The Rhythm of the Saints


The Rhythm of the Saints is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released on October 16, 1990, by Warner Bros. In much the same way that Simon's previous album, Graceland, released in 1986, drew upon South African music, 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.

Background

Simon had traveled to Brazil on five different occasions between 1988 and 1989, taking particular interest in the sounds coming from various street musicians that he encountered. He was encouraged to visit Brazil after Eddie Palmieri told him that "the journey of the drum goes with the slave trade, from West Africa to Brazil, then up the Caribbean." During his time in the city of Salvador, Bahia, he encountered the music ensemble Grupo Cultural Olodum after hearing that they were rehearsing there. Simon was impressed with their playing and recorded the ensemble two days later for "The Obvious Child", which became the opening track to Rhythm of the Saints.
On Rhythm of the Saints, Simon decided to build many of the tracks around polyrhythmic percussion patterns. He said that the rhythms influenced some of the melodies and lyrics that later accompanied the compositions. Simon constructed chord changes around these rhythms and described the chord progressions on Rhythm of the Saints as "more adventurous" than the work on his previous album, Graceland.
Simon began to promote Rhythm of the Saints in August 1990 by inviting members of the press to the recording studio, where he sang material from his forthcoming album over the existing instrumentation, which had yet to be finalized at this stage. The album release date was originally set for September of that year, although less than three days before the album was planned for distribution to retail stores, Simon pushed the release date back over his belief that the mixes and track sequencing were not satisfactory. Simon also used this time to redo some of the vocals and said that "if you gave me the record for another week, I could take it up a pretty good notch." On November 15, Simon announced on the Saturday Night Live sound stage that he would be embarking on the 41-date Born At The Right Time Tour with a 17-piece touring band beginning on January 4, 1991, in Tacoma, Washington.

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 of the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 92, although it reached No. 15 in the UK. Within one month of its release, Rhythm of the Saints had sold over 1.3 million copies.
Certain radio stations declined to give the album substantial airplay, with a DJ from KLOS commenting that "we played it once, but we abandoned it when we got to that drum thing". Casey Keating from KPLZ-FM opted not to play the album, expressing their belief that strong album sales and concert attendance did not guarantee airplay on the radio. On the difficulties of achieving airplay with Rhythm of the Saints, Simon recounted the reasons he heard from radio programmers on their reluctance to play the album. "They say, more apologetically now – we can't program it. They say it's 'too exotic' for AOR, it's 'too hard' for AC, it 'doesn't sound like the format' of CHR." He also reckoned that he heard Simon & Garfunkel music on the radio more consistently than his material from Rhythm of the Saints.

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, New York City 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.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Paul Simon, except "The Coast" and "Spirit Voices".
  1. "The Obvious Child" – 4:10
  2. "Can't Run But" – 3:36
  3. "The Coast" – 5:04
  4. "Proof" – 4:39
  5. "Further to Fly" – 5:36
  6. "She Moves On" – 5:03
  7. "Born at the Right Time" – 3:48
  8. "The Cool, Cool River" – 4:33
  9. "Spirit Voices" – 3:56
  10. "The Rhythm of the Saints" – 4:12
Bonus tracks
  2. "Born at the Right Time" – 3:50
  3. "Thelma" – 4:14
  4. "The Coast" – 5:13
  5. "Spirit Voices" – 3:49
Notes:
  • "Thelma" previously appeared on Paul Simon 1964/1993.
  • 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.

Personnel

  • Paul Simon – vocals, guitars, horn arrangements, guitar arrangements, backing vocals
;with
Keyboards
Guitars and bass
Drums and percussion
Reed and brass instruments
Vocals
  • Briz – backing vocals
  • Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Karen Bernod, Kia Jeffries, Myrna Lynn Gomila – backing vocals
  • Charlotte Mbango, Djana'd, Elolongue Mbango Catherine, Florence Gnimagnon – backing vocals
  • Milton Nascimento – vocals
  • Uncredited – backing vocals

Production

  • Paul Simon – producer
  • Marco Mazzola – basic rhythm track production
  • Phil Ramone – original Olodum recording supervisor, Transamerica sessions supervisor
  • Roy Halee – engineer
  • Rich Travali – assistant engineer
  • Luiz "Mequinho" Felipe – assistant engineer
  • Vanderley Loureiro – assistant engineer
  • Geraldo Tazares – assistant engineer
  • Bruce Keen – assistant engineer
  • Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound
  • 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 – back cover photography
  • Sylvia Plachy – photograph of Paul Simon

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Canadian Albums Chart22
U.S. Billboard 20022