Paul Simon Vinyl Records – Graceland, Still Crazy & Essential Albums on Vinyl

Paul Simon's solo career, which began in 1972 after the dissolution of Simon & Garfunkel, contains some of the most ambitious and influential songwriting in American popular music. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1941 and raised in Queens, Simon spent the 1970s producing a run of self-titled, deeply crafted singer-songwriter records — Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973) and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) — that blended folk, R&B, gospel and reggae long before "world music" was a marketing category.

Then came Graceland (1986), the record that genuinely earned the label. Recorded in Johannesburg with South African musicians — Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tao Ea Matsekha, the Boyoyo Boys — the album won Album of the Year at the Grammys, sold 16 million copies, and remains one of the most musically influential records of the 1980s. The follow-up Rhythm of the Saints (1990) extended the approach into Brazilian music with similar craft. Simon on vinyl is consistently rewarding — Roy Halee's productions are warm, detailed, and built for analogue. The Sony / Warner 180g reissues are all excellent.

Best Paul Simon Albums on Vinyl

Graceland (1986)
His masterpiece. The Boy in the Bubble, Graceland, You Can Call Me Al, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, Under African Skies — recorded with South African musicians and producers including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ray Phiri's Stimela. Won Album of the Year at the 1987 Grammys. The 180g reissues are essential.

Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)
The 70s peak. The title track, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, My Little Town (with Garfunkel), Gone at Last (with Phoebe Snow). Won the 1976 Grammy for Album of the Year. A record that distilled American singer-songwriter craft to its essence.

Paul Simon (1972)
The first solo record after the Garfunkel split. Mother and Child Reunion, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Duncan, Peace Like a River — recorded in Jamaica and the US, and the album that announced him as a solo artist of genuine ambition.

There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973)
The follow-up. Kodachrome, Loves Me Like a Rock, Something So Right, American Tune — broader and more confident than the debut, with the Muscle Shoals horns and the Dixie Hummingbirds providing colour.

Rhythm of the Saints (1990)
The Graceland follow-up, this time recorded in Brazil with Brazilian percussionists. The Obvious Child, Born at the Right Time, Further to Fly — denser and more polyrhythmic than its predecessor, and arguably more musically adventurous.

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