Name: Graceland CD
Brand: Paul Simon

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

88697842502

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Discs

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2017-02-11

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Sony

Tax rate GB

UPC / Barcode

0886978425027

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1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Paul Simon

Genre GB

Classic

Label GB

With <i>Graceland</i>, Paul Simon hit on the idea of combining his always perceptive songwriting with the little-heard mbaqanga music of South Africa, creating a fascinating hybrid that re-enchanted his old audience and earned him a new one. It is true that the South African angle (including its controversial aspect during the apartheid days) was a powerful marketing tool and that the catchy music succeeded in presenting listeners with that magical combination: something they'd never heard before that nevertheless sounded familiar. 

As eclectic as any record Simon had made, it also delved into zydeco and conjunto-flavored rock &amp; roll while marking a surprising new lyrical approach (presaged on some songs on Hearts and Bones); for the most part, Simon abandoned a linear, narrative approach to his words, instead drawing highly poetic ("Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"), abstract ("The Boy in the Bubble"), and satiric ("I Know What I Know") portraits of modern life, often charged by striking images and turns of phrase torn from the headlines or overheard in contemporary speech. An enormously successful record, <i>Graceland</i> became the standard against which subsequent musical experiments by major artists were measured.

Graceland CD

Music GB