Poetry. The lyrics of 187 songs written over 44 years by Paul Simon are presented in a new book, aptly titled, Lyrics 1964-2008. As I turned each page, I found myself humming, or singing, rather than reading, the lyrics. After all, the lyrics are only part of the art: the music is the other part. When viewed as words on the page, Simon’s poetry becomes clearer. I considered indulging in an album at a time on my ipod, reading along with the lyrics. I learned that while I enjoyed many of Simon’s songs during the past four decades, there were many I missed, both in the late seventies and early eighties, then again in the late 90s and recently. My surprise was that the impact and meaning of songs written in the 1960s and 1970s had even deeper meaning today. Anyone who minimized Simon’s talent and skills, will appreciate his prolific output and prodigious talent after absorbing the contents of this book.
Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
No comments:
Post a Comment