Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' is an album by Paul Simon, released in March 1974 by Columbia Records. It was recorded during Simon's 1973-74 tour in the wake of the release of There Goes Rhymin' Simon – which produced a number of hit singles ("Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock") and radio staples (as "Something So Right" and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras"). However, the album presents a very truncated version of the concerts he performed on this tour, which consisted of up to 24 songs. The album fails to note where the performances were recorded, although according to liner notes in a later Simon compilation, "Duncan" is from a London concert and "American Tune" was recorded in New York City.
Simon was joined by Urubamba and the Jessy Dixon Singers, although the individual members are not identified either on the recording or on the liner notes. In addition to "Jesus Is the Answer", included on the album, Jessy Dixon also performed "What Do They Call Him" on tour, while Urubamba performed the instrumentals "Kacharpari" and "Death in Santa Cruz".
The album was Simon's first live release and showed him performing Simon & Garfunkel songs solo in concert for the first time. The variety of songs and richness of styles helped with the album's appeal. Most notable was Simon's fascination with gospel, something that materialized in the arrangements on many of the songs, taking distance from Simon's classical folk early style.
Near the end of the album, an audience member calls out for Simon to "say a few words." He replies: "Say a few words? Well, let's hope that we continue to live."
The album was a moderate success. It reached #33 in the US and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA. However, it failed to chart at all in the UK. Further, two of the live performances were released as a single as part of the promotion for the album: the breakthrough Simon & Garfunkel "The Sound of Silence" as the A-side, along with Simon's debut single "Mother and Child Reunion" on the B-side.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
| Robert Christgau | C+ |
Famous quotes containing the words paul, simon and/or live:
“Martha, your father told me something once, a long time ago, when I first started to work with him: In the war of science, many people must die before any victory can be won.”
—Robert D. Andrews, and Nick Grindé. Dr. Paul Ames (Bruce Bennett)
“Stevenson had noble ideas—as did the young Franklin for that matter. But Stevenson felt that the way to implement them was to present himself as a thoughtful idealist and wait for the world to flock to him. He considered it below him, or wrong, to scramble out among the people and ask them what they wanted. Roosevelt grappled voters to him. Stevenson shied off from them. Some thought him too pure to desire power, though he showed ambition when it mattered.”
—Garry Wills, U.S. historian. Certain Trumpets: The Call of Leaders, ch. 9, Simon & Schuster (1994)
“The drama’s laws, the drama’s patrons give,
For we that live to please, must please to live.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)