aaamusic | On 24, Sep 2011

PAUL SIMON HAND-PICKS SONGS & PERFORMANCES

FOR SONGWRITER, A NEW COLLECTION

CHRONICLING FIVE DECADES OF MUSIC

2 Disc Set Illuminates Artist’s Evolution From 1960s to Present

RELEASED 24 OCTOBER 2011

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SONY COMMERCIAL MUSIC GROUP RELEASE SECOND WAVE OF

PAUL SIMON CATALOGUE PROJECT

Classic Editions of One-Trick Pony, Hearts and Bones,

Graceland and The Rhythm Of The Saints

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Songwriter is a selection of songs, chosen by the composer, as the best of his decades-long creative output. Some of these are well-known hits and others more obscure works, but all bear the distinct lyrical, melodic and rhythmic signature of Paul Simon, one of the great composers of popular song in the last 50 years. As Simon has said, “I think of myself as a songwriter first, the recording artist and performer in me follow in the writer’s footsteps”.

Simon brought his own unique perspective on the nuances of his catalogue in the assemblage of Songwriter, a new anthology of his work handpicked and sequenced by the artist.  The album includes an emotionally resonant rendition of “The Sound of Silence,” from Simon’s 2011 concert at New York’s Webster Hall and Aretha Franklin’s transcendent studio take on “Bridge Over Trouble Water” and other selections from the artist’s critically-acclaimed catalogue of songs.

Selecting the individual songs for Songwriter, from the hundreds he’s written and recorded, presented Paul Simon an opportunity to reflect over the entirety of his career and showcase the individual songs best-exemplifying the high-points in his conversations with the muses, from his early work with Simon & Garfunkel through to his ruminations on the today’s eternal now echoing across 2011’s So Beautiful or So What.  Songwriter includes an emotionally resonant rendition of “The Sound of Silence,” from Simon’s 2011 concert at New York’s Webster Hall.

Songwriter includes liner notes by music journalist Tom Moon, who notes that the collection, “features commercial landmarks alongside ambitious and often criminally under-appreciated compositions. This structure makes the case that hit-single success is just one (often over-emphasized) measure; inevitably, with an artist who has contributed as much as Simon has, some of the ‘smaller’ pieces get overlooked…. What you learn, listening to this ‘director’s cut’ sampler from a long career, is that there have always been conversations bubbling inside of Simon’s tunes, and those conversations take many forms….”

The release of Songwriter signals a banner year for Simon, who turns 70 on 13 October.

In addition, and as part of Sony Commercial Music Group’s release of the second wave of Simon’s catalogue titles, One Trick-Pony, Hearts and Bones, Graceland and The Rhythm Of The Saints will be released on Monday 24 October. The first wave of the definitive editions, Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years and Paul Concert: Live Rhymin’, were released earlier on in the year, ahead of his hugely successful UK tour.

All the titles feature the remastered sound, bonus tracks and expanded packaging from their first CD incarnations.

Originally released in 1980, One-Trick Pony, Paul Simon’s fifth solo album, reached no.12 in the Billboard 200. The album was released with the film of the same name, in which Paul Simon stared. The hit song “Late in the Evening” (no.6 in the US) features on the album in addition to several bonus tracks including “Soft Parachutes”, “Spiral Highway” and “Stranded In A Limousine”.

Hearts and Bones, which is widely considered of as one of Simon’s more important records, was released in 1983. Its Simon’s sixth studio album and features a collection of lyrically strong tracks including “Think Too Much” and ‘When Numbers Get Serious”.

Simon’s most famous solo project, Graceland, was original released on August 1986. The album topped the UK Album Chart and got to no.3 in the US and was awarded Album of the Year at the 1986 Grammy Awards, with the title track being names as Record of the Year at the Awards in the same year. The album was since ranked no.81 on the list of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of all Time.

The Rhythm Of The Saints, released in 1990, earned two Grammy nominations in 1992 for Album of the Year and Producer of the Year. The album reached no.1 in the UK Albums Chart andfeatured hit track “The Obvious Child” (reaching no.15 in the UK).

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Paul Simon – Songwriter FULL TRACKLISTING

Disc 1

1. The Sound Of Silence (Live at Webster Hall 2011) – new unreleased

2. The Boxer – Paul Simon – Live Central Park

3. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Aretha Franklin – studio version

4. Mother And Child Reunion

5. Tenderness

6. Peace Like A River

7. American Tune

8. Kodachrome

9. Something So Right

10. Late In The Evening

11. Train In The Distance

12. Hearts And Bones

13. Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War

14.Still Crazy After All These Years

15. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes

16. The Boy In The Bubble

17. Graceland

Disc 2

1. Obvious Child

2. Further To Fly

3. The Cool, Cool River

4. Spirit Voices

5. Born In Puerto Rico

6. Quality

7. Darling Lorraine

8. Look At That

9. Senorita With A Necklace Of Tears

10. That’s Me

11. Another Galaxy

12. Father And Daughter

13. Rewrite

14. Love And Hard Times

15. So Beautiful Or So What