Description

Graceland is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was produced by Simon, engineered by Roy Halee and released on August 25, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records.

Following a successful but fraught reunion with his musical partner Art Garfunkel, Simon's marriage had fallen apart and his previous record, Hearts and Bones (1983), was a commercial failure. In 1984, after a period of depression, Simon became fascinated by a bootleg cassette of South African township music. He and Halee visited Johannesburg, where they spent two weeks recording with South African musicians.

Recorded in 1985 and 1986, Graceland features an eclectic mixture of genres, including pop, rock, a cappella, zydeco, isicathamiya, and mbaqanga. Simon created new compositions inspired by the recordings made in Johannesburg, collaborating with African and American artists. He received criticism for seemingly breaking the cultural boycott imposed against South Africa because of its policy of apartheid. Following its completion, Simon toured alongside South African musicians, combining their music and the music of Graceland.

Graceland became Simon's most successful studio album and his highest-charting album in over a decade; it is estimated to have sold up to 16 million copies worldwide. It was lauded by critics, won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and is frequently cited as one of the best albums of all time. In 2007, it was added to the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important".

Release info

Label: Legacy 88691914721
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 2012
Genre: Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Afrobeat, Folk

Tracklist

A1 The Boy In The Bubble
A2 Graceland
A3 I Know What I Know
A4 Gumboots
A5 Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
B1 You Can Call Me Al
B2 Under African Skies
B3 Homeless
B4 Crazy Love, Vol. II
B5 That Was Your Mother
B6 All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints

& Country

Paul Simon - Graceland

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