構成数 | 2枚

合計収録時間 | 02:28:23

全曲2007年デジタル・リマスター！

Personnel: Cissy Houston, Deidre Tuck, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Renelie Stafford, Von Eva Sims (vocals); Hucks Brown, David Spinozza, Los Incas, Wallace "Red Rat" Wilson (guitar); Jimmy Johnson , Hugh McCracken, John Tropea, Pete Carr (electric guitar); Charango (flute); Larry Knechtel (piano); Neville Hinds, Ken Asher (organ); Russell George, David Hood, Jackie Jackson (bass guitar); Roger Hawkins, Steve Gadd , Winston Grennan (drums); Airto Moreira, Ralph McDonald , Denzel Laing (percussion); Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, Phoebe Snow (background vocals). Additional personnel: Phoebe Snow & The Jessy Dixon Singers. Are 36 songs enough to truly encompass the "essential" items in the catalog of a master craftsman like Paul Simon? Probably not, but it's a healthy dose, and a damned fine anthology regardless. Roughly chronological in sequence, THE ESSENTIAL PAUL SIMON focuses exclusively on the folk-rock hero's post-Garfunkel days, and follows his maturation as a songwriter and record-maker. In retrospect, it quickly becomes apparent that the cross-genre concoctions of his celebrated 1986 album, GRACELAND, had been part of his modus operandi all along: see the reggae lilt of "Mother and Child Reunion," the salsa flavor of "Late in the Evening," and the gospel glow of "Loves Me Like a Rock." Whatever the musical mode, every song on this satisfying collection is powered by Simon's rocket-science harmonic know-how and vivid poetic imagery, making this a powerful musical snapshot of an artist constantly in motion.

録音 | ステレオ (Studio)