Paul Simon
So Beautiful Or So What

"This is a man in full possession of all his gifts looking at the comedy and beauty of life with clarity and the tenderness bought by time"

In his review of "So Beautiful or So What", Elvis Costello describes Paul Simon as "a man in full possession of all his gifts, looking at the spectacle and beauty of life with the clarity and simplicity that are gifts of time". Reading the enthusiastic, as well as brilliant, review from someone who knows music quite well, I felt the unnecessary but nonetheless very pleasant comfort of confirmation; I had the album in my hands for a few days and it had won me over. Seventy-year-old Paul Simon, a living monument of the world’s songwriting, still has something to say.

"So Beautiful or So What" (2011) comes five years after the last collection of new tracks and, in my opinion, stands out as the best Paul Simon album since "The Rhythm Of The Saints" (1990). The record consists of 9 songs plus a brief instrumental; everything is arranged with very natural sounds, acoustic and fresh, and there’s a certain variety, thanks to sounds sometimes ethnic, sometimes more bluesy or folk, and to delicate melodic moments. At times, echoes of his early solo works can be perceived, and at times his famous multi-ethnic musicality. "Getting Ready For Christmas Day" is captivating, a rhythmic and catchy alt-pop song that treats the theme of the Iraq war with class and originality (it’s the story of a boy on leave at home for Christmas). "The Afterlife" has that indecipherable aura of World-Music, thanks to a syncopated rhythm, simple arrangement, and exotic melody. But the scent of Africa is breathed deeply in "Dazzling Blue", which brings to mind the sounds of "Graceland" (1986). "Rewrite" is another piece with a marked black rhythm, a sort of ancestral blues-folk, airy and gloomy at the same time, with lyrics that delve into the hearts of Vietnam veterans.

Energy and rhythm are also found in the country-rock "Love Is Eternal Sacred Light", in "Love & Blessing", and especially in the title track, "So Beautiful Or So What", a blues-rock whose martial rhythm underlines the harshness of the lyrics (about the death of Martin Luther King). Besides a brief but intense instrumental filler, the album is completed by two splendid ballads that seem to bring us back to the early years of Simon as a folk singer. "Love And Hard Times", accompanied by acoustic guitar and orchestra, is a melodic enchantment of rare beauty; delicate sounds also in the refined melodic line of "Questions For The Angels". As in much of the album, current themes and a certain spirituality emerge (however far from typical religious clichés).

I conclude as I began, quoting Elvis Costello's review:

"These wonderful songs refuse to despair, despite the evidence all around us. "So Beautiful Or So What" rejects the allure of fashionable darkness and the hypnosis of ignorance - better to contemplate and celebrate the endurance of the spirit and the persistence of love"

"These wonderful songs tend to distance themselves from despair despite what happens around us. The album rejects the allure of fashionable darkness and the hypnosis of ignorance, in order to better contemplate and celebrate the strength of spirit and the determination of love"

Rating 8.5/10