THERE GOES RHYMIN’ SIMON
Even at 76, Paul Simon still has the ability to surprise at his last ever show on UK soil
LIVE: PAUL SIMON (Hyde Park, London) Verdict: Stirring swansong LIVE: WARD THOMAS (Omeara, London) Verdict: Encouraging return
As FAREWELLs go, this was long and fond. Having announced in February that he was retiring from touring after six decades on the road, Paul simon stirred the emotions as he played his last ever show on British soil.
Bringing to a close this year’s cycle of British summer Time concerts, the American singer-songwriter, who stands 5ft 3in, cut a diminutive figure as he shuffled on stage in Hyde Park. Once he started singing, though, we were clearly in the presence of a musical giant.
simon, 76, delivered more than a perfunctory run-through of his greatest hits. There were lots of familiar big hitters, of course, even though Mrs Robinson and I Am A Rock were surprisingly overlooked.
But there were also some intriguing deeper cuts, plus new arrangements of well-loved tunes. Even on his victory lap, he still gently nudged the boundaries.
As he opened a sprawling, 150-minute set with America, the simon & Garfunkel song about hitchhiking that gave the Michigan city of saginaw a footnote in pop history, the video screens behind him were blanched out by the evening sun, giving the show a traditional, low-tech feel.
‘I’m waiting for the sun to go down so I can take my sunglasses off,’ quipped simon.
THERE followed a whistle- stop tour of global music. An accordion heavy That Was Your Mother looked to Louisiana zydeco. The Obvious Child featured Brazilian samba drums. The Cool, Cool River was enlivened by a manic, jazzy solo from pianist Mick Rossi, and Mother And Child Reunion remains one of the greatest white reggae singles ever made.
Performing with greater warmth than on previous tours, simon told the stories behind some of his songs: the wonderful René And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War was written in Joan Baez’s house after he found a book about the Belgian painter.
The number imagines René and his wife as secret fans of Fifties doo-wop groups such as The Penguins.
He was accompanied on that song by New York chamber ensemble y Music, an exceptional sextet of string, brass and woodwind players.
y Music’s classical stylings are more suited to the concert hall than the open air, but their flair and precision still hushed a huge crowd, despite a few murmurs about the lack of volume.
A new take on Bridge Over Troubled Water was less striking. simon explained that he wanted to wrest the song back from his estranged former bandmate Art Garfunkel: ‘As this is the last tour, I’m going to reclaim it like a lost child,’ he said.
He lacks Garfunkel’s vaulting vocal range, however, and his subdued new arrangement was a rare misstep.
The latter part of the show was celebratory. It began with excerpts from Graceland, the landmark 1986 album that combined African rhythms with Western pop.
Diamonds On The soles Of Her shoes segued into You Can Call Me Al, with Bakithi Kumalo
flawlessly recreating his famous bass solo on the latter. But it was the second of two lengthy encores that will live longest in the memory.
Homeward Bound, composed on the platform of Widnes railway station, was heart-warming, while some of the most haunting lines in The Boxer (‘I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains’) and The sound Of silence (‘Hello darkness, my old friend’), took on new meaning as the sun set on this show — and simon’s brilliant touring career on these shores.
He’s now back in America, where he will finish the Homeward Bound tour at Flushing Meadows in New York on september 22.
He’s also releasing a new studio album, In The Blue Light, which will revamp ten of his favourite solo songs.
Never one merely to slip slide away, he’s bringing the curtain down in style.
TWIN sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas became the first homegrown country act to top the UK album charts two years ago, when their second offering, Cartwheels, went to No 1.
The Hampshire siblings, aged 24, are now preparing for an October follow-up, Restless Minds, and they previewed six new songs at an intimate club show in London.
If Cartwheels added pop trimmings to their country roots, Restless Minds looks set to bring even greater depth and variety.
Taking the duo in more of a country- soul direction, It’s Not Just Me was one of several new numbers that addressed the difference between ‘ the pictureperfect life’ and hard reality.
Lie Like Me explored similar themes, while No Filter was a powerful rocker in the tradition of female duo Heart.
But the pair’s peerless harmonies, showcased on This Too Will Pass and a cover of the Years & Years single shine, remain central to their appeal, with dark-haired Catherine’s soft vocals complemented by Lizzy’s piercing pop tones.
No longer gauche newcomers, they are looking ahead with elegant assurance.
PAUL SIMON’S new album, In The Blue Light, is out on September 7. Ward Thomas start a UK tour at the Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness, on August 2 (wardthomasmusic.com).