Paul Simon - Greatest Hits, Etc.

As a kid Simon & Garfunkel were done right around the same time The Beatles broke up. I knew many of their songs of course, I loved music and my little radio was a lifeline to happiness. Still the music that would really start to get into my musical DNA arrived in a big way for me when I was around 10 years old. This was a magical time it seemed like every other day there was a song that became my new favourite. Some songs of course would get lodged deeper than others. I wasn't looking back, I was living in the moment.

One of those "new" songs was "Kodachrome" that came out in 1973. It was catchy and all, but really what sealed it for me was singing along to the opening line,  "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school ..." It was awesome, and it had the word crap in it. This was the same guy who sang about Julio who apparently was down by the schoolyard.

I didn't consider myself a huge Paul Simon fan, and aside from the songs I'd hear on the radio growing up I never really went out of my way to pick up any of his records. Like many people, I picked up The Concert in Central Park back in '82 and it served as my first real introduction to the duo and Paul's solo material. From there I'd pick up Paul's solo albums as they came out starting in 1983 when he released Hearts and Bones, an album I loved ... okay, liked. There were two songs that really stood out for me. The first was a seemingly throwaway song called "Allergies" that featured Al Di Meola's searing lead guitar work, and the second was the haunting "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War" that just got me in the feels. There was a third too, if I'm being honest and that was "The Late Great Johnny Ace" a beautiful song. It was also the only album during his commercial run that didn't go gold.

Anyway, I digress.

So here I am decades after this was released, and it's the only anthology in my collection by Paul Simon. The album came out in 1977 two years after his previous release Still Crazy After All These Years, and it would be another three years after his Greatest Hits, Etc. before he'd release One Trick Pony. I've always tended to think of Paul as a prolific writer, as he always seemed to be on the periphery of the public eye, but in reality he was a craftsman and new music came when it was ready.

The Etc. component of the compilation was put right up front. I didn't know until reading up on the album that "Slip Slidin' Away" came out on this record. As did the following track "Stranded in a Limousine" which wasn't a hit, and remains on the etcetera side of the ledger. However, the album hits (ha ha ha) almost all the spots you'd expect. Somehow I had expected to see "My Little Town" somewhere on the track list, but I suspect it was the right choice in leaving it off. This about Paul's solo work, and to include a nod to his previous musical endeavour could be distracting.

Paul always seemed to be a bit of an enigma who conveyed a degree of seriousness that is likely more of a act of deliberate deception than the reality. I've always loved Paul's voice and phrasing and his guitar playing (he is a master player). There's a raw emotional element to his delivery that just works. Of course as a kid seeing Paul play in a turkey suit on Saturday Night Live certainly made him seem like a pretty amazing dude. Watching him play with George Harrison on that same show (a different episode) cemented that opinion.

For me, as a layman, the album is a near perfect companion to Paul's '70s output. Of course, I wish that the label, or Paul, hadn't included the live version of "American Tune" I liked the studio version. However, the other live track "Duncan" was pretty cool. I think it depends on reference ...  and wasn't familiar with "Duncan" so the version here is my point of reference.

The depth and breadth of Paul's writing and ability to incorporate various musical influences was on display early on. From "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard" to the straight ahead pop of "Kodachrome" Paul was always chasing his muse. Greatest Hits albums are more often than not a summation of a career, and often there really aren't that many hits. In this case it was just a stop gap that gathered up a slew of hits and other songs before Paul would reinvent himself yet again.