Hearts and Bones [Bonus Tracks] [Digipak] [Remaster]

Performer: Paul Simon
Artist: Nile Rodgers; Airto Moreira; Al DiMeola; Richard Tee; Marcus Miller; Eric Gale; Steve Gadd; Mike Mainieri
Producer: Roy Halee; Paul Simon; Russ Titelman
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Paul Simon (vocals, guitar, drum programming); The Harptones (vocals); Dean Parks, Eric Gale, Al di Meola, Nile Rodgers, Sid McGuiness (guitar); Marin Alsop (violin); Jill Jaffe (viola); Jesse Levy, Frederick Zlotkin (cello); Carol Wincenc (flute); George Marge (bass clarinet); Mark Rivera (alto saxophone); Peter Gordon (French horn); Greg Phillinganes, Richard Tee (Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer); Robert Sabino (keyboards, synthesizer); Rob Mounsey (synthesizer, vocoder); Michael Boddicker, Michael Riesman (synthesizer); David Nichtern (Synclavier, programming); Tom Coppola, Wells Christy (Synclavier); Mike Mainieri (vibraphone, marimba); Anthony Jackson (triple contra-bass); Marcus Miller, Bernard Edwards (bass guitar); Jeff Porcaro, Steve Gadd , Steve Ferrone (drums); Airto Moreira (percussion). Casual listeners view GRACELAND as a comeback/rejuvenation for Simon, not realizing that throughout his recording career, he never stopped growing, with each album expanding on the artistic advances of the previous one. HEARTS AND BONES was the last link in the chain that led to the epiphany of GRACELAND, the adventurous bridge between that album and the poetic insights of ONE TRICK PONY. Simon hadn't yet given himself over to the impressionistic, non-linear lyrical style he would eventually pursue, but here he invests his more traditional story-telling lyrics with a high degree of poetic imagery. The arrangements are equally imaginative. The moving title tune, which details the breakup of Simon's marriage to actress Carrie Fisher, moves from a folky, acoustic feel to a sensuous, swaying rhythm and back, seamlessly. The witty "Allergies" calls on the services of an unlikely guest, Al Dimeola, to provide guitar pyrotechnics that perfectly capture the song's claustrophobic panic. As always, there are several elegant, harmonically brilliant ballads, such as the evocative "Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War." Only Simon could attach such a beautiful tune to such a pretentious title. HEARTS AND BONES is a vital, criminally underlooked part of the Paul Simon catalog.

Highly Recommended

Besides being one-half of pop's legendary duo Simon & Garfunkel would be enough for most people, but Paul Simon went on to reap just as much acclaim and success as a solo artist. In the 1970s, he was at the vanguard of the singer-songwriter movement, marrying brainy lyrics with sophisticated pop music. In the '80s, he was one of the first pop artists to successfully combine world music into his sound, resulting in the South African flavor of Simon's landmark GRACELAND album, and subsequent flirtations with Brazilian and Latin styles.

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