''The Rhythm of the Saints'' is the eighth solo
studio album by American singer-songwriter
Paul Simon, released on October 16, 1990 on
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
In much the same way that Simon's 1986 album ''
Graceland
Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...
'' drew upon
South African music
South Africa is well known for its distinct musical styles which have played a huge role towards the country's society. The music of South Africa is very diverse with a wide variety of genres such as Marabi, Kwaito, house music, Isicathamiya, ...
, this album was inspired by
Brazilian musical traditions. Like its predecessor, the album was commercially successful and received mostly favorable reviews from critics.
In 1992, ''The Rhythm of the Saints'' earned two nominations for
the 34th Grammy Awards –
Album of the Year and
Producer of the Year
The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non- classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...
.
Reception
''The Rhythm of the Saints'' peaked at No. 4 on the US album chart, while ''Graceland'' had peaked at No. 3, ranking them both among Simon's most commercially successful albums. The album was also successful across the Atlantic, reaching No. 1 on the UK album chart. However, with the exception of "The Obvious Child", none of its three singles—including "Proof" and "Born at the Right Time"—charted or received substantial radio play. "The Obvious Child" also failed to reach the US top 40, although it reached No. 15 in the UK, becoming Simon's last major hit there. The album was certified
Multi-Platinum.
Central Park concert
Alongside various musicians, Simon performed live versions of many of the songs from the album at a free concert in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on August 15, 1991, in front of an audience of around 500,000 people. The performance was recorded and later released as the album ''
Paul Simon's Concert in the Park
''Paul Simon's Concert in the Park'' is a live album and concert film recorded by Paul Simon as part of his 1991-2 "Born at the Right Time" Tour, with an extensive live backing band comprising top studio and touring musicians as well as a guest ap ...
''.
Track listing
All tracks composed by
Paul Simon, except where noted.
;Side one
#"
The Obvious Child
"The Obvious Child" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his eighth studio album, ''The Rhythm of the Saints'' (1990), released by Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon, its lyrics explore mort ...
" – 4:10
#"Can't Run But" – 3:36
#"The Coast" (Simon, Vincent Nguini) – 5:04
#"
Proof" – 4:39
#"Further to Fly" – 5:36
;Side two
#
"She Moves On" – 5:03
#"Born at the Right Time" – 3:48
#"The Cool, Cool River" – 4:33
#"Spirit Voices" (Simon, Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
He has toured across the world.
Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...
) – 3:56
#"The Rhythm of the Saints" – 4:12
Alternate track listing
According to Robert J. Reina of ''Stereophile'' magazine, Simon's original track sequence was changed when "the boys in Warners' front office insisted the album's lead single, 'The Obvious Child' be given pride of place." To hear Simon's preferred track order, the current release would have to be re-sequenced as 3-6-4-7-8-1-2-9-5-10. At least two sleeves reflecting this track listing are known to exist.
;Side one
#"The Coast"
#"She Moves On"
#"Proof"
#"Born at the Right Time"
#"The Cool, Cool River"
;Side two
#"The Obvious Child"
#"Can't Run But"
#"Spirit Voices"
#"Further to Fly"
#"The Rhythm of the Saints"
2004 reissue
In 2004, the album was remastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot. It was reissued with the same track order as the original release, along with four bonus tracks:
#"Born at the Right Time" (Acoustic demo) – 3:50
#"Thelma" (Outtake) – 4:14 (Previously released on the '' Paul Simon 1964/1993'' box set)
#"The Coast" (Work-in-progress version) – 5:13
#"Spirit Voices" (Work-in-progress version) – 3:49
Personnel
* Paul Simon – vocals, guitars (1, 3, 7, 8, 9), horn arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5–10), guitar arrangements (1, 5–8), backing vocals (4)
* Greg Phillinganes
Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...
– synthesizers (3, 4, 5, 8)
* Justin Tchounou – synthesizers (4)
* Jimmy McDonald – accordion (4)
* C. J. Chenier – accordion (7)
* Joao Severo Da Silva – accordion (10)
* J. J. Cale
John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...
– guitars (2, 7)
* Vincent Nguini – guitars (3, 5–10, 12), guitar arrangements (3, 5, 6, 8, 9), horn arrangements (4), bass (5, 8), claves
Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony o ...
(9)
* Martin Atangana – electric guitar (4), guitar arrangements (4)
* Georges Seba – electric guitar (4), guitar arrangements (4)
* Rigo Star – guitars (5) iner notes erroneously credit him as "Ringo Star"* Raphael Rabello
Rafael Baptista Rabello (October 31, 1962 – April 27, 1995) was a virtuoso Brazilian guitarist and composer. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was considered one of the best acoustic guitar players in the world and played with many famous artists, ...
– classical guitar (5)
* Ray Phiri
Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (23 March 1947 – 12 July 2017) was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Thabethe Phiri, a Malawian immigrant worker, and South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. He wa ...
– guitars (6), guitar arrangements (6)
* Adrian Belew
Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...
– guitar synthesizer
A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities.
Overview
Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnersh ...
(9), guitars (12)
* Tommy Bilson-Ogoe – guitars (10)
* Kofi Electrik – guitars (10), guitar arrangements (10)
* Armando Macedo – baiana (10)
* Jerry Douglas
Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer.
Career
In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he h ...
– dobro (12)
* Bakithi Khumalo – bass (3, 4, 7, 9)
* André Manga – bass (4)
* Armand Sabal-Lecco
Armand Sabal-Lecco is a Cameroonian bass guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist best known for playing bass-guitar on Paul Simon's The Rhythm of the Saint's tour in 1989. Sabal-Lecco has worked with Paul Simon, the Brecker Brothers, Herbi ...
– bass (6, 7, 9, 10, 12)
* Grupo Cultural Olodum – drums (1)
* Steve Gadd
Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...
– drums (2, 4, 12)
* Felix Sabal-Lecco – drums (7)
* Naná Vasconcelos
Juvenal de Holanda Vasconcelos, known as Naná Vasconcelos (2 August 1944 – 9 March 2016), was a Brazilian percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, notable for his work as a solo artist on over two dozen albums, and as a backing musician wi ...
– percussion (2, 10, 12), gourd (3, 5, 8, 9), voice (3), berimbau
The berimbau () is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, originally from Africa, that is now commonly used in Brazil.
The berimbau would eventually be incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art ''capoeir ...
(8), congas (9), triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
(9)
* Uakti – percussion (2, 10), percussion effects (8)
* Remi Kabaka
Remi Kabaka (born 27 March 1945) is an Afro-rock avant-garde drummer. He worked with John Martyn, Hugh Masekela, on '' Rhythm of the Saints'' by Paul Simon, and '' Short Cut Draw Blood'' by Jim Capaldi. He was also an important figure in the 1970 ...
– talking drum
The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...
(2)
* Mingo Araujo – castanets
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...
(2), talking drum (2, 4), triangle (2, 8), shaker (3), African bells (3), bass drum (4, 9), cymbals (4), percussion (5), congas (6, 7, 8, 12), agogo bells (7), surdo
The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, such as Axé/Samba-reggae and samba, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section. It is also notable for its association with the cucumbi genre of the Ancient Near ...
(12)
* Mazzola – chicote
The sjambok () or litupa is a heavy leather whip. It is traditionally made from an adult hippopotamus or rhinoceros hide, but is also commonly made out of plastic.
A strip of the animal's hide is cut and carved into a strip long, tapering from ...
(2)
* Paulo Sérgio Santos – chicote (2)
* Dom Chacal – bongos
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
(4, 6, 12), congas (5, 7), batá drum
The Batá drum is a double-headed drum shaped like an hourglass with one end larger than the other. The percussion instrument is still used for its original purpose as it is one of the most important drums in the yourba land and used for trad ...
(5, 12), gourd (9)
* Madeleine Yayodele Nelson – chakeire (4, 7)
* Sidinho Moreira – water bowl (4), bongos (5), congas (5, 6, 7, 9), bass drum (7), bottles (7), tambourine (9), surdo (12)
* Wilson das Neves – percussion (5), cowbell
A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...
(6)
* Beloba – additional percussion effects (5)
* Wilson Canegal – additional percussion effects (5)
* Jorginho do Pandeiro – additional percussion effects (5)
* Marçalzinho – additional percussion effects (5)
* Roberto Bastros "Luna" Pinheiro – additional percussion effects (5)
* Pedro Sorongo – additional percussion effects (5), scraper (6)
* Antenor Marques "Gordinho" Filho – surdo (6)
* Isaac Okyerema Asante – cajón
A cajón (; "box", "crate" or "drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, o ...
(8)
* Anthony Carrillo – bongos (9)
* Francisco Aguabella
Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader.
Biography In Cuba
Aguabella wa ...
– congas (9)
* Giovanni Hidalgo
Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist.
Early years
Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...
– congas (9)
* Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 ...
– harmonica (1)
* Michael Brecker
Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...
– Akai EWI controller (1, 3, 5, 8, 12), saxophone (6)
* Charles Doherty – alto saxophone (3, 8), tenor saxophone (8)
* Jude Bethel – tenor saxophone (3)
* Alain Hatot – saxophones (4)
* Clifton Anderson – trombone (3, 8)
* Jacques Bolognesi – trombone (4)
* Dave Bargeron – euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
(5)
* Errol Ince – trumpet (3, 8)
* Clyde Mitchell – trumpet (3, 8)
* Phillipe Slominski – trumpet (4)
* Randy Brecker
Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B.
Early life
Brecker was born on No ...
– trumpet (5), piccolo trumpet (6)
* Marco Antōnio Guimarães – basic track arrangements (2)
* Briz – backing vocals (1)
* Karen Bernod
Karen Bernod (born May 13, 1964, Brooklyn, New York) is an American-born R&B vocalist, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her unique vocal harmonies as a background singer for Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, C&C Music Factory and D'Angelo ...
– backing vocals (3)
* Myrna Lynn Gomila – backing vocals (3)
* Kia Jeffries – backing vocals (3)
* Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of '' isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album '' Graceland'', and have won ...
– backing vocals (3)
* Elolongue Mbango Catherine – backing vocals (6, 7)
* Charlotte Mbango – backing vocals (6, 7)
* Djana'd – backing vocals (6, 7)
* Florence Gnimagnon – backing vocals (6, 7)
* Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
He has toured across the world.
Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...
– vocals (9)
Production
* Paul Simon – producer
* Marco Mazzola – basic rhythm track production (2–10)
* Phil Ramone
Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business pa ...
– original Olodum recording supervisor (1), Transamerica sessions supervisor (2, 3, 5, 8, 10)
* Roy Halee
Roy Decker Halee (born 1934) is an American record producer and engineer, best known for working with Simon & Garfunkel, both as a group and for their solo projects.
Early life
He grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy ...
– engineer
* Rich Travali – assistant engineer
* Luiz "Mequinho" Felipe – assistant engineer (1)
* Vanderley Loureiro – assistant engineer (2–10)
* Geraldo Tazares – assistant engineer (2–10)
* Bruce Keen – assistant engineer (4, 7)
* Greg Calbi
Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey.
Biography
Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...
– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
* Danny Harrison – album coordinator
* Marc Silag – album coordinator
* Dolores Lusitana – associate coordinator
* Yolanda Cuomo – art direction, design
* Miguel Rio Branco – front cover photography
* Bruno Barbey
Bruno Barbey (13 February 1941 – 9 November 2020) was a Moroccan-born French photographer. Throughout his four-decade career he traveled across five continents, photographing many wars.
Life and work
Barbey was born in Morocco. His father was ...
– back cover photography
* Sylvia Plachy
Sylvia Plachy (born 24 May 1943) is a Hungarian-American photographer. Plachy's work has been featured in many New York city magazines and newspapers and she "was an influential staff photographer for ''The Village Voice''."
Biography
Plachy w ...
– photograph of Paul Simon
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhythm Of The Saints, The
Paul Simon albums
1990 albums
Warner Records albums
Albums produced by Paul Simon