Surprise (Paul Simon Album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Surprise was positively received by most critics. It gained a metascore of 78/100 on Metacritic, based on 23 professional reviews. The Observer gave the album a full five stars, with reviewer Neil Spencer praising both Simon's and Eno's work, "Simon offers no easy answers to the questions sprayed out in his memorable lines, alternating dreamy idylls with grumpy dissatisfaction while Eno's production ebbs and flows like a digitalised Greek chorus." He called the album "a thrilling return to form". Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman gave the album an A-, stating that "patience is rewarded with moments of stellar songwriting", in an allusion to the high anticipation of the release of the album. Willman praised particularly Brian Eno's work: "If Surprise seduces a wider audience than the placid-sounding You're the One, thank co-producer Brian Eno, whose sonic upgrade makes his subject's musings more ear-tickling and appropriately tense. Eno finds smart ways to accent Simon's worry lines." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic was also very positive with the album, giving it 4.5 stars out of 5, and calling the album a "comeback": "Simon doesn't achieve his comeback by reconnecting with the sound and spirit of his classic work; he has achieved it by being as restless and ambitious as he was at his popular and creative peak, which makes Surprise all the more remarkable."

Both Billboard and Rolling Stone were a little less enthusiastic and both gave the album 3.5 stars, with Billboard stating that "Surprise falls shy of a masterpiece, but it is consistently engaging and offers some of Simon's most creative songs in two decades." Rolling Stone wrote that "despite the album's shiny surface, Simon sounds like Simon".