IN A NEW LIGHT舊韻新聲
Paul Simon reworks old tracks for a bittersweet swansong. By TIM PRITCHARD Paul Simon將多首舊作重新修改後收進新專輯，向歌迷依依告別。撰文： Tim Pritchard
FEW MUSICIANS ARE as cherished or enduring as Paul Simon. With Art Garfunkel, he tasted chart and critical success in the 1960s folk scene. But the deterioration of their relationship led to a split in 1970.
Then 29, Simon went on to forge a solo career spanning five decades, 14 albums and across continents in search of stories and new sounds. His 1986 album Graceland was a landmark crossover album (and remains a personal favourite) for blending wistful pop sensibilities with African highlife rhythms and vocals by South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
So the announcement that his latest album In the Blue Light could be his last came as a blow. At 77, Simon is understandably looking for a change. And it shows in the tracklist: 10 lesser-loved songs from his solo albums reworked with an all-star crew to freshen them up, ‘like a new coat of paint on the walls of an old family home,’ as he said himself.
Opener One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor, from 1973’s There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, slows down into a blues shuffle with jazzy piano, warbling guitars and a sassy horn section. Guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Steve Gadd help to add a nostalgic tenderness to ballad Love (almost half the songs, including this one, come from 2000’s underappreciated You’re the One); and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis adds a jaunty, Dixieland rhythm to Pigs, Sheep and Wolves. On Can’t Run But, Simon sets aside the breezy Caribbean chimes of the 1990 original for a staccato, symphonic whirlwind of violins and flutes, courtesy of chamber ensemble yMusic.
His farewell tour wrapped in New York in September, fittingly just a few blocks away from his childhood home in Queens. His parting gift, In the Blue Light, offers something new for even long-time listeners to mull over during his wellearned break from the limelight.
沒有多少個音樂人能像Paul Simon那樣在樂壇屹立多年，並且深受眾人愛戴。1960 年代，他與 Art Garfunkel 組成二人唱作組合，創作出多首備受好評又流行的熱門民謠。可惜後來兩人關係走下坡，最終於1970 年分道揚鑣。
Simon當年29歲，獨立發展後，建立了長達 50年的音樂事業，推出過14張專輯，並且周遊列國，尋找啟迪靈感的故事與音樂。他於1986 年推出的《Graceland》是一張極具代表性的跨類型專輯，將流行曲中的傷感與南非 Ladysmith Black Mambazo 合唱團優美的節奏與和聲糅合，創出令人耳目一新的歌曲，而他本人亦一直非常喜愛這張專輯。
因此當他宣佈2018年推出的新專輯《In the Blue Light》是他的告別作時，樂迷無不大感意外。Simon向來努力追求新意，即使年屆77歲，這種作風並未改變。新專輯亦反映了這一點：歌曲均來自個人大碟中較為冷門的作品，他將這些歌曲重新改編，再邀來多位星級音樂人助陣，實行舊曲新唱，正如他自己說：「就像為家中老舊的牆壁髹上一層新的油漆。」
新專輯第一首歌〈One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor〉來自1973年推出的專輯《There Goes Rhymin’Simon》，現在變成節奏舒緩的藍調，爵士樂風格的鋼琴、結他顫音與調皮的喇叭此起彼落，別有一番風味。至於情歌〈Love〉（以及專輯中近半數的歌曲）則來自2000 年推出後備受冷待的《You’re the One》，現在由結他手 Bill Frisell 及鼓手 Steve Gadd為歌曲添上一抹親切而懷舊的感覺；而爵士樂小號手 Wynton Marsalis 則為〈Pigs, Sheep and Wolves〉一曲添上輕快的 Dixieland 爵士樂
節奏。Simon 親自將1990 年的〈Can’t Run But〉內原有輕快的加勒比海音樂中常有的鐘聲捨棄，改由yMusic室樂團以小提琴及長笛演奏出跳脫而迴旋交錯的伴奏。
Paul Simon的告別巡迴演唱會最後一站於9月在紐約舉行，地點距離他童年時住過的皇后區只有幾個街口，可說相當有意思。《In the Blue Light》是他送給樂迷的告別禮物，在舊曲中注入新意，正好讓忠實樂迷在他告別樂壇後，仔細回味。