Still Crazy After All These Years

Product Description:

Personnel: Paul Simon (vocals, guitar); Sivuca (vocals, accordion); Patti Austin, Art Garfunkel, Phoebe Snow (vocals); Hugh McCracken, Joe Beck, John Tropea, Pete Carr, Jerry Friedman (electric guitar); Toots Thielemans (harmonica); David Sanborn, Eddie Daniels, Mike Brecker, Phil Woods (saxophone); Leon Pendarvis, Richard Tee (piano); Bob James (electric piano); Barry Beckett, Ken Asher (keyboards); David Hood, Gordon Edwards, Tony Levin (bass guitar); Grady Tate, Roger Hawkins, Steve Gadd (drums); Ralph McDonald (percussion); Rev. Jessy Dixon & The Chicago Community Choir, Valerie Simpson (background vocals).

STILL CRAZY marked the end of one era for Simon and pointed toward the beginning of another. Simon was always the kind of artist whose growth could be easily measured from album to album, as he progressed from and expanded upon his previous work. The songs here are the furthest logical extensions of the songwriting style he developed in the early '70s. The musical and lyrical sophistication of said style is at its apex; it was the best Paul Simon album possible at that time.

From the brooding sexual disconsolation of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" to the the barely veiled psychosis of the title track, STILL CRAZY is full of expertly crafted songs of neurosis and disaffection. Also at its peak is the Randy Newmanesque irony Simon was fond of practicing in the '70s, as on "You're Kind" and "Have A Good Time." Listeners must have thought there was nowhere left for Simon to go after this seeming creative peak. Little did they know, they hadn't heard nothin' yet.