Reviews (page 7 of 8)
I think a lot of Simon’s worst tendencies come out on this album, both production wise and lyrically, so I found this a little irritating.
I was just bored.
Kind of a yawner for me.
I think I hate Paul Simon.
This album was largely overlooked when it came out in 1983. but has garnered some critical respect in subsequent years. Other than an interesting take on the death of John Lennon, I am not sure I see the turn.
Another long solo album from an artist that's better known as part of a more well rounded group effort. The songs were good, the album was long, and the whole thing just kinda flopped. It all felt like the same pop-fueled thing.
I think 'Allergies' is a terrible song. Honestly, I believe only 'Hearts and Bones', 'Train in the Distance', and 'The Late Great Johnny Ace' are songs that should've made it on any album. It's Paul Simon in a (boring) transition phase. "Cars Are Cars" should've gotten lost somewhere if only to avoid the jarring transition with "The Late Great Johnny Ace."
(G) Si algo he aprendido de Paul Simon es que los coches son los coches
Incredibly boring songs about trains and cars. Paul Simon is capable of better than this.
Puh. Nichts für einen Steigerungslauf. Etwas seicht.
inerte
Never got to grips with his solo stuff. Nothing on here to make me want to listen again (snooze).
Cars are cars, all over the world. This is an album of a man who seems unhappy with his relationships, and also lacking inspiration for what to write about outside of that. Doesn't quite get going, definitely could have cut the songs about cars and allergies. Not great. Paul Simon has some great songs but none of them are on this album, arguably not even notable enough for this list.
Paul Simon es una figura capital de la música , tanto en solitario como con Art Garfunkel. Esta no es su mejor obra, de ningún modo, ni el mejor disco de 1983. Sin embargo no es una obra que carezca de valor. Publicado entre el The Concert in Central Park de Simon & Garfunkel en 1981 y el mayestático Graceland, este disco debería haber sido la nueva y última obra de Simon & Garfunkel, así estaba pensado y trabajado (con total implicación de Art), si bien Paul Simon decidió publicarlo como disco en solitario (debido a lo íntimo de su contenido, relacionado con su matrimonio con Carrie Fisher). Art dijo basta, sus voces fueron eliminadas y nunca más se supo del duo. El disco supuso un tremendo fiasco a nivel de ventas, aunque en retrospectiva ha ganado mucho con el paso del tiempo. Comienza con Allergies, que tiene el sello de Simon & Garfunkel e incluye una guitarra que podría firmar perfectamente Carlos Santana (en realidad es el genial Al di Meola). Hearts and bones, es una delicada balada. When Numbers Get Serious, sube el ritmo pero no emociona. Podría ser la más floja del álbum, a pesar de la contribución de Steve Ferrone de los Heartbreakers) y una letra surrealista. Think Too Much (b) presenta una marimba (y el balido de una oveja), que tampoco eleva el tono general del disco. La cara A concluye con Song About the Moon, con el mismo pulso del resto de la obra. Abre la segunda cara del disco con Think Too Much (a), mucho mejor que la (b) y con Nile Rodgers aportando su buena mano con la guitarra. Train in the Distance con Jeff Porcaro a las baquetas es de la mejor de todas, con unos coros magistrales (la voz de Simon multiplicada). Supone el puente hacia lo que será Graceland... René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War, con un extraño video en el que aparecen Paul y Carrie (sus efectos especiales obviamente han quedado muy desfasados), mantiene el tono bucólico del disco. Es el mejor tema del lote, y un clásico de Paul Simon. Cars Are Cars, de ritmo alegre y una buena sección de viento que mira hacia Graceland, pero está lejos del nivel de lo que compondrá en apenas unos años. Termina el disco con The Late Great Johnny Ace de nada menos que Philip Glass, sobre Lennon, Johnny Ace y JFK. El final es maravilloso. Hubo discos mucho mejores que este: Excelentes debuts de REM, Aztec Camera, Madonna, The The y The Waterboys. Y excelentes obras de THE CHAMELEONS - Script of the bridge, Eurythmics- Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & DOUBLE TROUBLE - Texas flood, Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones, U2 - War , Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues, New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - Porcupine, David Bowie - Let's Dance, Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual, Metallica - Kill 'Em All, e incluso Mike Oldfield- Crises, UB40- Labour of Love, Huey Lewis and The News- Sports, ZZ Top- Eliminator o The Police - Synchronicity...
Typical Paul Simon.
I guess this album is most notable for the being the one that finally broke up Simon and Garfunkel. Apparently, it started as their next album (following their first break up and long hiatus) before Paul Simon decided it would be better as a solo album. Art Garfunkel got offended and quit and Paul Simon removed him from the recordings. Given the significance of that group, I suppose it's a fairly important moment in music history. But I confess that I find the actual album to be a bit boring. It strikes me as a moment in time the long gap between 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and 'Graceland'. Slightly interesting background, but it's hardly Paul Simon's best work.
2 stars
Pretty weak. 2.5
Gotta be one of the worst album openers of all time. Are the lyrics on this album for real? Allergies, 2x2=22, cars are cars? This is one of the best songwriters lol. 2.0.
Not a bad album, added a few to my playlist, but can’t see myself going back to most of the other songs any time soon or ever honestly. Good sound though.
2.3/5 listened 1x. not great
Annoying singing, mid songs 2
Not Paul Simon's best. So sleepy that I struggled to get through it. I'm a Simon fan, but sometimes the deepcuts just aren't that good I guess. Sure, it's not horrible, but it's certainly not remarkable.
The first few tracks were dull but I gave it a chance. It improved slightly throughout but still not that enjoyable. There was nothing that stood out really. Only the lyrics, and not in a good way. Cars are cars?
Generally I like Paul Simon but some of this is just silly; allergies! And did you know cars are cars all over the world?
Kind of an exhausting Paul Simon album. So many words just to say nothing important or relevant or thoughtful. Also he’s a wife beater
It’s almost as if I asked GenAI to generate a boring Paul Simon album
Sounds more like a weird Al album
é um folk agradável que parece uma trilha sonora de filme da disney.... Não é ruim, mas tbm não tem muita graça.
An ok album, easy listening
Just some of the goofiest lyrics I've ever heard but also some interesting music. The acoustic songs Shelter In Your Arms and Train In The Distance are closer to what I expected out of Paul Simon, not songs of cars and allergies. Two stars for two cool funky and different music.
Fan of Paul Simon, but this is not one of his better albums
bit shit tbh especially compared to graceland. some of the lyrics in this were dreadful
Hearts and Bones is the sixth studio album by Paul Simon, originally released in 1983. I'd consider myself a fan of Paul Simon's solo work. He's not really someone I actively seek out to listen to, but when one of his songs comes on I usually vibe with it. That being said, I have never heard of this album before, and there's probably a reason why. Not only was it the album before his monster hit of "Graceland", but it is also not his best work. This thing is littered with 80s slick production. Just listen to those drums. Gross. There are also weird sound effects littered throughout some songs? I think I heard sheep noises at some point. And what the hell is that "Cars Are Cars" track? This is rivaling Neil Young's mid 80s output. Just strange. There are some OK moments on here, like the second track, "Hearts and Bones". Unfortunately that doesn't redeem the entire album. Largely forgettable.
This album has one or two good songs, but the rest of the tracks are too mellow, and a bit boring.
Yeah, this is sub Randy Newman nonsense, or signposting the objectionable culture theft of Graceland. Someone should really have been harsher when he presented these songs - Cars are Cars all over the world?
Not as good as graceland
p509. 1983. 2 stars. Pales in comparison to his best work. Average at best, and there is a LOT of filler. Bonus point for "Johnny Ace".
Started listening to the album and switched to Rhythms of the Saints after three songs. I just like it better
Not great. Like he was under contract with the label to produce another one and started writing nonsense songs just to get out of it. Musically decent, if fairly boring. Not for me, although not actually offensive to my ears.
Cantautor. Leeeento. Un 2.
whiney and boring. Hard to flaw musically. Two or three.
There's definitely something unique and timeless about Paul Simon's music, and I respect him a lot. The vocally-driven melodies are just not what I would pick, so gonna stick with my default two stars.
Not great. Why in the world would this be on a list of albums to hear before you die? 2/5
This softly plods along and ultimately goes nowhere. This is typical of Paul Simon. As much as I love Simon and Garfunkel, his solo work is pretty weak.
Another example of a middle of the road album on this list when Paul Simon has so many albums that are phenomenal end to end. Maybe those will be on this list too? Hopefully? It was interesting to learn this was intended to be a Simon and Garfunkel reunion album and Garfunkel even recorded but then pulled out of the project so Paul wiped all Art’s vocals. But still, no tracks jump out on this one.
Simple Fav songs: Heart and bones +_+
I liked Sam's idea of adding the context of when you listened, so here is that. Environment: In the car on the way back from a shoot in Marin. Mood: Slightly better than neutral. My dad was a big Paul Simon fan, including his less known stuff so I grew up around this sound but didn't know this album. I love his voice and storytelling in his lyrics, but I just didn't really like most of the songs. There was some very cool guitar stuff happening, and I was intrigued by the production. Allergies was cool. Care are Cars was much less cool. My end verdict is a swing and a miss by ol' Paul, but a very interesting swing. Album cover: B-
just wasn't feel it
Nja, det här var nog lite trist.
What happened to Paul Simon? I enjoyed the other album of his - the self titled one. This album just sounds like he lost all passion for his music. "Cars are cars all over the world" - that's the best he could come up with? What is that?
I'd say this record is painfully bland, but sadly I cannot do that because Cars Are Cars exists. "Cars are cars all over the world". Indeed.
This sounds like it was forced for the label. It wasn’t terrible but he obviously has better.
Boring
There are two great songs on this album, "Hearts and Bones" and "Train in the Distance." The rest are forgettable or borderline obnoxious ("Cars Are Cars").
Like his voice but album was sort of weird.
I generally like Paul Simon but this was not his best. Was like listening to a bad book of poems with silly metaphors put to music. Could rename the album Paul Simon “Songs about Things”.
A rather lackluster album, "Hearts and Bones" was intended to be a Simon & Garfunkel album which was converted into a Simon solo album. Perhaps folky pop rock, this album leaves much to be desired.
It's as though someone bet him he couldn't make a truly bad album and he made an effort to prove them wrong (a hypothetical that's consistent with his quirky sense of humor) by turning to yacht rock and pop synths. The man is responsible for at least two and legit 5-star albums (Bridge Over Troubled Water and Graceland) and four more that are in the running (Bookends, Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme, There Goes Rhymin' Simon', and Still Crazy After All These Years). This ain't one of 'em. Some albums are lost gems, some get lost for a reason...
Aural celery. The moment it ended, I forgot everything about it and hungered for real food.
Tranquilito
I don't have much to write because it wasn't bad and I also didn't really enjoy it. It was just music. It wasn't much more than that. First track was good and Think Too Much (a) is pretty good too. 2.5/5
This is Sunday morning listening. Not controversial in the slightest. Not bad, not moving. Lemmy: do you want to rock?! Crowd: ehh Paul Simon: I got this
This album is so forgettable. It's not bad. It's not good. I didn't hate it. I didn't like it. Feels like the musical equivalent of overprescribed Prozac, just emotionless and flat.
Boring album with literally no memorable songs. The best I can say is that his voice sounds pretty good, and the instruments don't sound bad either.
2/5. Paul sings so well, it's hard to notice when the songs are boring but this one manages to help me out. Some are sweet for sure but just not great songwriting in others straight up. "Cars are cars"? Yeah, I mean like let's be serious. Someone must have heard this and thought something right? Maybe saying No to Simon was not possible. It's hard to say 1 just cause some songs are okay but it's a low 2 at best.
It was nice enough
Beetje saai. Je hoort dat het ouderwetse muziek is
sommige nummers klonken echt als liftmuziek Cars are cars is een raar nummer Nee deze vond ik nie zo
the first track is lowkey hitting… i didnt trust this at first but im kinda rocking with it ngl 😭😭 but im not really into folk rock i think it has to be certain songs 🤔 i dont think im gonna finish it (maybe) but i might come back to it sometime.. i just dont think it will stick. the second song on it is pretty good (title track) i actually dont know how to feel about it like i wanna skip thru it but i dont bc i wont listen to it again think too much a is good 😩 ok done with the album … its okay to me personally. i give it 4.5/10
Wow, I expected way more...
Interesting listen since I only knew Simon's 1972 solo debut and 1986's *Graceland*. A couple of moments in this LP foretell the "global sounds" of the latter, but *Hearts And Bones* is still very much a transitional effort. Worse, its "lively" cuts are plagued by the usual shameful eighties production shenanigans (gated drums, weird synths, disgraceful overproduced arrangements...) Fortunately, the intimate ballads mostly enhanced by Simon's delicate playing on his acoustic guitar (ballads such as the title track, "Train In The Distance" or "René And Georgette Magritte...") aged far better. No surprise here. That being said, the overall construction of this LP is utterly strange and pretty unconvincing, even with these good cuts in mind. The second half of the first side is a huge letdown, for instance, with its emphasis on the two-part song "Think Too Much": by the time you reach the synth-heavy "a)" section of this composition (inexplicably placed *after* "b)" AND another short track between the two), you feel like Simon is hammering some sort of obfuscated point home without ever justifying why said point should be so important for the listener. And the repetition of the mantra giving its title to the two songs even becomes grating. Don't think too much? Yeah, I've heard you the first times, Paul. Apply your own advice and don't overthink it, please! Don't get me wrong, I understand the "thematic" concerns about the opposition between heart and mind Simon feels so concerned about... Yet musically speaking, the whole thing is sort of a cheesy borefest, to be honest. I've just read that Art Garfunkel was supposed to sing with Simon on those tunes, initially, thus marking an umpteenth attempt to reunite the cantakerous old couple again. Seems like the two men's deep-seated resentment (and even hatred) for each other ruined everything before Simon ever had a chance to set his original plans into motion. Yet one can't help feeling that maybe Garfunkel was right not to associate his singing skills to this project. Compared to the two boys' heyday in the sixties, this thing would have probably sounded ridiculous if it had been released as a "Simon and Garfunkel" record. An interestion curio closes this LP, "The Late Great Johhny Ace". This song is interesting for lyrical reasons, because Simon here weaves a tapestry starting with Kennedy's assassination and ending with the one of John Lennon, turning the songwriter into a chronicler of the demise of the sixties' utopias (just like Bob Dylan recently was when he released his own "Murder Most Foul" epic). And it's interesting for musical reasons since Philip Glass composed the orchestral piece ending this song (and album), with his unmistakable flourishes--sweeping, repetitve and hypnotic for sure. Yet that's it. This record is never thrilling, only "interesting". And its flaws are too obvious today to make it an essential one anyway. As of now, it seems to me that only the 1972 solo album and *Graceland* can apply for that much-coveted position. So, next please... 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, which translates to a 7/10 grade for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: 294 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 311 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 169 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 229 (including this one)
ne mogu, cars are cars me dokrajcio jesus
Mehhh
This didn't do it for me. Too easy listening for my taste.
I loved his Graceland album so much it's basically one of my "desert island" picks. This is nowhere near as good.
maybe he does think too much (part b). A nice listen but not my favorite from him
I did enjoy this album but it’s just not my favorite of his.
Was ok.
Cantautor. Leeeento. Un 2.
If I want to fall asleep to an album, I might pick this one.
Some decent stuff but other things I just couldn't take.
Não me pegou muito, talvez deva dar outra chance algum dia
I was curious why this album was among those chosen from Paul Simon's catalog, seemed an odd choice. I ended up reading a couple of reviews that referred to this as his most underrated album. I don't hear it. First off, while some bands thrived, even depended on the '80s production aesthetic to define them, so many others — particularly legacy artists from decades before — didn't know what to make of the '80s sounds. That's certainly the case here. The production (those awful drums) does not help this album. But beyond that, the whole affair seems rather aimless. I don't know how many Paul Simon albums are on the list, but I don't get the inclusion of this one. I was thoroughly underwhelmed.
I'm a fan of Paul Simon but completely unfamiliar with this album. The album felt like an effort to churn out the Paul Simon product without heart and soul. Today I might say it was like using a LLM to generate a Paul Simon album. Maybe he needed to produce this so he could get to Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints. Cars are Cars got me downright mad!
I was hoping for so much more than what I got out of this one.
Allergies ist nett, aufgewertet durch die perlenden Läufe von Al Di Meola. Der bestimmt kein Album unter den 1001 hat. Der Rest ist eher gepflegte Langeweile.
Some okay songs but also some... really bad ones. Particularly "Allergies" and "Cars are Cars"
Not sure how this made the 1,001 albums list. Solid but not up with his best. Docked a star for a few throwaway songs.
Farts & Boners lol gotem
2/5 - good voice but I dont think this is a good album
Nice enough to listen to but it doesn't really wow you at any point, possibly outstays it's welcome a little too. High 2.
A Paul Simon album with no hits, where most songs are named after things he sees or his allergies... not great.
Damn boring… again
2/5. While the album isn’t terrible, I think Paul is trying to do too much. He continues his usual soft tone, but many of the songs have no depth nor make total sense. I did however like the song “The Late Great Johnny Ace.”
You can hear some of Simon's warm melodies in there, but they're mostly buried under a frankly outdated production and an overall linear presentation. He did much better than this.
This one really isn't necessary on this list.
“Hearts and Bones” was pretty catchy. I feel like I could hear some of these songs being played poolside at a beach resort. The intro to “Think Too Much” —— don’t get it confused with “Think Too Much (a)”——reminded me of the main song in the Little Mermaid. “Cars Are Cars”.. just because you can make song about anything, doesn’t mean you should. I think my favorite song was “The Late Great Johnny Ace” even though I have no idea who that is. It had a sad tone. Was an okay album 4/10.
Meh. These lyrics are so bad throughout the entire listen, music is fine and his voice is nice but there really isn't a single song I would want to put onto a Playlist. 3/10
Eh
Hearts and Bones is the sixth solo album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. This pop rock album somewhat focuses on Simon's breakup with actress Carrie Fisher. Originally, this album was going to be produced by both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, but dealing with the breakup Simon thought this should be a solo album. In the end, this conflict ensured there would never be another Simon & Garfunkel album (two breakups in one album). It performed well commercially and critically, but was not one of Simon's best solo albums. This was an interesting album of pop rock music with personal lyrics from Paul Simon. Definitely a breakup album as Simon had to work through some stuff. I didn't care much for the sappier songs, but overall the album is decent, although it's not my type of music and I prefer the duo Simon & Garfunkel over their solo work.
This album was a bit underwhelming. I don't think I ever gave Paul Simon a chance past some singles here and there. I was expecting more, but I'm not sure why. This type of singer/songwriter acoustic music doesn't really do it for me, but I could see how others enjoy it. It just injects images of dinner parties in the 80's, throwing on some nice music to eat dinner to.
Dimery loves Paul Simon. Six albums on the list, between Simon & Garfunkel and his solo albums. I can't work out why _this_ record is on the list. It has a critical reputation as being his most personal album, but I find the production anodyne, the lyrics less evocative than usual and the tunes more forgettable than much of his other work. Cars Are Cars is, frankly, embarrassing. No bangers on the record. There is an all-star cast of musicians and producers contributing, but it still doesn't have much musical flavour (with the exception of Philip Glass' contribution the final 60 seconds of the Late Great Johnny Ace). Critics seem to love this record, but I think the buying public knew a turkey when they heard it. While normally I don't equate sales figures with quality or influence, when a Paul Simon album peaks at only 35 on the charts, you have to think there is something amiss. The punters know what the critics don't understand. This isn't some sort of magnificent failure or a wild experiment gone wrong; it's an attempt at an accessible album that just fell flat.
A pretty meh album, but not as bad as I think it could've been. But Paul Simon's brand of music isn't really in my wheelhouse, but it is totally inoffensive, even if it sounds like it caused the break up of Simon & Garfunkel. Best: Hearts and Bones Wost: Cars are Cars Note: Spotify had the Reissued CD version of the album with bonus tracks. I listened to the original 10 tracks.
not horrible but not entirely great either. i enjoyed his work with simon and garfunkel more than his solo career.
When the list contains a Paul Simon record of which I've never heard, it gives pause to wonder - so I dived right in and from the first track got a sense of the vanishing act that was Hearts and Bones. The voice is compelling, and there's the usual glib Paul Simon effortlessness to the lyrics. But to me it doesn't click. I prefer the extended album's acoustic version of the title track, as it highlights the simple beauty of the chords and the lightness of the songwriting. It would be a highlight of many writers' catalog, but feels meandering and weak among Paul Simon songs. Many of the tracks seem like sketches, or just iffy ideas that no-one in the studio had the nerve to question (Allergies, Cars). Knowing it was a pivot from the aborted S+G reunion, it strikes me that the pressure to just release something overwhelmed the urge to release something great. Underwhelming and uncompelling - with at least 4 other more deserving Paul Simon albums on this list I fail to understand what Hearts and Bones is doing among them . . .
Why is the songwriting on this so stupid? Seriously, ‘Allergies’? ‘When Numbers Get Serious’? ‘Cars Are Cars’???????? The worst part is that not all of these lyrics are bad, which clearly means he could have done better on this album. Instead we have this. And the music? The music’s fine. But. Why would you not pick an album with good songwriting and the same caliber of music instead of this. Why would you choose this in general? The man is sitting comfortably with three albums with Garfunkel and two on his own already, so why do we have this? On its own merits, this is a 3, but since it’s Paul Simon we’re talking about, I’m giving it a 2.
snooze fest
There are some tracks that are fine, but for most of tracks it's like "cars are cars?!" What the fuck is this bullshit
Pretty inoffensive, but also pretty much not my type of music. It's a stepping stone to Graceland. What's lacking is the energy and optimism for what was to come from Simon. This has soul, but little rhythm.
Boring and easy forgettable.
I don't get this pick at all.. Bland and boring.
This record actually did nothing for me. No song really made an impression. Train in the Distance and Rene and Georgette… were the closest to being memorable, but we’ll see if I even think of them by the time I post this. Cars are Cars was a bit of fun.
I really wanted to like this album. For as much as I've listened to and like Paul Simon, this album was really a dud. Completely forgettable.
first time listening not my cup of tea
This was a tough listen for me, I found this record to be insanely boring. I've never been the biggest fan of Paul Simon, so having to hear an album from arguably the low point in his career, wasn't very fun. The album either meandered in its ambience and was a snore, or was horribly dated sounding as a result of the blown out drums and gross 80s production that aged like milk. Im gonna have to give this a 2/5, it had some redeemable qualities and the title tracks great, but fuck me I was so bored 😴
Nah
I want you to eat me, bones and all. Singer songwriter is a rough genre for me. I kind of couldn't stand this to be honest. The music itself sounds nice and it's very well produced but this dude never shuts the hell up about the most mundane shit possible. It has it's cool moments but please never again. Score: 30 Art: 40
Some people contend that there are no bad Paul Simon albums. That may be true in a strict sense, but this is a tedious Paul Simon album.
Not a singer-songwriter guy. The first few songs are nice but I didn't really like the rest. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to the whole album again. Highlights: Allergies, Hearts and Bones, When Numbers get Serious
I've never got Simon & Garfunkel, turns out I also don't get it when it's just Simon. How was everyone not bored listening to this back in the day? Surely no one's putting on this LP, lining the needle up just right, thinking "I can't wait until 'when numbers get serious' and 'cars are cars' comes on". Dull as dishwasher.
Not his best work
At first it was nice but I slowly started to feel like I was listening to the music from the full house theme song paired with annoyingly cute and overly poetic lyrics and I just didn’t like it 1.5/5
Lyrics tell interesting stories. Music is definitely "of the era". Not really for me.
Meh
Didn't pay much attention to this one mainly because it didn't stick out, but its not bad. Some of the songs, like Cars Are Cars were pretty questionable, though. Fave track(s): When Numbers Get Serious
Shitty albums are shitty albums all over the world. That's when you know numbers get serious. Some songs are ok on this album but I can't listen to the whole thing through again.
I hate Paul simon. The only reason why this isn’t a 1 is because this was the album that broke up Simon and Garfunkel so that’s always a plus
This album is a bunch of b-sides that someone decided was worth listening to. It's not. I mean, it's okay once, but nothing in here is worth a relisten.
There's definitely some Simon & Garfunkel vibes on this album compared to Paul Simon's more famous hits which is more in the pop genre. Hearts And Bones however is not something I would go back to. If I'm going to listen to Paul Simon it better be Simon & Garfunkel. Their solo careers aren't that captivating.
It was OK but nowhere near Simon's best
Not a terrible album, but most of it had little to no impact on me. Actually, "When Numbers Get Serious" and "Cars Are Cars" are pretty terrible. A little too wacky in places for me as well.
Not my jam. Simmen og Garfunky har aldri egentlig vært det. Utenom det ene albumet til Paul med capsen
Pleasant but disappointing. Didn't really go anywhere. I do like Paul Simon, but this fell flat.
There's a lot of Paul Simon on this list. I like Paul Simon. Happy to hail him as a genius, even. Maybe there's something wholly fresh about this album vs all the others that means I need to hear this one too. Or maybe, just maybe, some other artists could have made it onto the list instead?
Never been a huge Paul Simon fan. Always found his music a tad boring. This album landed the same way for me. I really like his voice, but overall not an album I’d be excited to listen to again.
ok
Something about this felt... off. Like, Paul just was not singing from his heart here. The songs were fine, the arrangement and production was nice if a little dated, but on most of the songs here he just felt dead inside. Like damn bro you okay?
A fairly lackluster work from Paul, it really feels like he phoned this work in.
Paul Simon is just not really for me, I know this
a few great tracks - the late great johnny ace is a standout - but lots of filler and it's not helped by the early-80s production
Paul Simon, the wonder child of folkpop. Always smart and gentle. However, on this album sometimes the water is too shallow.
2.5, nothing too special.
I don't really know what to do with this. It's not rock, it's not folk, it's not pop. I guess it's adult contemporary? It's like... The soft, Fisher-Price version of music. There are no sharp edges, no challenging moments, no interesting... Anything. Super boring.
lol. allergies. cars are cars. get outta here you silly boy!
I generally like Paul Simon's work, sometimes really love it, but this album, which I had not heard before, just didn't really grab me. Maybe I'll give it another listen some time, but this time around I simply found it a bit bland and dull.
Nile Rodgers hört man überall raus, bemerkenswert. Was man über den Rest der Platte nicht wirklich sagen kann. Viele Songs sind einfach nicht gut (Cars are Cars ist der größte Schwachsinn, den ich seit langem gehört habe). Gute zwei Sterne.
never liked Simon and Garfunkel and now ik Simon is the reason
Pretty chill easy listening record. Nothing really standouts to me however. I made it through and didn't have to stop. 2/5
There's so much good 80s music and yet this has so much of what was bad in the 80s, including some terrible songs about allergies and cars (being cars all over the world....
There are some songs that have decent melodies but it's hard to say if any of the songs would be much to write home about if they weren't souped up by the very talented musicians he has playing with him. He became quite accomplished at hiring session musicians who could make the melodies for him and not take songwriting credits. This strategy reached its peak on his next album, Graceland.
Meh. Shit Sliding Away
Cars are cars, thanks rhymin Simon
There are some fun songs here interspersed with some weird songwriting.
A bit confused at the inclusion of this album into the 1001 albums list, as overall this is a slight, blasé album that provides little besides some decent lyrics and pedestrian music clichés of the 1980's packaged into one convenient album. Most interesting ideas are cut short but some are left to flourish like on the excellent Late Great Johnny Ace and Train in the Distance. Overall it's hard to dislike this album, but I'd argue even harder to love, a skip if there ever was one
It's always bothered me how "on the nose" his lyricism is, like telling a story. "Marc went to the store, and bought this thing, and he didn't really want that thing" etc... Kind of like a country song. Musically it was "okay", but I just don't enjoy listening.
Aika höpöhöpölevy, ei jatkoon. Koukut puuttui
Incredibly boring except for like two songs (Allergies and Cars are Cars) which break up the monotonous snoozefest. I was in a complete zero distraction zone while listening to this and I still don't remember a single note from the entire album, except for that cool instrumental section at the end of Allergies. Somewhere between a 1 and a 2. Depends how I'm feeling tomorrow morning.
Not good. Boring an uninspired
Kolejny pan Simon na liscie, tym razem zaskoczyl o wiele bardziej popowym albumem niz ostatni Graceland, czy kolaby z Garfunkelem, Hearts and Bones z 83 jest szostym studyjnym albumem w jego dyskografii i poprzedza wspomnianego Gracelanda, sam album mial byc z poczatku kolejnym krazkiem duetu, ale podczas nagran artysci poszli w dwie rozne strony, pan Paul pokasowal wokale funkelowe i mamy solowy twor, 10 trakow na 40 minutach, plyta juz od samego poczatku atakuje brzmieniem synthowym klawiszy, ktore jednak nie jest naduzywane, bo jak na poprzednim Simonowym albumie lista featurow siega blisko 30 muzykow, wsrod ktorych znajda sie momenty warte uwagi jak solowka gitarowa z allergies pana Al Di Meola, czy smyczki na zamykajacym the late great johhny ace, ale pomiedzy tymi dwoma trakami plyta jest raczej mialka, no ale czego sie spodziewac po rokowania na modle popowa, za malo akustykowej gitarki, a za duzo funkowego popowego brzmienia, jak na trakach when numbers get serious czy think too much, nie potrafie sie takze wczuc w surrealistyczny styl liryczny w jakim Simon utrzymuje album, oczywiscie o zyciu milosnym jest wiekszosc tekstow z ktorych mozna sie dowiedziec sporo na temat zycia romantycznego pana Paula, dzieckach, malzenstwach, czy o niczym jak ksiezyce lub samochody i zeby w tym niczym cos przekazac co zostane ze sluchaczem po przesluchaniu plyty zostaje, w tym wypadku odbilem sie i co najbardziej mi zapadnie w pamiec, to historia jasia asowatego, ktory pretenduje do jednej z najlepszych smierci swiata muzyki, bo zeby bawic sie w przerwie pomiedzy setami rewolwerem celujac w ekipe zapewniajac, ze nie jest naladowany sprawdzic to na sobie zasluguje na jakies upamietnienie, wiec od dzisiaj lolowy ace bedzie mi sie kojarzyl z tym pijanym grajkiem i komiczna postacia, ktora tak zrobila mi dzien, bo nie dosc, ze najbardziej folkowy utwor plyty, to jeszcze taka historia jest na nim przemycona
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: When Numbers Get Serious, Think Too Much (b) Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: I don't even really like his bigger hits, so imagine how I feel about this Paul Simon deep cut. It all just sounds like worse 80s-ified versions of Harry Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin'
Βoring
I've seen Paul Simon mentioned in the same breath as Dylan. Do me a fucking flavour.
This sounds like Paul Simon was fighting the urge to not make a Schoolhouse Rock album. For all of his strengths as a songwriter, Paul's music suffers without Artie.
That was incredibly boring.
I found this bland
Nothing special
I like Paul Simon, but found this album quite boring.
repetitive and boring. Nothing gained by listening to this that you wouldn't be exposed to by only listening to Graceland by Paul Simon.
Not really my style, maybe a bit too 80s? I thought it was pretty boring and uninteresting. I only really enjoyed two songs.
Not bad, but never really gets off the ground. I love his voice, but these tracks all sounded the same.....flat.
mmmwha
Kan nooit helemaal achterhalen waarom ik een hekel heb aan Paul Simon. Is het zijn irritante zachte stem, zijn voortkabbelende kutmuziek, die soms irritante blikkerige bas of zijn multiculti mindset? Muisje op het kruisje!
Mwah, ik vond het vrij gezapig allemaal.
Beetje saai.
Smooth. Too smooth. The last song adds a bit more urgency. Most of it just blew past on a very light breeze.
dude can't solo act
Not Paul Simon's best. Some real shit on here in fact
What can you say, modern Paul Simon. Nothing for me specifically to get my teeth into. Smooth well executed bland.
I disliked most things about this album: the rhythm, the feel, the mix, but most of all the lyrics. I found them trite and forced; I didn't feel the same flow as with all the other Paul Simon albums I know.
Couple of nice songs on here but I'm not going to be rushing back to hear it again.
Weirdly sounds like Meat Puppets in parts but is too polished and never veers from the center of the road.
It was okay.
It was fine, nothing I’d go back to.
Dad music
Meh, not my style. Wasn't bad just didn't engage.
Very simon-and-garfunkel-esque, obviously. A little slow for my taste but decently enjoyable.
Meh but not terrible
Wasn't for me.
Really disappointed with this. Love Simon and Garfunkel and I've loved other stuff I've heard by Paul Simon but I thought this was rubbish. Some proper dodgy songs, bizarre lyrics and most of the album didn't have anything that stood out
Meh
pretty poor esp for him.
This was just ok. Not 1* but might give it 2**, I'm sure he must have had better albums than this
Not for me
I really didn't like this one. The 80s sound on top of Paul Simon's iconic vocals really just made me wish I was listening to Simon & Garfunkel
riktigt tråkig
How narrow the line between poignant & mawkish. With Art Garfunkel he combined to create something subtle & beautiful. This is neither. The acoustic version of Train in the Distance comes close eg to America, but nothing else does.
Meh
Sorry pauly
I have loved Paul Simon since before I could speak. But really, this is terrible. You should only listen to this if you need to remember that your heroes are also human and fallible.
This was bland beyond belief, the one exception being the Niles Rogers/Bernard Edwards collab, which at least had a great bass line
Dear god no…I think this is actually the worst album I have ever heard. Quite how anything manages to be more unpleasant than Iron Maiden, Tears For Fears, Michael Jackson, Petty, ZZ Top, Nine Inch Nails, The Police, Rush, Genesis, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Metallica is a mystery and I am always curious about a mystery… Tom.
I dont like paul Simon so im gonna give him a one
Very boring
Boring
René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War The Late Great Johnny Ace
Boring AF
Que fait cette bouse dans la liste ?
Awful, dreadful rubbish. I've had mixed experiences so far but this is the first album I strongly believe shouldn't be on this list. It's so terrible, it shouldn't have been made.
The poor man’s Peter Gabriel. Cliche at this point, but “Cars Are Cars” is possibly the worst written song made by a mainstream artist in the entire 20th century.
Wanker
Never heard of this album. Not a big Paul Simon fan anyway but this certainly should not be on this list.
Nope.
Absolute Snoozefest vol. 2. Zero bangers.
"Cars are cars.... ALL OVER THE WORLD!" Consummate brilliance from Mr. Simon; I don't know how I ever lived without this magnum opus in my life. /S
Horrible
1. allergiez - 1 2. heartz -1 3. zeriouz - 0 4. think - 1 5. Moon - 1 6. Much - 1 7. Train - 1 8. Rene - 1.5 9. Cars - 0 10. Late - 1 11. Shelter - 1.5
I hate this style of music. Sappy lyrics, music is almost tuneless. This is so weak and insipid it makes me sick, it was actual torture for me to hear. I never want to hear anything in which Paul Simon was involved again. Thank you to the reviewer who called this "the musical equivalent of hotel art", rarely have I heard anything more apposite.
Nothing cool about Paul Simon.
I pretty deeply did not enjoy this one, though there’s nothing innately wrong with it. It’s possible Paul Simon’s voice and lyrics just rub me the wrong way.
Totally added onto my depression. Thanks.
Fuck no
Mid
This soft rock album drifts through delicate guitar work, subtle synths, and refined percussion, with gentle, conversational vocals conveying vulnerability and thoughtfulness, being immaculately melancholic and restrained so that I just wanted to turn it off.
YOU MUST LISTEN TO THE SIXTH STUDIO ALBUM BY PAUL SIMON WITH NONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS SONGS ON THERE. IT IS ESSENTIAL!
WHERE IS ART? WHY HAVE YOU DEPRIVED ME OF MY DARLING GARFUNKEL???
lots of simple statements and sentences (cars ARE cars!) felt a bit like reading an essay or story from a middle schooler (after No Child Left Behind). not sure if there’s an overarching theme of this album, seems like he was just saying whatever, a lot of these songs could’ve been a brief conversation between friends. i think if i blind bought this album in 1983 i’d be a little pissed at wasting my money. with the way people talk about the music from the 80s, it’s refreshing to know that artists from that time could create shit from a butt like this. jarring realization that this is The Simon from Simon & Garfunkel, expected more from him on this but maybe the majority of good song writing came from Art. i feel a little annoyed with myself about how many opinions i have about this stinker, oh well. at worst, it was shit, at best it’s fine for even the most tolerable of people, i was glad when the album was over both times i listened to it, now i need to figure out how to remove this from my listening history so it doesn’t mess up my algorithm.
This album was BORING GET A FUCKING JOB PAUL
1/5 - From a lesser talent, this would be a 2, but Simon is too good to make such a lazy snooze of an album. “Cars are Cars” is one of the dumbest songs I’ve ever heard. “Hearts and Bones” was the only thing I needed to hear off this album. Disappointing.
This is one of those 1980s albums with so many musicians involved that it all sounds a bit homogenous, with annoying 80s production effects. Bland and uninspiring. Track 2 was a bit more conventional Simon territory, then it's back to 80s percussion. And so it goes.
Dropping the Garfunkel didn’t help this album!
Unfortunately this album, to me, at its best sounded like a mediocre soundtrack for a 90s Disney movie. (Phil Collins just rolled over in his grave.) At its worst, it was mind numbing and anemic. Nothing more than a very drab man’s diaristic thoughts that could’ve stayed relegated to the journal. The production? Unsurprising. The lyrics? Uninspired. His voice? Meek. The first song, Allergies, felt like it belonged in a Benadryl commercial. It seemed as though he had nothing he really wanted to say in any of these songs. In the track, Train in the Distance, near the end he sings, “What is the point of this story?” I wish he’d asked himself that before he set out to write. Seriously, Cars Are Cars? Need I say more? But I hear he did some great stuff with his band after this album. Sometimes, I suppose, you have to make terrible art to get at the good stuff.
What the fuck? This is the worst lyricism from Paul Simon. Allergies? WHAT THE FUCK? Cars are cars? Absolutely not. Trash. This man has given us some beautiful music but this is absolute shit.
Would've given 0.
So dull. Flacid music. Lyrical genius at work writing a songs about allergies and the mind-bending observation that ‘Cars are Cars’.
So far Paul Simon albums have been a nice surprise. Then this turned up. I read their was 'Overshadowed by Graceland'. There's a reason for that its not very good, a rare miss from a musical genius. No one can get it right every time. It was just plain dreary.
He sucks.
Not for me. 1/5
Can’t think of anywhere I would rather not be than a Paul Simon concert
I don't get why people are saying the lyricism is the biggest plus. Like I enjoy Paul's lyricism, and I enjoy surreal, but the surreal imagery Paul cooks up here just feels forced; half the time I wonder if he's truly talking about something or pulling words out of his ass.
I like some of the actual music on this. Not the lyrics; not the singing. Allergies, song about the moon, and cars and cars are embarrassingly awful. The best song was The Late Great Johnny Ace. The rest were forgettable.
Too boring for me, a bit hokey. Not my style
Oh boy. I think this is on the list to prove that even storied artists can crap out a clunker. The man had literally no ideas - he sings about his allergies, he sings about how cars are cars wherever you go, and he sings about how easy it is to write a song, just gaslighting us with his complete lack of effort. The music sounds ok but the song ideas and lyrics are so bad that they doom the whole project.
Literally the most boring shit ever
no fucking way this man thought opening up an album with “allergies” was a good idea. making that song wasn’t a good idea. my life is worse for knowing this exists
I don't know.. It did not fascinate me.
Thought it was a pretty bland album until paul thoughtfully declared "cars are cars" like damn Socrates, save some pussy for the rest of us. Jk this album sucked
Couldn't wait for it to be over, yet it felt like it never got going.
- Allergies feels like a spoken word performance given by a local high school theater improv troupe. - Hearts and Bones is hearts and boring - "Two times two is twenty-two, four times four is forty-four" in When Numbers Get Serious ??? - Train in the Distance please end my misery - CARS ARE CARS i'm fr gonna KMS what the hell This album is ass, can i give it less than a 1 star
Can't bear another Paul Simon album sorry
Farts and stones
I hate this album. I am actually angry that I listened to it. I like Paul Simon, and previously regarded him as a savant. But this is pure trash! This album actually sounds like it emerged as a joke, or a dare (“you can’t write, record, and produce an album in under 5 hours”), or as a threat from his accountant (“You’re broke! Put out an album, STAT!”). The first song is about his allergies. I shit you not. It sounds like it was written by a pre-teen. And there’s an intensely earnest instrumental section and a guitar solo that are completely at odds with the lyric. Then there’s the song about writing a song that sounds like it was made up on the spot. Several other songs are total dogshit. The title song is very good, and I’m told it’s about his failed marriage to Carrie Fisher. It’s endearing and thoughtful, but it cannot save this album. The only mitigation for this monstrosity is that it is the album before Graceland (which is brilliant) and, if you see it as warm up finger exercises for that album (the characters and storylines are similar), then maybe it’s ok that he put this utterly awful collection when he really should not have. Why it’s in the 1001 list is really beyond me though.
Pointless, uninspired, cheesy lyrics over dull and equally cheesy orchestration. This is another one of those filling out the numbers with a familiar name entries.
nah
Songs for sopping wet flannels
Not a fan
This was awful. 80s Paul Simon is the worst Paul Simon.
music for vampires. hated. (⌐■_■)
This is spiritually better than Graceland because it doesn’t feature Paul Simon trying really hard to be African. But it’s musically worse because it doesn’t feature all the cool African musicians. Basically an irrelevant point though, overall it’s another Paul Simon record and it sucks.
54 minutes of boredom
So many other albums they could have picked from 1983 instead of this dreary load of old cobblers. Clearest case of boomer bias so far.
#Daily1001Albums I must confess this is yet another artist I'm not very familiar with. I’ve given it a listen a couple of times today and it’s done absolutely nothing for me whatsoever. The only other album I’ve heard by him besides this is Graceland, and this really doesn’t have a patch on that. Not an important album as far as I’m concerned
4.5
Brutal
Second album de Paul Simon. J'avais trouvé le premier profondément ennuyeux. Le premier morceau (Allergies) est intéressant (chorus d'Al Di Meola), mais le soufflé retombe vite, et le niveau d'ennui remonte tout aussi vite. => toujours 1/5
Sounds really plain and I enjoyed it less and less as I went on
I got bored of it pretty quick
I loathe this man and his music. What a load of puerile, corny, self-important dreck. On top of his rampant sense of self importance, Paul Simon is an exceptionally petty human being, as evidenced by his erasure of Art Garfunkel’s work on this album, which started off as a Simon and Garfunkel reunion album and then “became” a Paul Simon solo-record. (…and just you case you think I’m some kind of weird Art Garfunkel defender/apologist…first of all, why would you even think that’s even a thing? No one on earth cares that much about Art Garfunkel’s musical career to passionately defend it. The dude might as well just change his first name to “And” (as in “And Garfunkel”). Second of all, fuck him too. He’s just as guilty in all this, for enabling and abetting Paul Simon. He’s just not my primary focus here today and, frankly, Paul Simon probably did him a favor when he erased his contributions from this record…One less albatross around Art’s neck, you know what I mean?) This is music to facilitate the propagation of Yuppies. Yuppies play it for their Yuppie kids, who, in turn, play it for their kids, thus creating another generation of Yuppies: A never ending cycle of Young, Upwardly-Mobile Professionals, hellbent on the celebration of abject mediocrity. Fuck Paul Simon.
6/14/24 this one didn’t really hold my attention. didn’t finish it. might have to revisit it
So many albums on this list are just kind of bland. It sounds like a generic folk, rock album for the time period it was conceived. Boring. Next.
Uninteresting, boring topics, seems like he grabbed a random bunch of songs and put them all on an album
Cars are cars? Thanks for that insight Paul. No, no really. Great stuff there.
I gave the first two songs a solid listen. I skipped around through the tracks. I picked random points of songs to listen to. I finally accepted, this is not my thing and I will not make it all the way through. a couple lyrical sweet spots, but that's about it. (maybe it would've been better if he hadn't erased Garfunkel's contributions? just sayin...)
Snooze
Just because it says Paul Simon doesn’t mean it’s any good
This was bad he is talented just the album content was lacking
Definitely not on part with his work in Simon & Garfunkel. This was not for me in the slightest. Almost shut it off by the ridiculousness of Cars are Cars. Yes Paul, cars ARE cars, now please stop singing! 1/5
Bounced hard off this, many songs sound like something you come up with in the shower.
I know 'Heart & Bones' is a big track but not for me and the rest of the album is a bit boring.
I got 2 songs in and was just.... I'm not gonna waste my time. I know what I'm in for.
Wow. This is possibly the most vanilla album on the list. Paul Simon is a talented and successful artist, but this - this is just bleh.
Boring
Felt everything was boring and uninteresting. The vocals were fairly soulless pop and the instrumentals were also nothing special
1.5 probably. Dull.
So bad it hurt my soul
Not good.
Fuck everything about this album. Jesus titty fucking Christ
Not for me. Some of it has aged very badly
Boring and in places comically bad
Could Paul Simon be the most over-rated artist of all-time? Why not send us a collection of John Denver Ballads? I'm baffled how this LP, which was a commercial and critical failure, could be picked over many exceptional and influential LPs that did not make the 1001 list. I was willing to suffer through the whole thing, but my co-judge told me to take this "middle-of-the-road garbage" off after three songs.
Absolutely shite.
Wtf is this? Lyrics are awful, musically meandering...ugh
Again, some album that no one has ever heard. Are they picking the most obscure albums from some of the biggest names just to make sure you listen to them? To be fair, early 80s Paul Simon sucks anyway. Muzak with falsetto vocals.
Feels like a children's school album. Would much prefer listening to Simon and Garfunkel. This has all my least favorite of the 80s elements in the album.
pffffffffffffffffffffffffffbgbghhf
Not good
Think his older work is much better
One thing this process has taught me us that Ireally dont like Paul Simon hes mumbly wistful obtuse storytelling just gets my goat. The music is just bland and the whole thing sucks man. If this album were to a fairground ride it would be one that goes really slow and boring but still makes you sick and break your legs. Probably give you tinnitus as well.
no mamen. demasiado paul simon. no vale la pena.
There must be some mistake here in including this album. I’d subtract a star if I could knowing that Simon’s next album was Graceland.