Hearts and Bones
Encyclopedia
Hearts and Bones is the sixth solo album by Paul Simon
. It was released in 1983.
The album was originally intended to be a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album called Think Too Much, following their Central Park reunion concert
in 1981, and the world tour of 1982 - 1983. In fact, some of the songs intended for Think Too Much were previewed on the tour. However, creative tensions appeared between the duo during the sessions; Garfunkel supposedly was not comfortable with the personal nature of the songs, and Simon apparently did not want Garfunkel's vocals on the songs. This led to the duo abandoning the project altogether; Simon wiped Garfunkel's vocals from the completed tracks and reworked the songs for a solo album.
The title track is about Simon and his then girlfriend, Carrie Fisher
. (It is often wrongly assumed that Fisher was his wife at the time of this composition - However, the song is copyrighted 1982 and the couple did not actually marry until August 1983), as they travel through New Mexico
("one and one-half wandering Jew
s"), and also about love
in general. The album also contains one of the few songs about number
s (and love) — "When Numbers Get Serious", which evokes the beginnings of the Information Age. Also unusual is "Think Too Much", actually two different songs with the same title and chorus line, dealing generally with thinking (and love).
The eighth
track is a surreal song about the surrealist artist René Magritte
and his wife Georgette, and fancifully suggests that they secretly admired the music of such doo-wop
artists as The Penguins
, The Moonglows
, The Orioles
, and The Five Satins
. The title derives from a caption to a photograph of the Magrittes, "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog During the War". Simon changed "During" to "After" as it scanned better for the song lyric.
The last track
is Simon's homage to John Lennon
, who had been assassinated shortly before Simon wrote it. The song and its title also wistfully hark back to Johnny Ace
, an early rock and roller who died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot to the face. Simon had actually premiered the song during Simon and Garfunkel's reunion concert in Central Park
; near the end of the song a fan ran onto the stage, which can be seen in the DVD of the concert. The man was dragged offstage by Simon's personnel. The man can be heard speaking to Simon, "I have to talk to you". The attack was possibly in response to Simon mentioning John Lennon in the lyrics. The closing music of this track (an instrumental section using strings, clarinet and flute) was written by composer Philip Glass
.
Although, in 1983, the album was considered a failure and signaled a low point in Paul's career, the passage of time has been kind to the album. It's been re-examined in recent years and is considered to be one of Simon's more important records and a lyrically strong one.
, with one-minute coda on Track 10 written by Philip Glass
.
11-14 are bonus tracks on the remastered Rhino Records CD-release (July 2004):
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
. It was released in 1983.
The album was originally intended to be a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album called Think Too Much, following their Central Park reunion concert
The Concert in Central Park
The Concert in Central Park is a live album by Simon & Garfunkel. On September 19, 1981 the folk-rock duo reunited for a free concert on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, attended by more than 500,000 people. They released a live album from the concert the following March...
in 1981, and the world tour of 1982 - 1983. In fact, some of the songs intended for Think Too Much were previewed on the tour. However, creative tensions appeared between the duo during the sessions; Garfunkel supposedly was not comfortable with the personal nature of the songs, and Simon apparently did not want Garfunkel's vocals on the songs. This led to the duo abandoning the project altogether; Simon wiped Garfunkel's vocals from the completed tracks and reworked the songs for a solo album.
The title track is about Simon and his then girlfriend, Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
. (It is often wrongly assumed that Fisher was his wife at the time of this composition - However, the song is copyrighted 1982 and the couple did not actually marry until August 1983), as they travel through New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
("one and one-half wandering Jew
Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew is a figure from medieval Christian folklore whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming...
s"), and also about love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
in general. The album also contains one of the few songs about number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....
s (and love) — "When Numbers Get Serious", which evokes the beginnings of the Information Age. Also unusual is "Think Too Much", actually two different songs with the same title and chorus line, dealing generally with thinking (and love).
The eighth
Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War
"Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War" is a ballad written and sung by Paul Simon.It first appeared as the eighth track on Hearts and Bones, the 1983 album that was the fifth in Simon's solo career...
track is a surreal song about the surrealist artist René Magritte
René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...
and his wife Georgette, and fancifully suggests that they secretly admired the music of such doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
artists as The Penguins
The Penguins
The Penguins were an American doo-wop group of the 1950s and early 1960s, best remembered for their only Top 40 hit, "Earth Angel ", which was one of the first rhythm and blues hits to cross over to the pop charts...
, The Moonglows
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
, The Orioles
The Orioles
The Orioles were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal bands who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound....
, and The Five Satins
The Five Satins
The Five Satins are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1956 million-selling song, "In the Still of the Night."-Career:The group, formed in New Haven, Connecticut, consisted of leader Fred Parris, Lou Peebles, Stanley Dortch, Ed Martin and Jim Freeman in 1954. With little success, the...
. The title derives from a caption to a photograph of the Magrittes, "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog During the War". Simon changed "During" to "After" as it scanned better for the song lyric.
The last track
The Late Great Johnny Ace
"The Late Great Johnny Ace" is a song by Paul Simon, which appears on his 1983 Hearts and Bones album.-History:The song initially sings of the rhythm and blues singer Johnny Ace, who is said to have shot himself in a game of Russian roulette in 1954...
is Simon's homage to John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, who had been assassinated shortly before Simon wrote it. The song and its title also wistfully hark back to Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace , born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, was an American rhythm and blues singer. He scored a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound....
, an early rock and roller who died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot to the face. Simon had actually premiered the song during Simon and Garfunkel's reunion concert in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
; near the end of the song a fan ran onto the stage, which can be seen in the DVD of the concert. The man was dragged offstage by Simon's personnel. The man can be heard speaking to Simon, "I have to talk to you". The attack was possibly in response to Simon mentioning John Lennon in the lyrics. The closing music of this track (an instrumental section using strings, clarinet and flute) was written by composer Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
.
Although, in 1983, the album was considered a failure and signaled a low point in Paul's career, the passage of time has been kind to the album. It's been re-examined in recent years and is considered to be one of Simon's more important records and a lyrically strong one.
Singles
There were two songs from this album released as singles. The first single with "Allergies" as the A-side and "Think Too Much (b)" as the B-side peaked at #44 in the US Hot 100. The second single failed to chart, this being "Think Too Much (a)" (A-side) and "Song About the Moon" (B-Side).Track listing
All songs written by Paul SimonPaul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, with one-minute coda on Track 10 written by Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
.
- "Allergies" – 4:37
- "Hearts and Bones" – 5:37
- "When Numbers Get Serious" – 3:25
- "Think Too Much (b)" – 2:44
- "Song About the Moon" – 4:07
- "Think Too Much (a)" – 3:05
- "Train in the Distance" – 5:11
- "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the WarRene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War"Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War" is a ballad written and sung by Paul Simon.It first appeared as the eighth track on Hearts and Bones, the 1983 album that was the fifth in Simon's solo career...
" – 3:44 - "Cars Are Cars" – 3:15
- "The Late Great Johnny AceThe Late Great Johnny Ace"The Late Great Johnny Ace" is a song by Paul Simon, which appears on his 1983 Hearts and Bones album.-History:The song initially sings of the rhythm and blues singer Johnny Ace, who is said to have shot himself in a game of Russian roulette in 1954...
" – 4:45
11-14 are bonus tracks on the remastered Rhino Records CD-release (July 2004):
- "Shelter of Your Arms" (work-in-progress) – 3:11
- "Train in the Distance" (demo) – 3:13
- "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War" (demo) – 3:47
- "The Late Great Johnny Ace" (demo) – 3:22
Personnel
- Paul Simon - guitar, programming, vocals
- Rob MounseyRob MounseyRob Mounsey is an award-winning composer, music producer, and musician. He was born in Berea, Ohio and grew up in Seattle, Washington and several Ohio towns. At the age of 17, he was awarded a BMI Student Composer's Award in New York. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1971 to 1975...
- synthesizer, vocoder - The HarptonesThe HarptonesThe Harptones are an American doo-wop group, which formed in Manhattan in 1953.The group never had a top forty pop hit, or even a record on the national R&B charts, yet they are still considered one of the most influential doo-wop groups, both for their lead singer, Willie Winfield and their...
- background vocals - Bernard EdwardsBernard EdwardsBernard Edwards born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of the Funk/Disco band Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan.-History:...
- bass - Nile RodgersNile RodgersNile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
- guitar, programming - Airto MoreiraAirto MoreiraAirto Moreira is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. He currently resides in Los Angeles.-Biography:...
- percussion - Marin Alsop - violin
- Michael BoddickerMichael BoddickerMichael J. Boddicker , is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for Imagination from Flashdance in 1984...
- synthesizer - Wells Christy - synthesizer, synclavierSynclavierThe Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...
- Tom CoppolaTom CoppolaThomas Wilkinson Coppola is a pianist and arranger, known for being a principal member of the group Air...
- synthesizer, synclavier - Al di MeolaAl Di MeolaAl Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
- guitar - Gordon Edwards - bass
- Steve FerroneSteve FerroneSteven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
- drums - Steve GaddSteve GaddSteve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
- drums - Eric GaleEric GaleEric J. Gale was a leading American jazz and session guitarist.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12. Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as...
- guitar - Anthony Jackson - contrabass guitar
- Jill Jaffe - viola
- Jesse Levy - cello
- Michael Mainieri, Jr. - marimba, vibraphone, background vocals
- George Marge - bass clarinet
- Sid McGinnisSid McGinnisSid McGinnis is an American musician and guitarist, best known for his work on the CBS Television show, Late Show with David Letterman, as part of the CBS Orchestra....
- guitar - Marcus MillerMarcus MillerMarcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
- bass - David Nichtern - synclavier
- Jeff PorcaroJeff PorcaroJeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
- drums - Dean ParksDean ParksDean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
- guitar - Greg PhillinganesGreg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
- piano, Fender Rhodes - Michael Riesman - synthesizer, conductor
- Mark Rivera - alto saxophone
- Robert Sabino - synthesizer, piano
- Richard TeeRichard TeeRichard Tee was a pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger.Tee graduated from the High School of Music and Art and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the...
- synthesizer, piano, Fender Rhodes, vocals - Carol Wincenc - flute
- Frederick Zlotkin - cello
- Peter Gordon - French horn
- Dave Matthews - horn arrangements
Chart positions
| Chart (1983) | Position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
3 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
11 |
| Dutch Mega Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
14 |
| French SNEP Albums Chart | 19 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
25 |
| Japanese Oricon Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
30 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
34 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... Billboard Pop Albums Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
35 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
50 |
| German Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Media Control Albums Chart |
51 |
| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
99 |