There Goes Rhymin' Simon Explained

There Goes Rhymin' Simon
Type:studio
Artist:Paul Simon
Cover:There Goes Rhymin%27 Simon.jpg
Border:yes
Recorded:September 1972 – January 1973
Studio:Columbia Studios, New York City, A&R Recording, New York City,
Malaco Recording Studios, Jackson, Mississippi,
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama
Morgan Studios, London
Genre:Pop rock
Length:35:19
Label:Columbia, Warner Bros.
Producer:Paul Simon, Phil Ramone, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Paul Samwell-Smith, Roy Halee
Prev Title:Paul Simon
Prev Year:1972
Next Year:1974

There Goes Rhymin' Simon is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon released in May 1973. It contains songs spanning 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, which were for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year.

As foreshadowed by the lead single "Kodachrome" (which reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts, behind Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles"), There Goes Rhymin' Simon was a bigger hit than its predecessor, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart (behind George Harrison's Living in the Material World), and No. 1 on Cashbox for one week from June 30, 1973.[1] In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at No. 4. Subsequent singles were also the No. 2 single "Loves Me Like a Rock" (kept out of the top spot by Cher's "Half-Breed", but reaching No. 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 10.

The song "Kodachrome" is named after the Kodak photographic film of the same name. Kodak required the album to note that Kodachrome is a trademark. The song was not released as a single in Britain, where it could not be played on BBC radio due to its trademarked name.

Reception

Critics praised the album. The Denver Posts Jared Johnson called it "a brilliantly executed masterpiece, and surely the finest album in three years," citing such 1970 releases as Bridge Over Troubled Water and After the Gold Rush.[2] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said, "Combining a variety of musical textures (from a touch of gospel to an infectious trace of Jamaican rhythm to a hint of the old Simon and Garfunkel grandeur), Simon's new album firmly establishes him as one of our most valuable and accessible artists."[3] Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone praised the album as "a rich and moving song cycle, one in which each cut reflects on every other to create an ever-widening series of refractions."[4]

However, Stereo Reviews Noel Coppage, while giving the album an "excellent" rating, nonetheless felt that it was "deficient in spontaneity, excitement, strain", calling its arrangements "clean and sensible" but "oddly predictable".[5]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 267 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[6]

In 2000 it was voted number 421 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[7]

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Simon.

Personnel

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1973)Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[8] 7
Canadian Albums Chart[9] 3
Finnish Albums Chart[10] 17
French SNEP Albums Chart[11] 5
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[12] 10
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[13] 6
Spanish Albums Chart[14] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[15] 1
UK Albums Chart[16] 4
United States Billboard Pop Albums[17] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)Position
French Albums Chart[18] 38
US Billboard Top Pop Albums[19] 42
Chart (1974)Position
Australian Albums Chart77

Notes and References

  1. http://msdb.hp.infoseek.co.jp/cb&bb/album%20no1/1973.htm
  2. DENVER POST, "Roundup" section, May 27, 1973, p. 17.
  3. DENVER POST, "Roundup" section, July 29, 1973, p. 20.
  4. There Goes Rhymin' Simon . . New York . June 21, 1973 . May 15, 2010 . Holden . Stephen . Stephen Holden.
  5. STEREO REVIEW, October 1973, Vol.31, #4, p. 112.
  6. There Goes Rhymin' Simon – 267. Rolling Stone. https://web.archive.org/web/20110902125124/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/there-goes-rhymin-simon-paul-simon-19691231. 30 October 2021. September 2, 2011.
  7. Book: All Time Top 1000 Albums. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin. Virgin Books. 2000. 3rd. 0-7535-0493-6. 156.
  8. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book. St Ives, NSW. 1993. 0-646-11917-6.
  9. Web site: Archived copy . 2015-11-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151118033647/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4861&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=lo0152od4caliufjkgh3mkphk6 . November 18, 2015 . mdy-all .
  10. Book: Pennanen, Timo . 2006 . Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . 1st . Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava . Helsinki. 978-951-1-21053-5 . 263 . fi .
  11. Web site: InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Paul Simon. infodisc.fr. 2012-02-24. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130506001015/http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_S.php. May 6, 2013. mdy-all. Note: user must select 'Paul SIMON' from drop-down
  12. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9.
  13. Web site: norwegiancharts.com Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin' Simon. 2011-08-19.
  14. Book: Billboard – July 14 – 1973. July 14, 1973. 2012-02-12.
  15. Book: Billboard – July 7 – 1973. July 7, 1973. 2012-02-12.
  16. Web site: The Official Charts Company – Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin' Simon . Official Charts Company. 2011-08-19.
  17. Paul Simon Chart History: Billboard 200. Billboard. March 10, 2022.
  18. Web site: Les Albums (CD) de 1973 par InfoDisc. fr. PHP. infodisc.fr. 2012-02-11. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121027132903/http://www.infodisc.fr/B-CD_1973.php. October 27, 2012. mdy-all.
  19. Web site: Top Pop Albums of 1973. billboard.biz. 2012-02-11.

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