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Everything you’ve always wanted to know. Every facet of Paul Simon’s musical career is on view and here for the listening too.
For 3h 29m, Oscar-winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), a veteran documentarian and miniseries director, plays out Simon’s greatest hits, adventurous musical excursions and the recording of his latest studio album, Seven Psalms (2023).
As the octogenarian singer/songwriter deals with hearing loss and struggles to find ways to make new music, he recollects his life as he sits in his modest cabin-like home in Wimberley, Texas. Far from his old neighborhood in Queens, New York, where he grew up down the street from his childhood friend and music partner Art Garfunkel. Far from Central Park, the site of their massive 1981 concert. Far from the stages of Saturday Night Live, which he hosted in 1975, ’76, ’86, and ’87.
Music lovers of a certain age can chart their lives by Simon’s journey. Starting in the ‘60s when he was the creative mind and writer of the duo Simon & Garfunkel. Through his solo career that included embracing world music and introducing it to the pop charts. Over the years as he changed as a musician, his influences grew, and his songwriting never stopped. Not even at age 82. He’s still the proud Hungarian-Jewish singer who kept his name, unlike Robert Allen Zimmerman who became Bob Dylan.
What’s on view isn’t all lollipops and roses. Particularly his sweet/sour relationship with Garfunkel. Jealously came from both sides and hearing them talk about each other provides drama and depth. Reliving how he went to South African during Apartheid also adds dimensions. Simon brought artists like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the world’s attention. Touring with those protesters, while they were in exile because of their political stance, made a statement.
The first part of this two-episode series ends with the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel. It’s like two lovers finding 50 ways to leave each other. Simon shared the blame: “It takes two people to be a group. Two to be jerks.” Art might have been envious that Paul was the writer and in control. But Paul’s resentment went back years too. When he was young, his mom capsulized the reasons why he might be the victim of the green-eyed monster: “You have a good voice, Paul. But Art has a fine voice.”
The second part centers on a solo career where Simon flirted with Peruvian sounds, Jamaican Ska music, Brazilian influences… The breath of his experiences and his ability to blend cultures into his sounds, without exploiting them, is so apparent as you observe his lively performances in places like Zimbabwe and even in NYC at his own solo Central Park concert.
This is a very thoughtfully assembled doc (editor Andy Grieve). Very impressive. From concert footage to intimate scenes when Simon is caressed by his fellow-musician and wife Edie Brickell. These tender moments, juxtaposed by the mammoth concert events, TV appearances and talk show interviews, is a touching and indelible experience. Also, anyone fascinated by all the layers of creativity it takes to make music, will be captivated by the recording sessions. All this adds texture. Nuances. Coloring. Tones. Highs and lows.
Simon doesn’t have the brightest, most interesting or funniest personality. Instead, he wears his scholarly intelligence like an old bard. Someone who philosophizes as he tinkers with new tunes and melodies. Sit and learn. Sit and see history. Witness the milestones that highlight his life. Hard to capture what he did in three hours and change. Perhaps a better format would have been a 10-part series. Certainly, there’s enough golden music in his and S&G’s catalogue to warrant it: “Sounds of Silence,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Graceland,” “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” “You Can Call Me Al…”
Paul Simon’s music forms a timeline that goes back 60 years. The baby boomer generation can trace their lives by his vibrant songs. Some of the best pop music ever written, by a brilliant and innovative musician. The right audience will treasure this doc like an old vinyl album.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdbIltM69Xg
Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.