Paul Simon will release a new live album drawn from his recent Quiet Celebration tour on October 9 via Owl Records and Legacy Recordings. Simply titled Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert, the two-hour live document will be available as a 3 LP vinyl, 2 CD set as well as across all digital music platforms and via a variety of online streaming partners. The release’s lead track, a version of “Under African Skies” featuring a duet with Simon’s wife Edie Brickell, has already been made available.
Like the tour itself, the album opens with a live rendition of Simon’s new work Seven Psalms, a continuous 33-minute meditative piece arranged and composed especially to be heard and seen live. The record also boasts new versions of some of Simon’s most cherished originals, as well as some oft-overlooked numbers.
The Quiet Celebration was Simon’s first extended outing since 2018, when he embarked on a so-called final tour, though he continued to make select live appearances. During the intervening years, Simon battled hearing loss and found a new way to perform. In a film accompanying Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert, which debuted on Disney+ in June, the songwriter says, “It’s enabled me to play with musicians again. I really missed it. Everybody has enjoyed the experience so much, there’s been a feeling of camaraderie and elation that we were playing this piece of music that we were really interested in, and that had a significant effect on me. It made for one of the most extraordinary tours I’ve done—maybe the most joyous.”
The choice band captured on the forthcoming live release includes Mark Stewart, Steve Gadd, Bakithi Kumalo, Andy Snitzer, Mick Rossi, Jamey Haddad, Gyan Riley, Nancy Stagnitta, Caleb Burhans and Eugene Friesen, as well as Brickell on vocals. Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert was recorded and engineered by Grammy winning and Emmy nominated recording engineer Biff Dawes while the vinyl package’s artwork was created by Geoff Gans, featuring photography by Jake Edwards. The full Seven Psalms lyrics are also included on the sleeve.
Here’s a look at the album’s tracks
Seven Psalms
Graceland
Slip Slidin’ Away
Homeward Bound
The Late Great Johnny Ace
St. Judy’s Comet
Under African Skies
Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War
Rewrite
Spirit Voices
The Cool, Cool River
Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard
Father & Daughter
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
The Boxer
The Sound of Silence
