The Essential Paul Simon | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 26, 2007 | |||
Recorded | 1971–2006 | |||
Genre | Rock, pop | |||
Length | 148:23 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. (original release) Legacy (re-issue) | |||
Producer | Paul Simon Phil Ramone Roy Halee | |||
Paul Simon chronology | ||||
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The Essential Paul Simon | ||||
The Essential Paul Simon is a compilation album of Paul Simon's songs from the years 1971-2006 and released in 2007. An edition exists with a DVD featuring performances from The Dick Cavett Show and Saturday Night Live . It was re-released in 2010 in Australia through Sony BMG a part of The Essential series. [1] [2]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic calls the compilation "efficient, picking up after the parting of ways with Garfunkel and running straight through until 2006's Surprise." He believes "some might argue that there's too heavy of a Graceland presence here — a whopping six tracks, over half the album — but it is his biggest album and functions as a nice transition between his better-known '70s hits and the more esoteric but frequently compelling work that he's done since." [3]
All tracks are written by Paul Simon except as noted.
Videos
TV Appearances
Chart (2007–08) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch (Album Top 100) [4] | 26 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [5] | 29 |
US (Billboard 200) [6] | 42 |
United Kingdom (UK Albums Chart) [7] | 12 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [8] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 2010 | Sony Music Australia, Legacy Records [9] [10] | CD, music download | 88697 78679 2 |
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and his school friend Garfunkel, whom he met in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer", served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is among the bestselling of all time.
Graceland is the seventh solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was produced by Simon, engineered by Roy Halee and released on August 25, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records. It incorporates genres including pop, rock, a cappella, zydeco, and South African styles such as isicathamiya and mbaqanga.
The Rhythm of the Saints is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released on October 16, 1990, by Warner Bros. In much the same way that Simon's previous album, Graceland, released in 1986, drew upon South African music, this album was inspired by Brazilian musical traditions. Like its predecessor, the album was commercially successful and received mostly favorable reviews from critics.
"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his second, self-titled studio album (1972), released on Columbia Records.
"You Can Call Me Al" is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon, its lyrics follow an individual seemingly experiencing a midlife crisis. Its lyrics were partially inspired by Simon's trip to South Africa and experience with its culture. Released in July 1986, "You Can Call Me Al" became one of Simon's biggest solo hits, reaching the top five in seven countries.
Surprise is the eleventh solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon, released on May 9, 2006. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and was his final studio album for long-time label Warner Bros. Records.
Paul Simon's Concert in the Park is a live album and concert film recorded by Paul Simon as part of his 1991–92 "Born at the Right Time" Tour, with an extensive live backing band comprising top studio and touring musicians as well as a guest appearance at the start by the Brazilian percussion group Olodum. The concert took place in New York City’s Central Park on August 15, 1991, and was broadcast live on the HBO television network as well as being recorded for audio and video release.
Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' is a live album by Paul Simon, released in March 1974 by Columbia Records. It was recorded in the wake of the release of There Goes Rhymin' Simon, which produced a number of hit singles and radio staples, at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Carnegie Hall in New York during Simon's 1973–74 tour. The album featured both Latin and gospel influences, both in the arrangements and the performance style of the guests
Greatest Hits, Etc. is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released in November 1977 by Columbia Records. It was his first compilation, spanning the first six years of his solo career. Its release was prompted by the fact that two years after his last studio album, Simon didn't yet have enough material to release a new full-length album, and his contract with Columbia was finished but a new album was needed to fulfill it. Simon later signed with Warner Bros. Records. The album was initially supposed to be called Blatant Greatest Hits.
The Paul Simon Anthology is the fourth greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, which was released in 1993. It featured one previously unreleased track, "Thelma".
"The Obvious Child" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his eighth studio album, The Rhythm of the Saints (1990), released by Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon, its lyrics explore mortality and aging. The song is accompanied by a performance from Brazilian drumming collective Olodum in a live recording.
Paul Simon 1964/1993 is a compilation album released in 1993 by Paul Simon. It contains a collection of recordings ranging from his earliest collaboration with Art Garfunkel and further Simon & Garfunkel hits to songs from his subsequent solo career. Despite carrying the title Paul Simon 1964/1993, the music on this compilation was recorded between 1957 and 1993.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of the recorded work of Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1970s. It was released in 1995 by RCA Records, catalog number 66670-2, following similar box sets that covered his musical output in the 1950s and both his non-soundtrack and soundtrack work of the 1960s. This set's initial long-box release included a set of collectable stamps duplicating the record jackets of the LP albums on which the tracks in the box set were originally released by RCA. It also includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, as well as a lengthy essay by Dave Marsh, some of it excerpted from his 1982 book on Presley. The box set was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 15, 1999.
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 60 years. He started recording music in the 1950s and his most recent album, Seven Psalms, was released on May 19, 2023.
Gary Weis is an American filmmaker.
This Better Be Good is a compilation album by Paul Simon, issued in June 2009 on the Starbucks Entertainment record label in its Opus Collection series. The disc was exclusively available at US branches of the Starbucks stores. The tracks on this album were taken from all of Paul's solo albums, up to and including the 2006 release Surprise.
"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the fourth single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. The song features guest vocals from the South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The On Stage Together Tour was a concert tour by English musician Sting and American musician Paul Simon. The tour began on 8 February 2014 in Houston, Texas and traveled across North America, Oceania, and Europe before concluding on 18 April 2015 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
"The Boy in the Bubble" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon and Forere Motloheloa, its lyrics explore starvation and terrorism, juxtaposed with wit and optimism.
Over the Bridge of Time: A Paul Simon Retrospective (1964–2011) is a compilation album of 20 chronologically sequenced songs by American folk singer Paul Simon. It is the first single CD collection to include a selection of Simon & Garfunkel's songs as well as songs from Paul Simon's solo career.