There Goes Rhymin' Simon
Studio album by Paul Simon
Released May 5, 1973
Recorded 1972-1973, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Malaco Recording Studios, Jackson, MS, Morgan Studios, London
Genre Pop, Rock
Length 35:19
Label Columbia, then Warner Bros.
Producer Paul Simon, Phil Ramone, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Paul Samwell-Smith, Roy Halee
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 5/5 stars link
* Robert Christgau (B+) link
* Rolling Stone (favorable) link
There Goes Rhymin' Simon is a studio album by American musician Paul Simon, released on May 5, 1973. It was his most rushed-released studio album. 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. It was ranked #267 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
As foreshadowed by the good-feel 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.[1] 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 echos the chorus from the 1955 song from The Cadillacs "Speedo", with "others call him Speedo but his real name is Mr. Earl", their lead singer, Earl "Speedo" Carroll.
Track listing
All songs were written by Paul Simon.
Side One
1. "Kodachrome" Ð 3:32
2. "Tenderness" Ð 2:53
3. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" Ð 3:27
4. "Something So Right" Ð 4:33
5. "One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor" Ð 3:44
Side Two
1. "American Tune" Ð 3:43
2. "Was a Sunny Day" Ð 3:41
3. "Learn How to Fall" Ð 2:44
4. "St. Judy's Comet" Ð 3:19
5. "Loves Me Like a Rock" Ð 3:31
Personnel
* Paul Simon - vocals, guitar
* The Dixie Hummingbirds - vocals
* Bob James - keyboards
* Quincy Jones - string arrangements
* Grady Tate - drums
* Pete Carr - guitar
* Bob Cranshaw - bass
* Airto Moreira - percussion
* Barry Beckett - piano, vibraphone
* Cornell Dupree - guitar
* Don Elliott - vibraphone
* Gordon Edwards - bass
* Alexander Gafa - guitar
* Paul Griffin - piano
* Roger Hawkins - drums, percussion
* David Hood - bass
* Rev. Claude Jeter - falsetto vocals
* Jimmy Johnson - electric guitar
* Rick Marotta - drums
* Del Newman - string arrangements
* Onward Brass Band - horns
* Jerry Puckett - guitar
* Vernie Robbins - bass
* Bobby Scott- piano
* David Spinozza - guitar
* Allen Toussaint - horn arrangements
* Terre Roche - vocals
* James Straud - drums
* Carson Witsett - organ
* Maggie Roche - vocals