most depth (although it lacks anything from Simon's last two albums).
Despite these minor flaws this is probably the best single collection of Simon's best songs available and very generous at that. Definitely worth picking up particularly if you want an album that has the bulk of his best album tracks and single all together in one spot.
Free Music Review: Yet Another Paul Simon Anthology
Hit: 5 Stars
Since I already own the (overpriced but good) Paul Simon CD box set--and most of his solo recordings prior to Graceland, in their recently reissued form--I'm not sure if there's any point in getting this.
I wonder, though, about that five-track bonus disc. Is the live version of "American Tune" the same one which appeared on a briefly-available "best of" collection from Simon called "Greatest Hits etc.", which was primarily noteworthy for its inclusion of the track (not available elsewhere, so far as I know) "Stranded In a Limousine"? I always liked that version of "American Tune" better than either the studio version, or the live version from "Live Rhymin'".
But the (even more briefly-available) CD of "Greatest Hits etc." sounds terrible--as do most CDs from the early digital era. (Nothing especially bad about this release in particular: producers, engineers and presssing plants just didn't know how to make good CDs yet.)
If it IS that version, in a better-mastered form: that alone would likely be reason enough for me to buy yet another Simon collection. In the meantime, I'm more likely to spend my money on something new like Surprise.
Five stars because any collection of Paul Simon songs is bound to be good, even though I personally might not need it.
Free Music Review: An Artist in Serious Need of a 2-Disc Compilation
Hit: 3 Stars
First off, the 3 star review represents the package and not the great music of Paul Simon.
This collection improves on 1986's single-disc Negotiations & Love Songs for two reasons. #1: It inlcudes songs from his post '86 albums (Spirit Voices/Cool Cool River from "Rhythm of the Saints"; Adios Hermanos from "Songs from The Capeman"; Love/ Hurricane Eye from "You're The One". #2: It includes two more songs from the great "Gaceland" album - Boy in the Bubble/Graceland. This collection does not include three good songs from "Negotiations": St. Judy's Comet/Rene & Georgette Margritte.../Train in the Distance and, thankfully, the subpar Have a Good Time.
The other option (besides the 9-Disc "Collected Works") is the 3-Disc Box Set 64/93. This collection has all the songs from both "Negotiations" and "Collection" besides Train in the Distance and the "Capeman"/"You're the One" songs. It does include American Tune, Jonah, The Late Great Johnny Ace, Born at the Right Time, The Obvious Child, Take Me To Mardi Gras, 11 more solo songs and 14 Simons & Garfunkel songs.
There needs to be a double disc Anthology to include all the great Paul Simon Songs left off of this album. This only tells half the story.