Out on tour again aged 69, with a bestselling album under his belt, singer-songwriter Paul Simon has reached a new generation of fans with his songs of love and life
At a recent Los Angeles concert given by Paul Simon, the singer's drummer and percussionist, Jamey Haddad, looked out from the stage at the cheering crowd and noticed something unusual. It was the startling age range of the throng packed into the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood that caught his eye.
"You know, if you first came across Paul when he was 20 years old and you were 30, then you are around 80 years old now. There were people like that there in the crowd. There were grandkids who had bought tickets for their grandparents and brought them along. It was beautiful," Haddad told the Observer.
That sums up the remarkable and enduring appeal of Simon, who, at 69, is on tour across America. He has just released one his most acclaimed albums in a career that dates back to before the summer of love in 1967 and has now cemented him as one of the most successful figures in modern music history.
His sets have included a smattering of old favourites from the 1960s, such as The Sound of Silence, songs from his long solo career, and riffs on other artists' classics, including a version of Here Comes the Sun, and numbers from his new album, So Beautiful or So What. That album has just given Simon his highest chart position for 20 years and seems to be winning him yet another generation of fans. "I am getting mail and texts from young people all the time. Paul's really reaching out to young people on this tour," Haddad said.
This summer that reach will stretch all the way to Britain, when Simon plays nine shows in the UK and Ireland, including Glastonbury and the iTunes festival in London. Those appearances mark a remarkable survival in an industry known more for flameouts than multidecade legacies.
Simon's breakthrough was in 1965 when The Sound of Silence became a huge hit with his best known collaborator, Art Garfunkel. Simon was only 23. Of course, he is not alone in his longevity. The Rolling Stones are still packing stadiums. But, unlike so many other figures from the 1960s and 1970s, Simon and his music are still relevant. "You can count on the fingers of one hand the sort of artists who have had the sustained successful career he has," said John Schaefer, host of the Soundcheck music show on New York radio station WNYC.
Looking at the reaction to his new album, it appears impossible to conclude that Simon's best days are behind him. The Los Angeles Times music critic Margaret Wappler said the album "climbs some of the most resplendent summits of Simon's career". The Associated Press's Sandy Cohen said Simon remained "an undisputed master of his craft". Meanwhile, Nate Chinen of the New York Times praised the album's grand themes of love, life and death, mingled with religious imagery and conjecture. "He's not preaching on this album. He's finding solace, fleeting and fragmentary, and every springy guitar lick is its own benediction," Chinen wrote. No wonder the album quickly sold 68,000 copies and went to number four on the Billboard album chart.
But it is not just chart success that is keeping Simon on top of his game. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Simon has started to have a major influence on some of the hottest bands now on the scene. In recent years his songs have been covered by indie darlings Vampire Weekend and American rockers Spoon and Bright Eyes, as well as London electronic band Hot Chip. Conor Oberst, singer-songwriter of Bright Eyes, recently told New York magazine that Simon was a major influence. "I grew up with my folks listening to him. But as I got into songwriting, I realised how profound what he does actually is. His work over the years is a treasure trove of ideas."
Haddad believes he has an answer to why Simon continues to have an impact. "I think it is a lot of patience. He was successful early and then just followed his heart and took the time to develop. He knows he has always got a story to tell."
Over the years the stories have shifted and changed with the times. Together with Garfunkel ? whom he met when they were both 11 ? he has put out dozens of songs, including Bridge Over Troubled Water and Mrs Robinson, that are still known today. They seemed to capture a late-1960s, early-1970s folk vibe that symbolised the era. Then in the 1980s he underwent a profound shift with the album Graceland. A massive bestseller worldwide in 1986, it broke stunning new ground by incorporating music from South African artists, in particular Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Since then more albums have followed as have attempts to tap the rich veins of other cultures' music across the world. That is evident in So Beautiful or So What, where African music continues to influence in the shape of Cameroonian guitarist Vincent Nguini. But it is also mixed in with Indian drumming and harmonies from American bluegrass.
Simon is always innovating, too. On one song on his new album he samples an audiotape he made while on safari in Africa and includes the noise of a migrating wildebeest on the track.
But those who admire Simon for his thoughtful lyrics, humour and intricate musical content would be mistaken were they to see him as anything but a steely, hard-working professional. Those who work with him praise his discipline and ability to lead his band on stage. In a recent interview with Esquire magazine, Simon cracked an old Woody Allen joke that summed up the attitude of a man who has worked at his craft all his life. "It's like Woody Allen said: I appreciate living on in the hearts of my fans, but I would rather live on in my apartment."
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