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Paul Simon / In The Blue Light

Paul Simon will release his 14th studio album, In The Blue Light, in September.

Produced by Simon and the legendary Roy Halee, the album sees the musician and songwriter revisit and rework personal favourites from his own back catalogue.

The songs aren’t necessarily well known to the casual fan (some are from as recent as 2011’s So Beautiful Or What and 2000’s You’re The One) but that’s part of the point of the exercise. As Paul Simon says: “This album consists of songs that I thought were almost right, or were odd enough to be overlooked the first time around. Re-doing arrangements, harmonic structures, and lyrics that didn’t make their meaning clear, gave me time to clarify in my own head what I wanted to say, or realise what I was thinking and make it more easily understood.”

Unsurprisingly, Simon has secured the services of many talented musicians for this record, including trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummers Jack DeJohnette and Steve Gadd.

Two songs are recorded with the New York-based chamber ensemble sextet yMusic including the beautiful Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (originally on Hearts and Bones from ’83 and included on the Negotiations and Love Songs compilation later that decade).

Simon writes in the sleeve notes that “It’s an unusual occurrence for an artist to have the opportunity to revisit earlier works and re-think them; to modify, even completely change parts of the originals.

“Happily, this opportunity also gave me the gift of playing with an extraordinary group of musicians, most of whom I hadn’t recorded with before. I hope the listener will find these new versions of old songs refreshed, like a new coat of paint on the walls of an old family home.”

In The Blue Light will be released on 7 September 2018 on vinyl and CD and coincides with the final leg of Homeward Bound – Farewell Tour which reaches its conclusion on 22 September in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

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01 One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor

Paul Simon: Vocal, Percussion
Joel Wenhardt: Piano
Nate Smith: Drums
Jim Oblon: Guitar
John Patitucci: Bass
Edie Brickell: Finger Snaps
CJ Camerieri: Trumpet
Andy Snitzer: Saxophone

02 Love

Paul Simon: Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Harmonium
Bill Frisell: Electric Guitar
Steve Gadd: Drums
Renaud Garcia-Fons: Bass 

03 Can’t Run But

Paul Simon: Vocal
With yMusic
Arrangement by Bryce Dessner based on the original arrangement from Rhythm of the Saints by Marco Antônio Guimarães 

04 How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns

Paul Simon: Vocal
Sullivan Fortner: Piano
Nate Smith: Drums
John Patitucci: Bass
Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet

05 Pigs, Sheep and Wolves

Paul Simon: Vocal, Percussion
Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet
Marcus Printup: Trumpet
Dan Block: Clarinet
Walter Blanding: Saxophone
Wycliffe Gordon: Tuba
Chris Crenshaw: Trombone
Marion Felder: Drums
Herlin Riley: Tambourine
Arrangement by Wynton Marsalis 

06 René and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War

Paul Simon: Vocal, Electric Guitar
With yMusic
Arrangement by Robert Sirota 

07 The Teacher

Paul Simon: Vocal, Percussion
Odair Assad: Guitar
Sérgio Assad: Guitar
Renaud Garcia-Fons: Bass, Percussion
Walter Blanding: Saxophone
Jamey Haddad: Percussion

08 Darling Lorraine

Paul Simon: Vocal, Percussion
Bill Frisell: Electric Guitar
Vincent Nguini: Electric Guitar
Mark Stewart: Acoustic Guitar
Steve Gadd: Drums
John Patitucci: Bass
With yMusic
Arrangement by Rob Moose

09 Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy

Paul Simon: Vocal
Sullivan Fortner: Piano, Celeste
Jack DeJohnette: Drums
John Patitucci: Bass
Joe Lovano: Saxophone 

10 Questions For The Angels

Paul Simon: Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Harmonica, Percussion
Bill Frisell: Electric Guitar
Sullivan Fortner: Harmonium, Chromelodeon
John Patitucci: Bass
Skip LaPlante: Percussion


yMusic is

CJ Camerieri: trumpet, piccolo trumpet
Alex Sopp: flute, alto flute
Hideaki Aomori: clarinet, bass clarinet
Rob Moose: violin
Nadia Sirota: viola
Gabriel Cabezas: cello

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

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