Paul Simon

One Trick Pony

Think Too Much

Review Score:

(6/10)
ONE TRICK PONY is a strange paradox-- an album and film project with a lot of history and publicity, but hardly any recognition. It seemed to be news at the time when Simon, already a laborious songwriter whose albums took anywhere from two to three years on average to generate, deliberately took time away from making albums, focusing instead on other multimedia, first appearing in a few movies (Annie Hall), then making many appearances on Saturday Night Live (the turkey costume easily his shining moment) and hosting his own low-rating, but really damn funny, television special-- and finally, writing and starring in his own movie with accompanying soundtrack. After years of work, the movie opened, the movie closed, practically within a week of eachother. It showed up on video, occasionally aired on WGN and other networks late at night, and had a mild resurgance on VH1's Movies That Rock. The album, meanwhile, fared better, but still didn't capture audiences or critics in ways his earlier efforts had-- all in all, nothing to destroy a career, but I'm sure it wasn't the reaction Simon hoped for (or expected).
But regardless, if you do happen to find this album and take the time to listen to it, you will be pleasently surprised. This is probably Simon's most intellectual album-- the lyrics are very thought-provoking and deep, and being a soundtrack, they revolve around the subject of facing one's own age, realizing that dreams will not always become reality, wondering where it all went wrong, yet still following the one thing that does make sense somehow-- music. "Lord I am a working man, and music is my trade," Simon sings in "God Bless The Absentee." In other songs, such as the wonderful "How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns," Simon beautifully weds simple images ("wondering as the television burns") and brief pastiches of everyday life with the desire, nay, just the question of how and why we desire others. The poetry is moving, abstract but still coherent. There is some brilliant prose on the album-- by this point in his career, Simon was absolutely a master of the English language and carving images out of a few simple words.
However, sometimes, it's a bit much. There's almost too much introspection, a little too much analysis, the songs are all about the same theme and after a while, it gets repetitive. This would not necessarily be a problem (after all, he did somewhat the same thing on "Still Crazy"), except the music tends to suffer the same fate. The sound very strongly recalls "Still Crazy," only on this album Simon actually recruited a house band to play on each song (Tony Levin on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, Richard Tee on keyboards, and Eric Gale on guitar), and so the sound is fairly consistent on each song, while "Still Crazy" offered thematic unity but still had some diversity throughout. Therefore, the album is interesting, at times very moving and brilliant, but also seems monotonous in places.
Nevertheless, there are two absolute Simon classics, and several others that come really friggin close. "Late In The Evening" is one of Simon's funkiest pieces, backed by a powerhouse horn section and just brilliant Steve Gadd rhythms. "Ace In The Hole" is also a great romp, with some of Simon's greatest lyrics: "Some people say music, that's your ace in the hole; Just your ordinary rhythm and blues or your basic rock and roll; You can sit ontop of the beat, you can lean on the side of the beat, you can hang from the bottom of the beat, but you gotta admit that the music is sweet!" "Nobody," "That's Why God Made The Movies," "Oh Marion," and the title track are also great tunes. In fact, each tune is really a teriffic rhymin Simon song, the problem is when placed together they sort of weigh eachother down-- the whole is less than the sum of its parts. It's damn near impossible to call a Simon album weak, and this album is by no means weak-- it's just a little weaker than some of his other work. But get it-- it is essential Paul Simon, and required for any collection. You will enjoy it, believe me!!

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