Paul Simon is one of the most successful and respected songwriters to emerge in the second half of the 20th century. Simon's songs, which rose to fame in the mid-60s, were mature, literary, and had a quality that captivated the listener to its melody, and reflected the anxieties and uncertainties of a generation.
The Sound of Silence is among the soundtracks of the iconic film "The Graduate", which brought Dustin Hoffman his first Oscar nomination in 1967, and Paul Simon composed the duo's hit song "Mrs.Robinson" for this film.
Paul Simon is a music legend who discusses the meaning of life and the universal concerns it brings with an optimistic approach and pop songs. "Seven Psalms", which he released at the age of 81, is the album with the loneliest mood among the works he has produced so far.
When they started out with Art Garfunkel in 1964, the common opinion of some critics was that they would remain in the shadow of The Beatles. However, they composed such songs as "I am a Rock", "Scarborough Fair", "Homeward Bound", "America", and "The Sound of Silence" that their names were written in golden letters in the history of music.
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known both for his solo work and his collaboration with Art Garfunkel. He and his school friend Garfunkel, whom he met in 1956, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer", served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is among the bestselling of all time.
Especially (I don't know about Anne Bancroft, but) they became living legends when they composed the music for the movie The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, which engraved Dustin Hoffman in our memories; They created a masterpiece with the concert they gave in Central Park (on the list of the best concert albums in music history).
They were two neighborhood friends born three weeks apart in New York in 1941. In their very first days, the duo made itself known with the lyrics written by Simon.
The duo broke up after the Grammy award in 1971 after eight years of togetherness, but they got together again. In the second half of the eighties, both of them focused on solo works. Simon's albums were better than Garfunkel's because he was the one who took the brunt of the compositions when they were together. After the breakup, Simon never stood still, continuing to give concerts and record albums. A composition like “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and albums like “Still Crazy After All These Years” and “Graceland” could only be the work of a master like him. He was a city poet raised by New York culture.
Simon discusses the meaning of life and the universal concerns it brings with an optimistic approach accompanied by pop songs. "Seven Psalms", which he released at the age of 81, is the album with the loneliest mood among the works he has produced so far. The situation is no different not only spiritually but also physically; Most of the album is driven by Simon's whispering voice and acoustic guitar. In one of the verses he says, "I lived a life of pleasant pain."
Simon made this album just as he was giving his last concert and preparing for retirement. He wasn't so sure he even knew what a psalm was. He quickly studied the psalms of Prophet David (*) and composed them as if they were songs. Within this conceptual framework, he modernized the language of the psalms and translated them into notes. The guest on the album is singer-songwriter Eddie Brickell, to whom she has been married for more than 30 years, and mostly reads gospel.
“Seven Psalms” is the late work of the master songwriter. His role in the album is that of a wise and old poet who challenges the mortal world. This is a farewell or a personal and social accounting like the last albums of Leonard Cohen and David Bowie, but the conclusion is that Simon's search does not and will not end with this album.
(*) The Book of Psalms, popularly known as Psalms, is the Jewish holy book. The book is also called the Psalms of David, dedicated to Prophet David, who is believed to be his "bringer from the sky."