51: GRACELAND | PAUL SIMON
Erika Crichton of Bellingham WA writes, This album would be on my top 100--possibly even my top 50! I have strong sense memories related to this record: drinking earl grey tea, the smell of a wood burning stove, playing a little-known board game called Pente over and over and over. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes is just an overall gorgeous song. And don't you agree that Paul Simon was pretty groundbreaking with not just incorporating traditional African music but HIGHLIGHTING it as the driving force of this recording? And then the fact that Chevy Chase starred in the You Can Call Me Al video! I vote you move this one up.
Response: She said, don't I know you from the Cinematographers party..The vocal blending with the General M.D. Shirinda & The Gaza Sisters on I know What I Know is still so completely original. Seamlessly integrating sounds of zydeco creole, Afrobeat, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the times modern electronics rhythms and keys made this an 80s iceberg of a record that has deserved it's many accolades. I always loved Paul's and Linda Ronstadt's vocal hamonies on Under African Skies. Boy In The Bubble is one of the best opening tracks of the 80s. Does this album sound dated at times, yes. Does it still hold up, hell yes! So, Erika, I concur I shall slide it up as soon as I find it's parking space.
Update: Done. Graceland was moved from #163 to #76. Thanks Erika!
Wiki: 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.
In the early 1980s, Simon's relationship with his former musical partner Art Garfunkel had deteriorated, his marriage to actress Carrie Fisher had collapsed, and his previous record, Hearts and Bones (1983), had been 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 breaking the cultural boycott imposed against South Africa because of its policy of apartheid. Following its completion, Simon toured alongside South African musicians, performing their music and songs from 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 2006, it was added to the United States' National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important". Full article