So Beautiful So What is Paul Simon's 12th solo album and his first release in 5 years. And it was well worth the wait! This is, in my opinion, his best album since Graceland. As you would expect with any of his work, his melodies are amazing, his lyrics poetic, and the feel and sound stand out in its uniqueness. "Rewrite" creates some incredible textures through the use of a West African stringed kora, a djembe drum, and even the faint grunt of wildebeests on certain guitar notes. "Dazzling Blue" has a folksy feel with some amazing fingerpicking on the acoustic guitar. "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" uses parts of a 1941 sermon by Reverend J.M. Gates and adds richness to the story. "The Afterlife" shows Simon's lyrical genius as it explores the process of entering heaven: filling out forms and waiting in line. There really isn't any filler as each song is a joy that takes the listener on a musical journey. This is an amazing album and if you're a fan of Paul Simon you'll love it!

Some years ago, I was invited to be on the membership committee of PEN, the distinguished international literary organization. That was not someone's best idea --- because there's almost no reason to reject any working writer, meetings tended to be boring --- so I thought of a way to liven them up.

The problem with PEN, I said, is that it has a very narrow, 19th century sense of what constitutes a "writer." But, I continued, that definition exploded in 1962 or 1963, when Bob Dylan started hitting his stride. Now we've had four or five decades of songs that wouldn't be out of place in poetry magazines --- we ought to let a few of these kids into PEN. Dylan first, of course, then the usual suspects: Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Carole King, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, John Prine. And Paul Simon.

Talk about a non-start. I'm not sure the higher-ups at PEN ever really heard the idea of welcoming singer-songwriters. Or maybe they did --- not much later, the membership committee was disbanded.

And now it's a decade later, and I'm listening to "So Beautiful or So What," Paul Simon's 12th solo release and his first in 5 years. Music is not a competitive sport --- unless you happen to be a musician --- but I'd put this up there with recent Dylan and a few lengths ahead of the recent Springsteen releases.

This will not be a majority view. If you love Dylan --- and I do, just not blindly --- he will always stand alone, like Shakespeare. And no one works harder in live performance than Springsteen; he's a monument to the dignity and decency of blue-collar America. Simon? In the poet laureate of rock race, he'll always be third, simply because he never seems to break a sweat. He's the king of sprezzatura, defined as "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it."

Gee, it must be a tough to be that talented.

Listening to this CD, I think just the opposite: It don't come easy, this thing Simon does here. I know him slightly, and while I would not describe him as unhappy or neurotic, neither would I describe him as a jolly fellow. He's interior, quiet, with a sharp eye and a sharper tongue. The years when he was the crown prince of irony are long gone; for a while, he's been one of music's most serious thinkers. And now he's thought --- and felt --- his way to happy. That is, if these songs are to be believed, to peace in his personal life and a cheerful acceptance of the universe. When you're 69, that's pretty great.

Some critics and friends are calling this Simon's best CD since "Graceland." I can understand why. The music is international. The playing is loose, relaxed --- indeed, it sometimes sounds as if you're listening to a rehearsal.

But it's not "Graceland," not in any way I care about. Not musically, first of all --- you can appreciate this music, can even love it, but you're not going to walk down the street humming these songs. And it's not just that the melodies won't support that pleasure. It's that, this time, you really have to pay attention to the words. Because if you start connecting the dots, you get a picture of Simon's long and successful marriage to singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, and, even more, to what might be a roadmap to happiness of your own. Like this:

Sweet July, and we drove the Montauk Highway

And walked along the cliffs above the sea

And we wondered why, and imagined it was someday

And that is how the future came to be

Dazzling blue, roses red, fine white linen

To make a marriage bed

And we'll build a wall that nothing can break through

And dream our dreams of dazzling blue

My Lord, that is lovely. And lovelier, still, for the knowledge that it has a sell-by date. From another song:

Something called me from my sleep

Love and blessings

Simple kindness

Ours to hold but not to keep

Paul Simon, a romantic? How else do you explain this:

Who believes in angels?

I do

Fools and pilgrims all over the world.

I take "So Beautiful" as testimony: A man fights his way through all the exterior garbage and the even messier inner garbage, and emerges with a statement that makes it seem easy. Indeed, a throwaway: so beautiful or so what.

I'm just a raindrop in a bucket

A coin dropped in a slot

I am an empty house on Weed Street

Across the road from the vacant lot

You know life is what you make of it

So beautiful or so what...

Ours to choose. But from my seat, this music makes me want what Simon describes as "eternal sacred light/ Free from the shackles of time." In a dark time, I'll hold this CD close.

Tender, vulnerable and yet very assured, "So Beautiful or So What" shows the wisdom and skill of the 70-year-old (as of next October) auteur, whose career was at the peak four decades ago and two decades ago - and now it should be again. Multi-colored yet instantly recognizable, the songs sing, offer some endearingly melodic moments, although not as many as they could. Lyrically, Paul plays a man who would like to know better, but the result is dubious - almost every single song deals with mortality, eternal love, angels or afterlife. More than any other artistic statement I know, this is a work of a man who has more behind him than before and tries to be at peace with higher forces. Highlights include "Dazzling Blue", maybe his best songs in more than 20 years, the delicate "Questions for the Angels" and introspective "Love and Hard Times". Drawing something from "Graceland" as well as "You're The One", "So Beautiful or So What" is certainly a joy to listen to, although no commercial breakthrough among the teens can be expected - much better result will come from his peers. And probably critics, too.

I didn't expect to like this album as much as I do. I haven't bought anything by Paul Simon since "Graceland". But I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed every cut, so I'm glad I read the reviews & bought it (even without listening to a single cut!). I'm very happy with the entire album (ok, mp3, but I'm old school)

I've been listening to this album for about 6 weeks, now, and I've reached my conclusion: A classic. Probably Simon's best. Better even than Graceland. I've learned from listening to the songs written by my singer, songwriter son that a song doesn't necessarily tell you what the writer believes; it tells you what they were feeling at the time they wrote the song. Still, Simon expresses amazement at the beauty of life, the gift of love, and, yes, the grace of God. It's hard to say which are my favorite songs, but "Rewrite" moves me every time I hear it: 'I said, "Help me! Help me! Help me! Thank you! I had no idea that you were there. I said "Help me! Help me! Help me! Thank you, for answering my prayer."' "Afterlife" is both hilarious (heaven organized like the DMV) and heartbreaking (Why does God make it so hard to find Him?). But almost every song is amazing and worth multiple hearings. Just wishing that I'd been able to make one of the concerts that have been getting such great reveiws. Maybe he'll extend the tour. If you buy the album it's a good idea to read a bio of Simon's life. It's impossible not to see both the heatbreak and the redemption in the music and the lyrics.