PAUL SIMON : LIVE RHYMIN'

 

  1. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
  2. Homeward Bound
  3. American Tune
  4. El Condor Pasa (If I Could)
  5. Duncan
  6. The Boxer
  7. Mother And Child Reunion
  8. The Sound Of Silence
  9. Jesus Is The Answer
  10. Bridge Over Troubled Water
  11. Loves Me Like A Rock
  12. America

Label : Columbia Records

Length : 51:56

Venue : Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York City, New York, USA

Date : July 10th, 1973

Release Date : March 1974

Review (AllMusic) : One thing Simon & Garfunkel never did much of was tour, so a Paul Simon solo tour, following two commercially successful solo albums, was one more way for Simon to distance himself from the duo and, simultaneously, by performing songs like "The Boxer" and "Homeward Bound," to reclaim his songwriting catalog. Reflecting the musical explorations he had pursued since S & G, Simon brought along Brazilian group Urubamba and gospel group the Jessy Dixon Singers. The result wasn't perfect: nobody needed to hear "Jesus Is the Answer" (a Dixons spotlight number) on a Paul Simon album, and if it was inevitable that he would try his own version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," it was also predestined that he wouldn't come near to matching Garfunkel's original. Though the album was, like most live albums, artistically redundant (there was nothing new, and none of the live versions improved upon the studio ones), it served as a career statement and it had a marketing function, buying the relatively slow-working Simon time between new studio releases.

Review (Wikipedia) : Paul Simon in Concert : Live Rhymin' is an album by Paul Simon, released in March 1974 by Columbia Records. It was recorded in the wake of the release of There Goes Rhymin' Simon - which produced a number of hit singles ("Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock") and radio staples (as "Something So Right" and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras") during Simon's 1973-74 tour, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York, July 10th, 1973. However, the album presents a very truncated version of the concerts he performed on this tour, which consisted of up to 24 songs. The album fails to note where the performances were recorded, although according to liner notes in a later Simon compilation, "Duncan" is from a London concert and "American Tune" was recorded in New York City. Simon was joined by Urubamba and the Jessy Dixon Singers, although the individual members are not identified either on the recording or on the liner notes. In addition to "Jesus Is the Answer", included on the album, Jessy Dixon also performed "What Do They Call Him" on tour, while Urubamba performed the instrumentals "Kacharpari" and "Death in Santa Cruz". The album was Simon's first live release and showed him performing Simon & Garfunkel songs solo in concert for the first time. The variety of songs and richness of styles helped with the album's appeal. Most notable was Simon's fascination with gospel, something that materialized in the arrangements on many of the songs, taking distance from Simon's classical folk early style. Near the end of the album, an audience member calls out for Simon to "say a few words." He replies: "Say a few words? Well, let's hope that we continue to live." The album was a moderate success. It reached #33 in the U.S. and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA. However, it failed to chart at all in the UK. Further, two of the live performances were released as a single as part of the promotion for the album: the breakthrough Simon & Garfunkel "The Sound of Silence" as the A-side, along with Simon's debut single "Mother and Child Reunion" on the B-side.