Paul Simon – Rhythm Of The Saints

Though the quality of the songs on this album vary, I love this album. In some places – the parts I tend to like best – it sounds like Paul Simon borrowing some of Peter Gabriel’s stylistic maneuvers. Specifically, this entire album is awash with a constant flow of Afro/Latin percussion, a sound I almost can’t get enough of. Even when it seems to be clipping along at a fast pace, there’s something about the sound of massed percussion, the almost-spiritual sense that every sound is being produced by a human being with his or her own intrinsic strengths and flaws of timing, and there’s not a computer anywhere in the room…there’s a very organic ebb, flow and undulation that really affects me. And I could go on from there, comparing it to the similar experience of hearing massed voices or the instruments in an orchestra, but I’ll rein this in and bring it back to Paul Simon. The album starts out with its best-known single, “The Obvious Child”, which is a typical Simon acoustic number given a mind-boggling twist with some raucous drumming. I have to single out “The Cool, Cool River” as the album’s best song, however – the lyrics, the music, the percussion, and just the intangible feel are unforgettable, possibly Simon’s best in a long time. Highly recommended.

1. The Obvious Child (4:10)
2. Can’t Run But (3:37)
3. The Coast (5:03)
4. Proof (4:40)
5. Further To Fly (5:39)
6. She Moves On (5:03)
7. Born At The Right Time (3:48)
8. The Cool, Cool River (4:32)
9. Spirit Voices (3:56)
10. The Rhythm of the Saints (4:11)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 44:41