The Essential Paul Simon Paul Simon Artist

Released five years after {|Warner|}'s last {|Paul Simon|} comp, the single-disc {|The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin'|}, the double-disc {|The Essential Paul Simon|} is a full 17 tracks heftier than its predecessor and c... Read more

Released five years after {|Warner|}'s last {|Paul Simon|} comp, the single-disc {|The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin'|}, the double-disc {|The Essential Paul Simon|} is a full 17 tracks heftier than its predecessor and contains all but one of its 19 songs (MIA is the latter-day {|Love,|} which only hardcore fans will recognize as from {|You're the One|}, and they're not quite the market for this set anyway). It's also slimmer than the 1993 box {|Paul Simon 1964/1993|}, which spanned three discs but also encompassed his '60s recordings with {|Art Garfunkel|}, plus a single the duo recorded as {|Tom & Jerry|}, along with selections from his solo debut, {|The Paul Simon Songbook|} -- it was ambitious, where this compilation is efficient, picking up after the parting of ways with {|Garfunkel|} and running straight through until 2006's {|Surprise|}. The sequencing isn't strictly chronological -- some songs are shuffled around for effect, with {|Still Crazy After All These Years|} closing the first, while {|Take Me to the Mardi Gras|} is cleverly followed by the {|zydeco|} stomp {|That Was Your Mother|} -- but it roughly divides into having the first disc devoted to the '70s and early '80s, the second devoted to {|Graceland|} and beyond. Some might argue that there's too heavy of a {|Graceland|} presence here -- a whopping six tracks, over half the album -- but it is his biggest album and functions as a nice transition between his better-known '70s hits and the more esoteric but frequently compelling work that he's done since. And, unlike {|The Paul Simon Collection|}, {|The Essential Paul Simon|} is designed to introduce fellow travelers to the interesting work he's done since {|Graceland|}, as the second disc emphasizes that quite greatly, and it does a good job of it, while also providing a good summary of his best-known (and much of his best) solo work. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Less