The first real album I ever owned was There Goes Rhymin' Simon. I enjoyed the different sounds and styles that Simon brought to that, from the second line bounce at the end of Take Me to The Mardi Gras to the gospel vibe of Loves me Like a Rock. At the time I probably would not have been able to put a name to those.
Since then I have built a reasonable collection of Simon's music and while I may go through long periods of not listening to him I am always intrigued as to what he is up to.
It seems to me that he has had a career of searching for something that to me it is seems he may still feel he still has not found.
I really enjoyed his last album - So Beautiful or So What - a great mix of some new sounds, exceptional playing, challenging themes and lyrics and melodies. So I was pretty keen to hear (and own) Stranger to Stranger as the reviews were uniformly positive.
However I have to admit to originally being disappointed. Lyrically the album is pretty strong, perhaps with the exception of Wristband, and a continuation of the themes from the previous album.
Mind you Wristband and songs like Cool Papa Bell have some wry observations on this connected world we now live in. The album also has some great playing and clever sounds. However many people have observed that it does not really have any strong conventional songs and I would have to agree with that. The only song that really pulls me by itself is The Riverbank.
However having listened to the album maybe six or seven times I have grown to like and enjoy the overall feel and flow of the album playing it in its entirety rather than just dipping in to songs. So while the album is not an overwhelming success it has a completeness that is worth exploring. I expect that in this age of Spotify it will never really get the chance to show itself to most listeners.
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