Paul Simon Unrealeased versions

[megadan]

Have you guys heard "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes (Unreleased Version)" from this Graceland Expanded version of the album? Wow! Just vocal and bass for the most part.

not my usually style or tone, but what great fretless playing, slap and pop too! You can hear every little nuance of his playing, really neat.

[megadan]

C'mon, you guys must love this.

[Shyne]

Yeah i gotta admit its a great track, some fantastic bass playing throughout the album, would love to track down the tab from "Boy in the Bubble"

[P_bass]

The Graceland album is excellent, I will have to look for this expanded version....

[JimK]

Originally Posted by megadan

Have you guys heard "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes (Unreleased Version)" from this Graceland Expanded version of the album? Wow! Just vocal and bass for the most part.

Thanks...very cool. Just picked it up at iTunes.

[JamesM]

yea i love that bonus track, although i prefer the album version better , but its great to hear just the bass and vocals...the unreleased version of homeless is really good too.

[Baryonyx]

Originally Posted by JamesM

yea i love that bonus track, although i prefer the album version better , but its great to hear just the bass and vocals...the unreleased version of homeless is really good too.

+1

The acoustic guitar intro to Homeless, the first 14 seconds, that might be some of the most beautiful guitar playing I have ever heard. I sometimes just sit and listen to that intro over and over again!

And the unreleased version of "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes" really shows how far Simon took the song. The unreleased version is amazing though. Not only can you hear the way the bassline works, but the backing vocals which were removed from the "album" version are marvellously atmospheric aswell. The vocals from Simon are also a bit more muted and restrained too.

However, it serves as the peferct introduction to the album version, which is much more heavily arranged. I have to say, I do prefer the album version. The drums, the chaotic outro, the addition of the Ladysmith Black Mambazo intro, the catchiest guitar riff ever...it amazes me! I would have to say that it's probably my favourite track on the "Graceland" album, which is saying something, as the only other record I have ever heard as good as Graceland is "Hold your Fire" by RUSH.

Absolutely stunning stuff. Yeah, the unreleased stuff is well worth hearing, such as the alternate intro on "All Around The World".

[glink]

I have to add that as a lifelong bass player, this record and Rythym of the Saints are the discs that I use if ever I need to recharge my enthusiasm for music. If I'm ever feeling uninspired or burned out on music (and yes I believe that happens to the best of us), I only need to listen and I am instantly reinvigorated and energized. As much as I give huge props to Paul Simon for bringing this music to a mass audience and making it more accesible to our ears, the real credit goes to the South African musicians that he brought to us.

I had the incredible honor of hearing Bakithi speak and play and got to meet and talk to him briefly at the Bass Player Live a few months ago in NYC. What an amazing player and humble, real person he is. He told the story of how he was working in a gas station as a gofer when someone came to him saying Paul wanted to meet him. He hadn't even heard of Paul Simon or been in a pro studio before. Under apartheid, he grew up with no formal music training in the poorest conditions imaginable. He and like eight other bass players would share one bass,trading it off to practice and gig. He said if they broke a string, they would weld it back together and file the weld but it would cut their fingers and sometimes there was blood all over the bass. Buying new strings was out of reach but he felt lucky to have access to any instrument. Most everyone sang however and music was a normal part of everyday life as people sang always and everywhere and played whatever instruments they could find or make. In talking briefly to Bakithi he said something to me that I will never forget: " Music is nice but in the big picture it is not as important as being a good person". Certainly words to live by.

To hear Bakithi play solo will make you grin from ear to ear. His fretted and fretless playing is beyond description because it is grounded in a culture and speaks from ages ago about the human spirit, " the roots of rhythym" and "the powerful pulsing of blood in the veins."

[glink]

[Baryonyx]

Originally Posted by glink

" the roots of rhythm"

And the roots of rhythm remain!

The Rhythm of the Saints is also an incredible record. It doesn't scale the smae heights and I prefer Graceland's South African feel to "Rhythms..." Brazilian atmosphere, but they are both amazing. "The Coast" and "The Obvious Child" just knock my socks off.

[glink]