There Goes Rhymin' Simon

There Goes Rhymin' Simon
Studio album by Paul Simon
Released May 5, 1973
Recorded Columbia Studios, New York City,
Malaco Recording Studios, Jackson, Mississippi,
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama
Morgan Studios, London,
September 1972 – January 1973
Genre Pop rock
Length 35:19
Label Columbia, Warner Bros.
Producer Paul Simon, Phil Ramone, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Paul Samwell-Smith, Roy Halee
Paul Simon chronology
Paul Simon
(1972)		 There Goes Rhymin' Simon
(1973)		 Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'
(1974)
Singles from There Goes Rhymin' Simon
  1. "Kodachrome"
    Released: 1973
  2. "Loves Me Like a Rock"
    Released: July 19, 1973
  3. "American Tune"
    Released: 1973
  4. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras"
    Released: 1973
  5. "Something So Right"
    Released: 1973
  6. "St. Judy's Comet"
    Released: 1973
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[3]

There Goes Rhymin' Simon is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon rush-released on May 5, 1973. It contains songs covering several styles and genres, such as gospel ("Loves Me Like a Rock") and Dixieland ("Take Me to the Mardi Gras"). It received two nominations at the Grammy Awards of 1974, including Best Male Pop Vocal performance and Album of the Year.

As foreshadowed by the feel-good lead single "Kodachrome" (which reached #2 on the Billboard charts, blocked by Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles"), There Goes Rhymin' Simon proved to be a bigger hit than its predecessor, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 chart (kept off the top spot by George Harrison's Living in the Material World), and #1 on Cashbox Magazine for one week on June 30, 1973.[4] In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at #4. Subsequent singles were also the #2 single "Loves Me Like a Rock" (knocked-off by Cher's "Half-Breed", but reaching #1 on Cashbox on September 29, 1973), and the Top 40 hit "American Tune". Also "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" was released in the UK reaching the Top 20.

The song "Kodachrome" is named after the Kodak film of the same name. Kodak required the album to note that Kodachrome is a trademark of Kodak. The song was not released as a single in Britain, where it could not be played on BBC radio due to its trademarked name. The song "Was a Sunny Day" has an interesting reference to early rock and roll in the line "She called him Speedo but his Christian name was Mr. Earl" which echoes the chorus from the 1955 song "Speedo" by The Cadillacs: "They often call me Speedo but my real name is Mr. Earl," referring to lead singer, Earl "Speedo" Carroll.

Reception

Critical praise was practically universal for this album. The Denver Post's Jared Johnson called it "a brilliantly executed masterpiece, and surely the finest album in three years," citing such 1970 releases as Bridge Over Troubled Water and After the Gold Rush[5]

Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said, "Combining a variety of musical textures (from a touch of gospel to an infectious trace of Jamaican rhythm to a hint of the old Simon and Garfunkel grandeur), Simon's new album firmly establishes him as one of our most valuable and accessible artists."[6]

But Stereo Review's Noel Coppage found much to complain about. Though he gave it an "excellent" rating, he added that it was "deficient in spontaneity, excitement, strain...I don't know how it could sound so cut-and-dried, having been recorded in four different locations (New York, London, Muscle Shoals, and Jackson, Mississippi), but although the arrangements are clean and sensible, they are oddly predictable."[7]

Track listing

All songs were written by Paul Simon. The melody of American Tune was almost note-for-note written by Johann Sebastian Bach (St Matthew Passion), who was not credited on the album. In turn, Bach had imitated the melody of Mein G'mueth ist mir verwirret by Hans Leo Hassler.

Side one

  1. "Kodachrome" – 3:32
  2. "Tenderness" – 2:53
  3. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" – 3:27
  4. "Something So Right" – 4:33
  5. "One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor" – 3:44

Side two

  1. "American Tune" – 3:43
  2. "Was a Sunny Day" – 3:41
  3. "Learn How to Fall" – 2:44
  4. "St. Judy's Comet" – 3:19
  5. "Loves Me Like a Rock" – 3:31

Additional tracks

In July 2004, the album was digitally remastered and reissued on CD with four bonus tracks:

  1. "Let Me Live in Your City" (work-in-progress) – 4:21
  2. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" (acoustic demo) – 2:31
  3. "American Tune" (unfinished demo) – 4:03
  4. "Loves Me Like a Rock" (acoustic demo) – 3:24

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1973) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[8] 7
Canadian Albums Chart[9] 3
Finnish Albums Chart[10] 17
French SNEP Albums Chart[11] 5
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[12] 10
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[13] 6
Spanish Albums Chart[14] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[15] 1
UK Albums Chart[16] 4
United States Billboard Pop Albums[17] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1973) Position
French Albums Chart[18] 38
U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums[19] 42
Chart (1974) Position
Australian Albums Chart[8] 77

Certifications

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[20] Platinum
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold

References

  1. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "There Goes Rhymin' Simon – Paul Simon". Allmusic. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  4. ↑ Archived February 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ DENVER POST, "Roundup" section, May 27, 1973, p. 17.
  6. ↑ DENVER POST, "Roundup" section, July 29, 1973, p. 20.
  7. ↑ STEREO REVIEW, October 1973, Vol.31, #4, p. 112.
  8. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4861&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=lo0152od4caliufjkgh3mkphk6
  10. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Paul Simon". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-24.Note: user must select 'Paul SIMON' from drop-down
  12. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin' Simon". Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  14. ↑ Billboard – July 14 – 1973. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  15. ↑ Billboard – July 7 – 1973. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  16. ↑ "Chart Stats – Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin' Simon". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  17. ↑ Allmusic – There Goes Rhymin' Simon > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
  18. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1973 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
  19. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1973". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
  20. ↑ "American album certifications – Paul Simon – There Goes". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  21. ↑ "British album certifications – Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin' Simon". British Phonographic Industry. Enter There Goes Rhymin' Simon in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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