Track Listing

1. Allergies
2. Hearts and Bones
3. When Numbers Get Serious
4. Think Too Much
5. Song About the Moon
6. Think Too Much
7. Train in the Distance
8. Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War
9. Cars Are Cars
10. Late Great Johnny Ace
11. Shelter of your Arms
12. Train in the Distance (Acoustic Demo)
13. Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War (Acoustic Demo)
14. The Late Great Johnny Ace (Acoustic Demo)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49423 in Music
• Released on: 2004-07-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

CD Description
Casual listeners view GRACELAND as a comeback/rejuvenation for Simon, not realising that throughout his recording career, he never stopped growing, with each album expanding on the artistic advances of the previous one. HEARTS AND BONES was the last link in the chain that led to the epiphany of GRACELAND, the adventurous bridge between that album and the poetic insights of ONE TRICK PONY. Simon hadn't yet given himself over to the impressionistic, non-linear lyrical style hewould eventually pursue, but here he invests his more traditional story-telling lyrics with a high degree of poetic imagery.
The arrangements are equally imaginative. The moving title tune, which details the breakup of Simon's marriage to actress Carrie Fisher, moves from a folky, acoustic feel to a sensuous, swaying rhythm and back, seamlessly. The witty "Allergies" calls on the services of an unlikely guest, AlDimeola, to provide guitar pyrotechnics that perfectly capture the song's claustrophobic panic. As always, there are several elegant, harmonically brilliant ballads, such as the evocative "Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After TheWar". Only Simon could attach such a beautiful tune to sucha pretentious title. HEARTS AND BONES is a vital, criminally underlooked part of the Paul Simon catalogue.

Customer Reviews

a great album sounding better than ever
I won't bang on about the great songwriting, superb arrangements and top-notch playing on this album (other than to say that Hearts and Bones must be one of THE great songs of popular music)- other reviews have eulogised this underrated album already. What I will say is that this remastering of the original is simply fantastic. The sound is pinsharp, the definition of the instruments perfect. I have been repeatedly spellbound by the sonic quality of this album, enhancing an already great work. I keep having to stop what I'm doing and sit on the floor where the stereo effect of my speakers converges and marvel at the beauty and clarity of the music.

I am a bit sad? No, I'm ecstatically happy with this record!

Masterpiece
Most people of my age have grown up with Paul Simon: since S&G came to an end in 1971, he's only released a handful of albums, but each one has been meticulously crafted: the writing, arrangements and playing have all benefited from his careful attention (he once commented, not entirely jokingly, "For me to record an album in less than eighteen months is lightning"). The lengthy interval between the appearance of each record means that each one is firmly associated with a different time in the lives of his listeners. For me, "Hearts And Bones" is the best.

Although it's underrated by most critics, there are treasures here to be uncovered: the imaginative arrangements (e.g. Al di Meola playing the scorching guitar solo on the first track), the intelligent writing (listen to "Cars Are Cars" to see how he switches back and forth between the flippant and the heartfelt), and the naked emotion in his singing and writing. This latter quality is evident throughout the record (created during the breakup of his second marriage), but my favourite moment is in the middle of "Think Too Much", when he sings "They say the left side of the brain / It dominates the right. / And the right side has to labour through / the long and speechless night". The overall effect of the image, the singing and the arrangement make this so sad and regretful that it's rare that I can listen to it without tearing up. A masterpiece, all-round.

Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance....
Paul Simon rarely turns in a dud because of the strength of his songwriting. Here is a key example. Some rather dated 1980s production cannot undermine the strength of the songs.
The title track is a beautiful, thoughtful track and "Train In The Distance" is a fine song, up there with some of his best. "Rene And Georgette Magritte..." is moving and remeniscent of New York doo-wop from the late 1950s. "The Late Great Johnny Ace" is chilling in some ways but also rather compelling.
A worthy example of the fact that very good albums but excellent artists do not always sell.