Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar

Last updated

Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar
Greatest Hits Shining Like a National Guitar.jpg
Cover art by Lynn Goldsmith
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedMay 23, 2000
Recorded1972–1997 [1]
Genre Folk rock, soft rock, worldbeat
Length77:20 [2]
Label Warner Music Group
Producer Paul Simon,
Roy Halee,
Oscar Hernandez,
Phil Ramone,
Russ Titelman,
Muscle Shoals [3]
Paul Simon chronology
Songs from The Capeman
(1997)
Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar
(2000)
You're the One
(2000)

Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar is the fifth greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, which was released on May 23, 2000 [1] by the Warner Music Group. This is his fifth compilation so far. This album was also directed by Antonio Luis. [3] Although the album was a chart success across Europe, it was not issued in the United States and continues to be an expensive import. [1] The title of the album is taken from the first two lines of the song "Graceland," which is also the first track on the album.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]

This album received generally positive reviews. AllMusic gave it 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars, calling it "by far the best [Paul Simon] collection ever released." [1]

Track listing

#SongYearSingle?Time
1"Graceland"1986Yes4:47
2"You Can Call Me Al"1986Yes4:41
3"Mother and Child Reunion"1972Yes2:59
4"The Cool, Cool River"1990No4:33
5"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"1976Yes3:07
6"The Obvious Child"1990Yes4:11
7"The Boy in the Bubble"1987Yes3:57
8"Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War"1983No3:43
9"Late in the Evening"1980Yes3:54
10"Bernadette"1997No3:28
11"Slip Slidin' Away"1977Yes4:45
12"Take Me to the Mardi Gras"1973Yes3:22
13"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"1987Yes5:49
14"Still Crazy After All These Years"1976Yes3:22
15"Kodachrome"1973Yes3:28
16"Loves Me Like a Rock"1973Yes3:14
17"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"1972Yes2:43
18"Hearts and Bones"1983No5:38
19"Trailways Bus"1997No5:15

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [6] Platinum70,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [7] Gold50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [8] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Urban Hymns</i> 1997 studio album by the Verve

Urban Hymns is the third studio album by English alternative rock band the Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Records. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling release and one of the biggest selling albums of the year. As of 2019, Urban Hymns is ranked the 19th best-selling album in UK chart history and has sold over ten million copies worldwide. This is the only Verve album to feature guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong, who initially joined the band to replace their original guitarist Nick McCabe. McCabe rejoined the band soon after, however, and Tong remained in the band also considered as the fifth member; this makes the album the only one that the band recorded as a five-piece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultans of Swing</span> 1978 single by Dire Straits

"Sultans of Swing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, written by lead vocalist Mark Knopfler. The demo of the song was recorded at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977 and quickly acquired a following after it was put in rotation on BBC Radio London. Its popularity soon reached record executives, and Dire Straits were offered a contract with Phonogram Records. The song was then re-recorded in February 1978 at Basing Street Studios for the band's eponymous debut album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sound of Silence</span> Song by Simon & Garfunkel

"The Sound of Silence" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. The duo's studio audition of the song led to a record deal with Columbia Records, and the original acoustic version was recorded in March 1964 at Columbia Studios in New York City for their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., released that October to disappointing sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge over Troubled Water (song)</span> 1970 song by Simon & Garfunkel

"Bridge over Troubled Water" is a song by the American folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in January 1970 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). It was composed by Paul Simon and produced by Simon & Garfunkel and Roy Halee.

<i>Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)</i> 1976 compilation album by the Eagles

Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the first compilation album by the American rock band the Eagles, released by Asylum Records on February 17, 1976. It contains a selection of songs from the band's first four albums, which were released from 1972 to 1975. On the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, the album reached number one, where it stayed for five weeks.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (The Cars album) 1985 greatest hits album by The Cars

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by American rock band The Cars, released on October 25, 1985, by Elektra Records. "Tonight She Comes", a previously unreleased song, and a remix of "I'm Not the One" were issued as singles to support the album. It was a commercial success, going six-times platinum.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Guns N Roses album) 2004 greatest hits album by Guns N Roses

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on March 23, 2004. Released by Geffen Records in part because of the delay in the making of Chinese Democracy, the album was subject to lawsuits by band member Axl Rose and former band members, in an attempt to block its release due to its track listing.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Lenny Kravitz album) 2000 greatest hits album by Lenny Kravitz

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on October 24, 2000.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Bruce Springsteen album) 1995 greatest hits album by Bruce Springsteen

Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released February 27, 1995, on Columbia Records. It is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years along with four new songs at the end, mostly recorded with the E Street Band in 1995. The latter constituted Springsteen's first release with his backing band since the late 1980s. Some of the songs are shorter versions of the original album releases.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (The Bangles album) 1990 greatest hits album by the Bangles

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American pop rock band the Bangles. It was released by their record company, Columbia Records on May 8, 1990, to fulfill the band's contractual requirements; by the time of the release of the album, the group had already broken up. The album peaked at #97 on the US Billboard 200 and at #4 in the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Was Made for Lovin' You</span> 1979 song by Kiss

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album, Dynasty. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album, with "Hard Times" as the B-side.

<i>The Best of Carly Simon</i> 1975 greatest hits album by Carly Simon

The Best of Carly Simon is singer-songwriter Carly Simon's first greatest hits album, released by Elektra Records, on November 24, 1975.

<i>Greatest Hits Live</i> (Carly Simon album) 1988 live album by Carly Simon

Greatest Hits Live is the first live album and second greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on August 2, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungry Like the Wolf</span> 1982 song by Duran Duran

"Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album, Rio (1982). The song was released on 4 May 1982 as the band's fifth single in the United Kingdom, 8 June 1982 in the United States. It reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, and received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink discography</span>

American singer and songwriter Pink has released nine studio albums, one live album, five video albums, six compilation albums, 58 singles, six promotional singles, and 51 music videos. Throughout her career, Pink has sold 60 million albums, 75 million singles and 2.4 million DVDs worldwide. According to RIAA, she has sold 18 million albums and 13.5 million digital singles. She is also UK's second best-selling female artist of the 21st century. Billboard ranked her as the fifth top female artist of the 2000s, eighth top female artist of the 2010s and the 59th greatest artist of all time. Official Charts Company hailed her as UK's most played female artist of the 21st century.

<i>Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits</i> 1976 greatest hits album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Chronicle, or fully Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, is a greatest hits album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was released in January 1976 by Fantasy Records. The edited version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" featured on the album was simultaneously released as a single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graceland (song)</span> 1986 single by Paul Simon

"Graceland" is the title song of the album Graceland, released in 1986 by Paul Simon. The song features vocals by The Everly Brothers. The lyrics follow the singer's thoughts during a road trip to Graceland after the failure of his marriage. Actress and author Carrie Fisher, Simon's ex-wife, said that the song referred in part to their relationship.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (The Police album) 1992 greatest hits album by the Police

Greatest Hits is the second greatest hits album by the Police, released in September 1992 by A&M Records. It is the band's second compilation album following Every Breath You Take: The Singles. In contrast with its predecessor, it features all 14 original UK top 20 chart singles and five UK number-ones released by the band from 1978 to 1984, including the two missing singles from the previous 1986 compilation, "Synchronicity II" and the original version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" which had been replaced with the 1986 re-recording. The album also includes two bonus album tracks, "The Bed's Too Big Without You" and "Tea in the Sahara". The cover photograph was by Duane Michals and it was taken at the time of the Synchronicity album. The inner sleeve featured a collage of pictures of the band shot by different photographers during their career, including Miles Copeland, Peter Baylis, Adrian Boot, Akihiro Takayama, Anton Corbijn, Danny Quatrochi, Gabor Scott, Janette Beckman, Kim Turner, Michael Ross, Watal Asanuma and Andy Summers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Simon discography</span> Cataloging of published recordings by Paul Simon

Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter who is possibly best known as a member of the folk-duo Simon & Garfunkel with Art Garfunkel. He has released studio albums, live albums, compilation albums and singles. His music career has spanned over 50 years. He started recording music in the 1950s and his most recent album, Seven Psalms, was released on May 19, 2023.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Foo Fighters album) 2009 greatest hits album by Foo Fighters

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album released by American rock band the Foo Fighters on November 3, 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ruhlmann, William. "Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar" . Retrieved June 28, 2009.
  2. "Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar" . Retrieved June 28, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar—Album Credits" . Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  4. Allmusic review
  5. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  6. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  7. "Canadian album certifications – Paul Simon – Shining Like a National Guitar". Music Canada . Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  8. "British album certifications – Paul Simon – Shining Like a National Guitar". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 21, 2022.