Columbia and Legacy Recordings have set a June 7 release date for the first round of releases in the Paul Simon catalog project with definitive editions of four of the artist's essential solo albums -- Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Paul Simon In Concert: Live Rhymin' and Still Crazy After All These Years.News of the Paul Simon catalog releases arrives as Simon, the quintessential American singer-songwriter-performer, tours the United States in May and Europe this summer with an eight-piece band in support of his recently-released critically-acclaimed new album, So Beautiful Or So What on Hear Music.
The new Columbia/Legacy editions of four classic Paul Simon catalog titles marks the first set of releases since last year's historic licensing agreement between the artist and Sony Music Entertainment brought Simon's entire catalog of recordings together under the one roof for the first time since the 1970s.
Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Paul Simon In Concert: Live Rhymin' and Still Crazy After All These Years have returned to the Columbia imprint for the first time since their original vinyl releases.
While all the titles feature the remastered sound, bonus tracks and expanded packaging from their first CD incarnations, Paul Simon In Concert: Live Rhymin', a Columbia Records release in 1974, has been newly remastered for this Columbia/Legacy edition. Recorded during Simon's groundbreaking tours with Urubamba and the Jessy Dixon Singers in 1973-74, Live Rhymin' includes two previously unavailable live tracks -- "Kodachrome" and "Something So Right" -- which have never appeared on the vinyl or CD editions of the album.
Originally released on Columbia Records in 1972, Paul Simon, the artist's first solo studio album without Art Garfunkel, peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 while generating the signature hits "Mother and Child Reunion" (#4 Hot 100) and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" (#22) and other classic tracks. CD bonus cuts include demos of "Duncan" and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and an unreleased "Paranoia Blues."
There Goes Rhymin' Simon, a 1973 Columbia Records release, showcased a pair of timeless summer car radio anthems -- "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock" -- and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. The CD features non-album bonus tracks including work-in-progress "Let Me Live in Your City," acoustic demos of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" and "Loves Me Like a Rock," topped off by an unfinished demo of "American Tune."
1975's Grammy-winning Album of the Year, Still Crazy After All These Years rocketed to #1 with a hit-packed tracklist that included "My Little Town" (a one-track "reunion" with Art Garfunkel) and the #1 smash "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." Bonus cuts on the CD include demos of "Slip Slidin' Away" and "Gone At Last" (with The Jessy Dixon Singers).
During his distinguished career Paul Simon has been the recipient of many honors and awards A recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Simon has won 12 Grammys including three Albums of the Year: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970), "Still Crazy After All These Years" (1976) and "Graceland" (1986). 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. Simon has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist.
