Paul Simon worked out his personal pain through the resigned reflections of this underrated and understated musical therapy. After the poor performance of 'One Trick Pony', Simon was depressed and suffered from writer's block: "It was many things, but essentially, it was my work and my relationship with Carrie. She and I were breaking up, which we were always doing. Faced with a problem that made us uncomfortable, we were inclined to say, 'Hey, I don't need this.' We were spoiled, because we were both used to being the center of attention... I had a severe loss of faith over the response to 'One-trick Pony'. Also, I had switched labels, from Columbia to Warner Bros., with great trauma. When I left CBS, it became company policy there to make life as difficult as possible for me. And that began a terrible personal battle between me and Walter Yetnikoff, the president of the company. It ended only when I threatened to subpoena people to testify that he had told them he was going to ruin my career."
He worked with psychiatrist Rod Gorney who helped him overcome the block: "He was able to penetrate someone whose defenses were seemingly impenetrable. He was able to make me feel that I wasn't there to work just for the satisfaction of having a hit but that there was a contribution to be made. Of course, the reason I'd been blocked was that I felt what I did was of absolutely no importance. He was able to say, 'I'm telling you that the way to contribute is through your songs. And it's not for you to judge their merits, it's for you to write the songs.' For me, that was brilliant - and liberating."
Around that time, he was invited to perform a concert in New York's Central Park and he invited Art Garfunkel to perform with him for the entire concert, playing to over half a million people. The concert was such a success that Simon brought Garfunkel in on the sessions for his new album; but the sessions degenerated as the pair could not work together in the studio. Garfunkel wanted to record his vocal tracks without Simon around; and Simon wanted to be in control of the process: "I wanted to be there when it happened, because I knew that if what he did wasn't all right with me, I wasn't going to let it go. And that was the difference from the Sixties. What we didn't realize at first was how big a difference it was. It was huge. As wide as his solo records are from mine. Meanwhile, we had a time limit. We were trying to get the record out, following the conventional wisdom, to precede the tour that was going to begin in the spring of 1983. We had the time, but it didn't get done. Artie wasn't happy with his performances. Or he wanted to think more about the part. A year sailed by. So now, not only was the work process painful, in that the personality clash was constant, but the artistic differences were becoming more articulated. I was getting to feel that I didn't want him to paint on my painting. Finally, I said, 'This is not a good idea. I think what we have here is the partnership that wasn't.'...It's too bad, because everybody wanted to have two guys who had their differences and split up and then came back together and resolved them and lived happily ever after. It was really a bitch to say, 'Well, we didn't' really get back together.' The truth is, we were always able to sing and blend well together; that's our gift. And that was always a turn-on for both of us. But aside from that, we're really two different guys. As much as we wanted to be a partnership, we're not. "
'Hearts and Bones' was produced by Roy Halee with Paul Simon on guitar, programming, and vocals; Rob Mounsey on synthesizer and vocoder; Nile Rodgers on guitar and programming; Wells Christy and Tom Coppola on synthesizer and synclavier; Bernard Edwards, Gordon Edwards, and Marcus Miller on bass; Steve Ferrone, Steve Gadd, and Jeff Porcaro on drums; Airto Moreira on percussion; Michael Boddicker on synthesizer; Al Di Meola, Eric Gale, Sid McGinnis, and Dean Parks on guitar; Anthony Jackson on contrabass guitar; Michael Mainieri, Jr. on marimba, vibraphone, and background vocals; George Marge on bass clarinet; David Nichtern on synclavier; Greg Phillinganes on piano and Fender Rhodes; Robert Sabino on synthesizer and piano; Richard Tee on synthesizer, piano, Fender Rhodes, and vocals; Dave Matthews on horn arrangements; Mark Rivera on alto saxophone; Peter Gordon on French horn; Michael Riesman on synthesizer and conducting; Carol Wincenc on flute; Marin Alsop on violin; Jill Jaffe on viola; Jesse Levy and Frederick Zlotkin on cello; and The Harptones on background vocals.
'Hearts and Bones' was even less of a success than 'One Trick Pony', only charting at number ninety-nine in Australia, fifty-one in Germany, thirty-five in the US, thirty-four in the UK, nineteen in France, fourteen in the Netherlands, eleven in Sweden, and peaking at number three in Norway. It was the worst chart performance of his career until 'Songs of the Capeman' in 2007. Despite its poor chart performance 'Hearts and Bones' remains one of the most affecting and personal in his catalogue.
http://www.paulsimon.com/
http://www.paulsimon.com/us/music/hearts-and-bones
interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ELMdiXGkI
"Allergies"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxHulLNKizk
"Hearts and Bones" was written about his relationship with Carrie Fisher.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ425RKCqco
"When Numbers Get Serious"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYLH0rPLjUg
"Think Too Much (b)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDi64fShuS0
"Song About the Moon"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z25Fkgi1ASQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-sF3tb9EE
"Think Too Much (a)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-WAfxOEKY
"Train in the Distance" was about his ex-wife Peggy Harper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCFTHhcvRT0
"Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFnNbPePS1k
"Cars Are Cars"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMyyZb7nebM
"The Late Great Johnny Ace" is a tribute to John Lennon and features a one-minute coda written by Philip Glass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI8q5GtfVpw
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