Paul Simon's new album is aptly named, though--unless you are familiar with Brian Eno's work--you might not immediately understand why. Thirty years ago, while Paul Simon was slip, slip, sliding away, Brian Eno (and David Bowie) were laying the foundations for several developing musical genres, including punk, glam rock and electronic music. On the surface, Simon and Eno, couldn't
appear more different. But, that is exactly what is misleading, here, hence the
Surprise. While Eno takes an offhanded billing on a
Paul Simon album, the title is a reference to the two of them together.
The surprises don't stop with the collaboration.
Almost every song has a surprise to go with it, whether it be lyrically or musically. In
Everything About It Is A Love Song, Simon surprises us with the revelation of the title, which is, otherwise, a song about love of
life and not a person. Eno's atmospheric additions exemplify the reasons why albums must be heard, transitioning from gentle textures to heady beats, then back again.
Once Upon a Time There Was An Ocean, begins with a lick typical to any one of Simon's songs, but is answered by a beat that could easily have showed up on a Chemical Bros. album. Lyrically, Simon examines the passage of time, as if recalling the shock of a mid-life crisis, chiding, "It's a dead end job, and you get tired of sittin'. And it's like a nicotine habit you're always thinkin' about quittin'." On
That's Me, a song co-credited to Eno, where the playful mood, with funky, see-saw rhythm shifts, unexpectedly, building to a crescendo where Simon exclaims the memory, "Oh-my-God. First love opens like a flower," then transforms back to the prior mood.
Despite the thoughtfulness of these sentiments, it's the offhanded nature of the work that's really compelling. Eno's textures make these songs musically. Simon's lyrics, show a master poet, in a spontaneous conversation with the listener, notably lacking the typical verse/chorus/verse structure of a pop song. On this collaboration, it's easy to find yourself as entranced by the sounds as you are engrossed in the sentiment of the words--an unusual balance in recent music.
All in all, the album is accessible, fun, unexpected and
mature, which may be it's downfall. While--to a mysterious degree, if you are intrigued by the album cover, you may enjoy the album--it's not for the youthful heart. (Though you may check out
Spoon's latest offering for that) The unifying theme--a celebration of life's journey, though simulatenously dark, exalting, and overwhelming--as told by Simon
and Eno reveals a sense of wonder consistent with a newborn's gaze. A parental notion, that may require a lifetime's experience to fully grasp, but drawn here with vigor remarkable for two pioneers at this stage of their careers.
