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(Credits: Far Out / Album Cover)
Not many artists could claim to write songs that are half as good as what Paul Simon was able to do in his prime.
Even to this day, a lot of what Simon has released on his latest records were about him trying to top the standards that he set for himself back when he was writing Graceland or Still Crazy After All These Years. It was always about forward progression for him, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be humbled by an artist that was miles above what he could on a technical level.
And that’s saying something given Simon’s fingerpicking techniques. Not many people are listening to old Simon and Garfunkel albums expecting Satriani or Van Halen licks, but there are a few moments in ‘Scarborough Fair/Canticle’ or ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’ that are more than a little bit tricky for someone that’s relatively new to the instrument.
But the only way that techniques like that would work would be if they are in service to a great song, and Simon knew that going into a lot of greatest tunes. No one needed to know the intense techniques that went into ‘The Sound of Silence’ or needed to hear any strange chord changes, because when you listen to the lyrics, that’s usually half the battle when working on the best tunes.
Then again, it probably helps to surround yourself with artists that know more about music than you do as well. Simon was no stranger to working with technicians if he felt they suited the song, and whether that was calling in people like Tony Levin to play bass or travelling to South Africa to work with musicians on Graceland, it was always done in the service of making interesting music than trying to get brownie points with the music nerds.
Simon may have set an example for a lot of songwriters, but when he listened to what Sting could do, it was enough for him to want to hide under a table, saying, “He’s a trained musician. He likes all kinds of music. He used to play Bach pieces when I’d come over; he’d say, ‘Listen to what I’m working on, this Bach piece,’ which would make me hang my head in shame and go back to my apartment.”
If Simon was someone who knew what he was talking about in the music industry, Sting could practically write a book on how to make a hit song. A lot of his best moments were about trying to get the exact right melody for whatever tune he was working on, and if you see all of the twists and turns going on in ‘Fortress Around Your Heart’, it’s not like that was going to be a walk in the park given how many times he liked to change key.
And when listening to both of them touring together, they each have a certain reverence for the other’s work as well. Sting has sung the praises of ‘The Sound of Silence’ on numerous occasions, but there were also moments on their joint tours when each of them played around with the material, like Simon coming out and performing a version of ‘Fields of Gold’ with The Police frontman.
Even if Simon had those few insecure moments as a musician seeing Sting rearrange Bach pieces, that should never be too discouraging to a songwriter. If anything, it should give everyone fuel to start working on the best music that they can when they begin painting their own masterpieces.
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