PAUL SIMON – THERE GOES RHYMIN' SIMON LP – Nr MINT/EXC+ A2/B1 UK

Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin’ Simon
(CBS Records  1973  S69035)
Matrix No’s: A2/B1 – UK Pressing

Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– some wear around edges

Vinyl in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from the odd light pop/crackle)
 

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. Simon’s fame, influence, and commercial success began as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, formed in 1964 with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair’s songs, including three that reached No. 1 on the U.S. singles charts: “The Sound of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity, and Simon began a successful solo career as a guitarist and singer-songwriter, recording three highly acclaimed albums over the next five years. In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music. Simon also wrote and starred in the film One-Trick Pony (1980) and co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998) with the poet Derek Walcott.

Simon has earned 12 Grammys for his solo and collaborative work, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2006 was selected as one of the “100 People Who Shaped the World” by Time magazine. Among many other honors, Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007. In 1986 Simon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees.

There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon rush-released on May 5, 1973. It contains songs covering several styles and genres, such as gospel (“Loves Me Like a Rock”) and Dixieland (“Take Me to the Mardi Gras”). It received two nominations at the Grammy Awards of 1974, including Best Male Pop Vocal performance and Album of the Year.

As foreshadowed by the feel-good lead single “Kodachrome” (which reached #2 on the Billboard charts, blocked by Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles”), There Goes Rhymin’ Simon proved to be a bigger hit than its predecessor, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 chart (kept off the top spot by George Harrison’s Living in the Material World), and #1 on Cashbox Magazine for one week on June 30, 1973. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at #4. Subsequent singles were also the #2 single “Loves Me Like a Rock” (knocked-off by Cher’s “Half-Breed”, but reaching #1 on Cashbox on September 29, 1973), and the Top 40 hit “American Tune”. Also “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” was released in the UK reaching the Top 20.

The song “Kodachrome” is named after the Kodak film of the same name. Kodak required the album to note that Kodachrome is a trademark of Kodak. The song was not released as a single in Britain, where it could not be played on BBC radio due to its trademarked name. The song “Was a Sunny Day” has an interesting reference to early rock and roll in the line “She called him Speedo but his Christian name was Mr. Earl” which echoes the chorus from the 1955 song “Speedo” by The Cadillacs: “They often call me Speedo but my real name is Mr. Earl,” referring to lead singer, Earl “Speedo” Carroll.

Track listing

All songs were written by Paul Simon. The melody of American Tune was almost note-for-note written by Johann Sebastian Bach (St Matthew Passion), who was not credited on the album. In turn, Bach had imitated the melody of Mein G’mueth ist mir verwirret by Hans Leo Hassler.

Side one

1. “Kodachrome” – 3:32
2. “Tenderness” – 2:53
3. “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” – 3:27
4. “Something So Right” – 4:33
5. “One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor” – 3:44

Side two

6. “American Tune” – 3:43
7. “Was a Sunny Day” – 3:41
8. “Learn How to Fall” – 2:44
9. “St. Judy’s Comet” – 3:19
10. “Loves Me Like a Rock” – 3:31

Personnel

• Paul Simon – vocals; guitar on “Kodachrome”, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”, “Something So Right”, “American Tune”, “Was a Sunny Day”, “Learn How to Fall”, “St Judy’s Comet”, “Loves Me Like a Rock”
• Pete Carr – guitar on “Kodachrome”, “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor”; electric guitar on “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”, “St Judy’s Comet”
• Jimmy Johnson – electric guitar on “Kodachrome”, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”
• Cornell Dupree – guitar on “Tenderness”
• Alexander Gafa, David Spinozza – guitars on “Something So Right”,
• Jerry Puckett – guitar on “Learn How to Fall”
• David Hood – bass guitar on “Kodachrome”, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”, “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor”, “St Judy’s Comet”, “Loves Me Like a Rock”
• Gordon Edwards – bass guitar on “Tenderness”
• Bob Cranshaw – bass guitar on “Something So Right”, “American Tune”, “Was a Sunny Day”
• Vernie Robbins – bass guitar on “Learn How to Fall”
• Richard Davis – double bass on “Something So Right”
• Barry Beckett – keyboard on “Kodachrome”, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”, “St Judy’s Comet”; piano on “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor”; vibraphone on “St Judy’s Comet”
• Paul Griffin – piano on “Tenderness”
• Bobby James – keyboard on “Something So Right”, “American Tune”
• Bobby Scott – piano on “Something So Right”
• Carson Witsett – organ on “Learn How to Fall”
• Don Elliott – vibraphone on “Something So Right”
• Roger Hawkins – drums on “Kodachrome”, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”, “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor”, “Loves Me Like a Rock”; percussion on “St Judy’s Comet”, tambourine on “Loves Me Like a Rock”
• Rick Marotta – drums on “Tenderness”
• Grady Tate – drums on “Something So Right”, “American Tune”
• James Stroud – drums on “Learn How to Fall”
• Airto Moreira – percussion on “Was a Sunny Day”
• The Onward Brass Band – horns on “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”
• The Dixie Hummingbirds – group vocals on “Tenderness”, “Loves Me Like a Rock”
• Rev. Claude Jeter – falsetto vocals on “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”
• Maggie and Terre Roche – backing vocals on “Was a Sunny Day”
• Allen Toussaint – horn arrangements on “Tenderness”
• Quincy Jones – string arrangements on “Something So Right”
• Del Newman – string arrangements on “American Tune”
• Uncredited – flute on “Something So Right”