23 of Paul Simon’s most famous songs performed by artists from a diversity of genres.
Ace’s Songwriter series brings many requests and suggestions to our door. All are considered, even those that are impractical for one reason or another. And there are many that did not need to be suggested, and that we were simply waiting for the right time to bring to fruition. A Paul Simon project has been on the to-do list almost since the series became a series, rather than a handful of stand-alone releases.
Paul Simon’s lyrics and melodies have been part of the fabric of popular music since the 1960s. Whether as half of one of the most famous duos in pop, or as an eminent solo artist, Simon and his songs have enriched our lives across a number of generations. People as famous as Simon himself have queued up to take their own shot at many of his best-known (and indeed one or two of his least-known) songs, and he is one of the few singer-songwriters of his generation whose new work continues to command a high level of interest. This Ace salute to an incredible songwriter has been a long time in the works. We are sure you will agree the wait has been worthwhile.
The tracks here embrace five decades in Simon’s ongoing career and demonstrate how comfortably genre-spanning his songs are. As you will hear, they have translated to everything from soul and reggae to Americana and the popular mainstream of several decades. Other than Lennon & McCartney, there can’t be too many writers of our generation whose songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Rosemary Clooney and the Heptones. Our track selection meets with the full approval of Paul Simon himself and touches on every phase of his career from his and Art Garfunkel’s first reunion in 1964 to pretty much the present day, and is about as representative as representative gets.
If you have any interest at all in the best American popular music of the past 55 years, you will find much to enjoy here. Speaking as the compiler of many releases in Ace’s Songwriter series, I can say that this has been one on which I have most enjoyed working. You may not be familiar with all the versions that have been selected – there may even be a few songs you don’t know at all – but it’s certainly an impressive cross-section of a much greater body of work.
TONY ROUNCE
