A Cool River of Sound. Review on Rhythm of the Saints - Paul Simon

Review of The Rhythm Of The Saints - Paul Simon

This heavenly body of work will inspire, surprise, and envelope the listener until they find themselves swept away by this cool, cool river of sound. I highly recommend this music.

“The rage, the rage of love turns inward

To prayers of devotion

And these prayers are

The constant road across the wilderness...“

These are lyrics contained in the deeply moving song, Cool,Cool River, on Paul Simon's album Rhythm of the Saints, released in the fall of 1990. This album was my first introduction to world-beat music, namely the indigenous sounds of Brazil and South Africa.

While many an artist at that point in his career could have just rested on his laurels and been labeled a great, or worse, a great has-been, Simon broadened his horizons with a trip to South Africa in the mid-80's. What he created as a result of his journey is this collection, proving his lyrical intelligence and his ability to write sophisticated music.

OBVIOUS CHILD

“I'm accustomed to a smooth ride

Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite

I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more

I don't expect to sleep through the night

Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie

But I say why

Why deny the obvious child?

Why deny the obvious child?“

FURTHER TO FLY

“There may come a time

When I will lose you

Lose you as I lose my light

Days falling backward into velvet night

The open palm of desire

Wants everything

It wants everything

It wants soil as soft as summer

And the strength to push like spring“

SHE MOVES ON

“I feel good

It's a fine day

The way the sun hits off the runway

A cloud shifts

The plane lifts

She moves on“

BORN AT THE RIGHT TIME

“Never been lonely

Never been lied to

Never had to scuffle in fear

Nothing denied to

Born at the instant

The church bells chime

And the whole world whispering

Born at the right time“

THE COOL, COOL RIVER

SPIRIT VOICES

THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS

CAN'T RUN BUT

THE COAST

PROOF

There are hints along the way here that seem to point away from the Earth and towards the Heavens as a means of getting closer to answers to questions that may not be so simply satisfied by scientific thought. This heavenly body of work will inspire, surprise, and envelope the listener until they find themselves swept away by this cool, cool river of sound.

It's great music to listen to while waking up. It will put you in a good mood.