So Beautiful or So What

So Beautiful or So What
Studio album by Paul Simon
Released April 8, 2011
Recorded 2010–11[1]
Genre Folk rock[2]
Length 38:15
Label Hear Music
Producer Phil Ramone, Paul Simon
Paul Simon chronology

Surprise
(2006)		 So Beautiful or So What
(2011)
Singles from So Beautiful or So What
  1. "Getting Ready for Christmas Day"
    Released: November 22, 2010
  2. "The Afterlife"
    Released: February 25, 2011

So Beautiful or So What is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Produced by Simon and Phil Ramone, the album released on April 8, 2011 by Hear Music. Following his collaboration with producer Brian Eno for Surprise (2006), Paul Simon began writing new music and introduced several songs gradually as the decade closed. Having experimented with rhythm-based textures for much of the previous two decades, Simon returned to composing songs rather traditionally using only his acoustic guitar. These songs were further augmented by experimental recording practices in the studio. The album marks his fifth and final album produced by Phil Ramone.

The album was largely recorded in a small cottage at Simon's property in New Canaan, Connecticut. The record contains West African blues-inspired guitar playing, Indian-style percussion, and experimentation with samples. These samples range wildly, from a 1941 sermon to nighttime ambience in Kenya. Musically, the album contains a lack of bass in most songs and a very large presence of bells. Much of Simon's lyricism on the album revolves around spirituality and mortality, a fact noted by music writers. Simon stated that this was unintentional, and came about naturally in his songwriting process.

Upon its release, So Beautiful or So What received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised Simon's themes and songwriting. Many considered it his best work in two decades, and it was included on many end-of-the-year lists as one of the best albums of the year. It became his highest US chart debut and charted within the top 10 in nine other countries.

Background

The reunion with producer Phil Ramone came very casually; Simon told Ramone when they came upon each other that he was beginning to work on a new album and, as Ramone lived only one town away, they decided it would be easy to work together again.[3]

Recording and production

The album marks Simon's fifth and final collaboration with Phil Ramone, and his first in three decades.

The recording process originated from a small cottage at Simon’s property in New Canaan, Connecticut. The recording sessions often consisted solely of Simon, Ramone, and engineer Andy Smith. Throughout the production of the record, the album’s engineers would gradually make upgrades to the space during months off. As it was not acoustically designed or soundproofed, Smith often employed iZotope RX software to rid the recordings of extra noise, such as an oak tree above the home from which acorns fell, interrupting recordings.[4] In the end, keeping in line with his experimentalist attitude, Simon decided to record the acorns, remarking, "All sounds are musical once you start to listen."[5] Occasionally, Simon would record in the control room instead.[4] Much like all of Simon’s output from his 1997 effort Songs from The Capeman onward, the album was recorded digitally using Pro Tools.[4]

Much time was centered on getting guitars to sound as Simon preferred. A small bit of experimentation among the additional session players occurred, from which Simon would edit himself, compiling them together or often deleting them altogether.[4] Many songs were recorded with a hand-built cigar-box guitar, which Simon bought from Mississippi blues musician Super Chikan.[6] Analogue effects were applied before recording digitally to keep mixes simple; this method also inspired Simon while arranging the songs.[4] Smith would burn Simon a compact disc each evening of the day’s session, and he would return the next day with notes on the recordings.[4] As such, mixes were created as the album went along, rather than at the end of the process. Simon and Ramone would often listen to their recordings while driving around, noting what would need changes.[4]

The entire process lasted over a year.[7] Additional recording took place at Simon’s summer home in Long Island, but less so than his previous efforts. Home recording, as Ramone told Sound on Sound shortly after the album’s release, required a certain discipline. Simon would often arrive in the morning and recording until nightfall.[4] Percussion and vocals were overdubbed at Germano Studios. The Indian ensemble on "Dazzling Blue" was recorded at Clinton Studios in New York, while a bluegrass ensemble was cut at Tony Bennett’s New Jersey studio.[4] Simon’s wife, Edie Brickell, and his teenage daughter Lulu contributed harmonies, while Chris Bear of indie rock band Grizzly Bear contributed electronic drum parts to the album.[7]

Simon self-financed the recording after being released from his 30-year recording contract with Warner Bros. After the sessions were completed, he inked a deal with Concord Music Group to distribute the album.[7]

Composition

Music

Simon performing at the 9:30 Club, May 27, 2011

The album finds Simon returning to more harmonic-based compositions than rhythm-based. This was spurred from when he realized his favorite song on his 2006 effort Surprise, "Everything About It Is a Love Song", contained a chord progression he found particularly interesting.[5][6] After coming to this realization, he focused on the album’s three ballads, "Questions for the Angels", "Amulet", and "Love and Hard Times".[5] Unlike his previous rhythm-based albums, in which he would gain inspiration for his guitar parts from pre-recorded backing tracks, Simon took a more traditional approach to building the songs on So Beautiful or So What. He would write songs at home, fleshing them out in the studio with help of a natural click track, such as "a percussion instrument, or even just tapping out a rhythm on his guitar."[4] Afterwards, he would overdub more elements, including additional guitar parts and percussion. Simon began envisioning the album’s sequencing when he only had a few songs written, letting it inform his songwriting.[4]

The album is inspired by West African blues, combining that with "Indian drumming, Old Hollywood strings and bluegrass harmony singing."[5] The album employs a wide variety of samples, including from older blues and gospel recordings.[6] "Love Is Eternal Sacred Light" contains a harmonica sample from Sonny Terry, and" Love and Blessings" lifts from The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet.[3] In terms of overall sound, Simon desired for the album to “not sound like a studio album.” Ramon elaborated upon this in 2011 interview:

“ He wanted to have lots of space with lots of atmosphere and feeling, so rather than go for hugely orchestrated ideas he was going, for example, for overtones in bells and gongs. Or if a sax or a kora comes in, they're there to do something specific, and not to fill in the space.[4] ”

In addition, the album is largely devoid of heavy bass (some tracks actually using a baritone guitar instead), and drums are very quiet and reserved. Smith remarked that bells were "Paul’s favorite percussion instrument" on the album, ranging from “exotic bells and ancient hand bells to glockenspiels."[4] In using bells to augment the sound, Simon would put them behind certain guitar notes to “highlight” the sound. This stemmed from his desire to rid the recordings of echo; he found that using bells created only a slight echo, with an odd, atmospheric tone that he preferred.[8] Drummer Jim Oblon placed towels over each drums to emphasize the higher-frequency percussive instruments.[4]

Lyrics

The album contains lyrics relating to subjects such as love, mortality, and faith.[5] In terms of songwriting, Simon did not approach each new song with a theme, he let them evolve naturally from the first line he would compose.[9] Simon had no plan to pursue religious writing, but it ended up particularly strong in the album’s lyrics.[10] He noted that "five of the first six" songs he wrote touched on themes of God: "I wondered whether there was a subconscious theme that I was tapping into. I have used Christian symbols and imagery before in songs. It’s very strongly evocative, so it may just be coincidence—but it may not be."[6] The A.V. Club suggested that the album's gospel influence inspired the touch of humor when discussing dark subjects such as death.[8]

In an interview with PBS, Simon clarified his religious views:

“ How was all of this created? If the answer to that question is God created everything, there was a creator, than I say, great! What a great job. And I like the idea. I find it very, I don’t know, I find it comforting in some way. But if the answer to that is there is no God, I don’t feel like, well, what a jerk I’ve been. I feel, oh fine, so there’s another answer. I don’t know the answer. I’m just a speck of dust here for a nanosecond, and I’m very grateful.[9] ”

Songs

"Getting Ready for Christmas Day" was one of the album’s earliest completed songs, and it contains a sample from a 1941 sermon by the Reverend J.M. Gates.[4] The sermon inspired the song’s creation, with a certain rhythmic tone to his oration that interested him. Simon heard the sermon on a box set titled Goodbye Babylon, which consists early 20th century Americana.[3] It came together quicker than other songs, with Simon recording his guitar live.[4] The track also references his nephew, who served multiple tours in the Iraq War.[10] "The Afterlife" concerns a man dying and getting to heaven, where he waits in line to meet with God, where everyone is "filling out forms and waiting in line to catch 'a glimpse of the divine.'"[5] While in line, he unsuccessfully hits on a woman. When he finally meets God, he is taken aback, and can only spout gibberish.[11] The point of the song is that having questions for God would cease to be relevant if one were to confront God face-to-face due the enormity of such a theoretical situation.[3]

"Dazzling Blue" is completely based on his relationship with wife Edie Brickell, and the title references her favorite color.[11] Simon said the song reminded him of his work when he was in Simon & Garfunkel.[8] "Rewrite" features segments of recordings made on a small digital recorder by Brickell on a 2009 family trip together in Kenya.[11] Simon was frustrated over guitar tone in his song and attached the sound of a wildebeest to a certain guitar note each time it occurred, in an effort to create an interesting sound. In addition, the song contains nighttime ambience from the trip.[5] The song’s subject matter concerns a burned out Vietnam veteran imagining that he could rewrite his life, in order to give it a happy ending.[3] In "Rewrite", Simon taps on his guitar to invite the tempo.[4] "Love and Hard Times" is an affirmation of love for his wife, Edie Brickell. The beginning of the song references “God and his only son” visiting Earth. Simon noted that the song’s thesis is being thankful at the highest level, and using God was being specific.[9] The track contains orchestral arrangement from Gil Goldstein, which was recorded at Avatar Studios, as Ramone wanted a larger room to record in.[4]

"Questions for the Angels" includes a reference to hip hop mogul Jay-Z. The inclusion stems from a billboard featuring the musician that was present over the Brooklyn Bridge for a time. Simon mentioned that he would pass it on his way to the Brooklyn Academy of Music when they were holding a month-long celebration of his music in April 2008.[12][13] Simon included the line to create a sharp transition from angels in Heaven to a downtown Brooklyn street.[8] "So Beautiful or So What" contains what Simon once admitted is "one of [his] favorite Bo Diddley rhythms," and the song’s title references Miles Davis's "So What".[11] The title is a question Simon envisioned when facing the enormity of the infinite. The song almost became a collaboration with Bob Dylan; Simon felt two verses might be nice for him and sent him a message through their mutual manager. Although Dylan said that he liked the song, Simon did not hear back in sufficient time, as the album was on a deadline.[14]

Release

Many songs on the album were available in various forms prior to their release on So Beautiful or So What. "Rewrite" and "Love and Hard Times" appeared his Simon’s 2008 book Lyrics; 1964-2008, and "Questions for the Angels" appeared on the 2009 Starbucks compilation This Better Be Good.[8]

The first single, "Getting Ready for Christmas Day", premiered on National Public Radio on November 16, 2010.[15] On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, So Beautiful or So What was made fully streamable on the album's website, sobeautifulorsowhat.com for the week preceding its official release.[16] In reference to the album, Simon said, "It's the best work I've done in 20 years."[17]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 68,000 copies in the United States.[18] It is Simon's highest chart debut on the Billboard 200.[18] As of October 2011, the album had sold 254,000 copies in the US.[1] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 21,993 copies in its first week. The album's charting gives Paul Simon his ninth top ten solo album in the UK.[19]

The album has also done well across Europe becoming his most successful album since The Rhythm of the Saints (1990). The album has debuted in the top ten in Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The album also reached the top ten in the Czech Republic in its third week.[27] In Sweden the album is Simon's highest-charting solo album of his career debuting at number four[25] and in Norway the album moved up to number two on its second week in the charts.[24]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [28]
The A.V. Club A–[29]
Robert Christgau A[2]
The Daily Telegraph [30]
The Guardian [31]
The Independent [32]
The Observer [33]
Rolling Stone [34]
The Times [35]
Uncut [36]

So Beautiful or So What received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 27 reviews.[37] Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Simon's musical "focus" and called it "an album that’s vivid, vibrant, and current in a way none of his peers have managed to achieve".[28] Los Angeles Times writer Margaret Wappler complimented its "multiethnic landscape" and commented that the album, "steeped in Afropop and American folk forms, climbs some of the most resplendent summits of Simon’s career and ranks as his most consistent solo effort since ‍ '​Rhythm of the Saints‍ '​ from 1990".[38] Philip Cummins of State magazine found Simon's observations vividly detailed and enduring, and hailed So Beautiful or So What as "his most vital, most complete album in 25 years."[39] Jon Pareles, writing in The New York Times, said that "sketches of individuals and moments are intertwined with grander pronouncements; unforced humor tempers gloomier reflections".[40] Will Hodgkinson of The Times said that Simon's meditations on the afterlife are informed by both youthful enthusiasm and the wisdom of old age.[35]

Many critics compared it to his 1986 album Graceland.[6] In his review for MSN Music, Robert Christgau found Simon's usual folk rock "graced with global colors that sound as natural" as his guitar and said that his writing is imbued with gratitude for his wife's love and God, although he disagreed with Simon's view of God's benevolent nature.[2] In a mixed review, Andy Gill of The Independent said that the music is Simon's usual cross-genre style, but found his ruminations on love, age, and mortality to be trivial.[32] Pitchfork Media's Stephen M. Deusner felt that the album "can be stodgy in its emotions and a bit too devoted to its motifs".[41]

Many critics noticed the rather overt religious symbolism in the album's lyricism; one blogger facetiously called it the year's best Christian music album.[9]

Accolades

Mojo placed the album at number 15 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011,"[42] Uncut placed the album at number 29,[43] while Rolling Stone placed the album as the number 3 album of the year on its list of "50 Best Albums of 2011."[44] In the album's liner notes, a brief synopsis of the album by Elvis Costello says that it "deserves to be recognized as among Paul Simon's finest achievements."[45]

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Simon.

  1. "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" – 4:06
  2. "The Afterlife" – 3:40
  3. "Dazzling Blue" – 4:32
  4. "Rewrite" – 3:49
  5. "Love and Hard Times" – 4:09
  6. "Love Is Eternal Sacred Light" – 4:02
  7. "Amulet" – 1:36
  8. "Questions for the Angels" – 3:49
  9. "Love & Blessings" – 4:18
  10. "So Beautiful or So What" – 4:07
  11. "So Beautiful or So What (Live Rehearsal Version)" – 4:10 [Download-only bonus track available on vinyl edition]
Deluxe Edition DVD
  1. "The Making of So Beautiful or So What"
  2. "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" (Music Video)
  3. "So Beautiful or So What" (Live Recording)
Notes

Personnel

Credits for So Beautiful or So What adapted from Allmusic.[46]

  • Mary Abt – clarinet
  • Chris Bear – electronics and introduction
  • Edie Brickell – background vocals
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Elvis Costello – liner notes
  • Sara Cutler – flute and harp
  • Desiree Elsevier – Viola
  • David Finck – Bass
  • Geoff Gans – art direction and design
  • Sven Geier – cover image
  • Gil Goldstein – arranger
  • Steve Gorn – bansuri
  • Skip La Plante – gong, harp and wind chimes
  • Doyle Lawson – background vocals
  • Jeanne LeBlanc – celli
  • Diane Lesser – horn
  • Vincent Lionti – viola
  • Richard Locker – celli
  • Karaikudi R. Mani – ensemble and vocal percussion
  • Elizabeth Mann – flute
  • Lois Martin – viola
  • Kevin Mazur – band photo
  • Vincent Nguini – acoustic and electric guitar
  • Jim Oblon – bass, drums, electric and slide guitar and percussion
  • Charles Pillow – clarinet
  • Phil Ramone – mixing and producer
  • Mick Rossi – piano
  • Mark Seliger – photography
  • Steve Shehan – angklung, bass, brushes, crotale, cymbals, djembe, glass harp, resonator, saz, stick and talking drum
  • Lulu Simon – background vocals
  • Paul Simon – bells, composer, glockenspiel, lyricist, percussion, producer, vocals, whistle and twelve-string, acoustic, electric and nylon string guitar
  • Yacouba Sissoko – kora
  • Pamela Sklar – flute
  • Andy Smith – engineer
  • Etienne Stadwijk – celeste
  • Joshua Swift – dobro
  • Dr. Michael White – clarinet
  • Gabe Witcher – fiddle
  • Nancy Zeltsman – marimba

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[47] 41
Austrian Albums Chart[48] 13
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[49] 20
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[50] 29
Canadian Albums Chart[51] 7
Croatian Albums Chart[20] 6
Czech Albums Chart[27] 8
Danish Albums Chart[21] 6
Dutch Albums Chart[23] 6
Finnish Albums Chart[52] 49
French Albums Chart[52] 38
German Albums Chart[53] 20
Irish Albums Chart[22] 7
Italian Albums Chart[54] 29
Japanese Albums Chart[55] 75
New Zealand Albums Chart[56] 23
Norwegian Albums Chart[24] 2
Spanish Albums Chart[52] 40
Swedish Albums Chart[25] 4
Swiss Albums Chart[57] 21
UK Albums Chart[26] 6
US Billboard 200[58] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (2011) Position
Danish Albums Chart[59] 95
Dutch Albums Chart[60] 99
U.S. Billboard 200[61] 131

Release history

Region Date
Australia[62] April 8, 2011
Germany[63]
Netherlands[64]
Denmark[65] April 11, 2011
France[66]
Italy[67] April 12, 2011
United States[68]
Japan[69] April 20, 2011
Ireland[70] June 10, 2011
United Kingdom[71] June 13, 2011

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gallo, Phil (October 28, 2011). "Paul Simon Talks 'So Beautiful' Album, 'Graceland' Reunion Tour". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Christgau, Robert (April 12, 2011). Paul Simon/TV on the Radio. MSN Music. Archived from the original on 2011-04-15.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Mike Ragogna (March 22, 2011). "So Beautiful or So What: A Conversation With Paul Simon". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 Paul Tingen (October 2011). "Phil Ramone & Andy Smith: So Beautiful So What". Sound on Sound. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Margaret Wappler (April 11, 2011). "Album review: Paul Simon's 'So Beautiful or So What'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Alan Light (April 17, 2011). "A Little Less Crazy After All These Years". New York. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 David Browne (February 9, 2011). "Paul Simon Peels Back the Years on New LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Steven Hyden (March 28, 2011). "Paul Simon - Interview". The A.V. Club (The Onion). Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Kim Lawton (June 1, 2012). "Interview: Paul Simon". PBS. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Paul Simon: Creating Something 'So Beautiful'". NPR. April 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Will Hermes (February 18, 2011). "Paul Simon "The Afterlife"". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ Michael Hogan (March 16, 2011). "Paul Simon on Kevin Youkilis, Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend—Oh, and His New Album!". Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ Jonathan Cohen (April 14, 2008). "Simon Shines At Brooklyn Tribute Series". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Paul Simon Feature". Mojo (212).
  15. ↑ Boilen, Bob (November 16, 2010). "Premiere: New Music From Paul Simon : All Songs Considered Blog". NPR. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  16. ↑ Getting Ready For Christmas Day
  17. ↑ "Paul Simon May Record with Bob Dylan, Taking Catalog Back to Sony". Showbiz411. March 31, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Caulfield, Keith (April 20, 2011). Foo Fighters Earn First No. 1 Album with 'Wasting Light' | Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-04-21.
  19. ↑ Jones, Alan (June 19, 2011). "Take That progress back to the top of album charts". Music Week. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 http://www.hdu-toplista.com/index.php?what=albumi&w=details&id=1444
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "danishcharts.com – Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". Hitlisten. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Chart Track". Irish Albums Chart. GfK. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "dutchcharts.nl – Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". MegaCharts (in Dutch). Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "norwegiancharts.com – Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". VG-lista. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "ČNS IFPI". Hitparáda – TOP50 Prodejní (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (April 12, 2011). So Beautiful or So What – Paul Simon | AllMusic. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  29. ↑ Murray, Noel (April 12, 2011). Paul Simon: So Beautiful Or So What | Music|Music Review|The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  30. ↑ Brown, Helen (June 9, 2011). "Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What, CD review". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  31. ↑ Costa, Maddy (June 9, 2011). Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What – review | Music|The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Gill, Andy (June 10, 2011). "Album: Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What (Hear Music)". The Independent (London). Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  33. ↑ Empire, Kitty (June 11, 2011). "So Beautiful or so What: Paul Simon – review". The Observer (London). Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  34. ↑ Hermes, Will (April 5, 2011). So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon | Rolling Stone Music|Music Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Hogdkinson, Will (June 10, 2011). "Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What". The Times (London). Retrieved July 11, 2013. (subscription required)
  36. ↑ McKay, Alastair (May 2011). "Album Review: Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What – Review". Uncut (168): 74.
  37. ↑ So Beautiful or So What Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  38. ↑ Wappler, Margaret (April 11, 2011). Album review: Paul Simon's 'So Beautiful or So What' | Pop & Hiss|Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  39. ↑ Cummins, Philip (April 20, 2011). "Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". State. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  40. ↑ Pareles, Jon (April 11, 2011). New CDs From Paul Simon and Panda Bear – Review – NYTimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  41. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. (April 15, 2011). Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  42. ↑ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  43. ↑ "Uncut‘s Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. November 29, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  44. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2011: Paul Simon, 'So Beautiful or So What'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  45. ↑ So Beautiful or So What digital booklet
  46. ↑ Credits: So Beautiful or So What. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-04-20.
  47. ↑ "Top 50 Albums Chart – Australian Recording Industry Association". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 1, 2011.
  48. ↑ "Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What – austriancharts.at". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  49. ↑ "ultratop.be – Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". Ultratop (in Dutch). ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  50. ↑ "ultratop.be – Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". Ultratop (in French). ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  51. ↑ "Paul Simon Album & Song Chart History". Canadian Albums Chart for Paul Simon. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 Steffen Hung. "Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  53. ↑ "Foo Fighters kämpfen sich auf Platz eins – media control" (in German). Media Control. April 19, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  54. ↑
  55. ↑ ポール・サイモン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "(Highest position and charting weeks of So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon)". Oricon Style. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  56. ↑ "charts.org.nz – Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What". RIANZ. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  57. ↑ "Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What – hitparade.ch". Swiss Music Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  58. ↑ "Paul Simon Album & Song Chart History". Billboard 200 for Paul Simon. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  59. ↑ "Album-Top 100". Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  60. ↑ "JAAROVERZICHTEN – ALBUM 2011". Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  61. ↑ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 2011". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
  62. ↑ Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What Cd – Cd Online
  63. ↑ So Beautiful Or So What: Paul Simon: Amazon.de: Musik
  64. ↑ bol.com | So Beautiful Or So What, Paul Simon|Muziek
  65. ↑ "Releaseplan" (in Danish). Universal Music Denmark. 2011. Archived from the original on April 20, 2011.
  66. ↑ So Beautiful Or So What: Paul Simon: Amazon.fr: Musique
  67. ↑ So Beautiful Or So What: Paul Simon: Amazon.it: Musica
  68. ↑ Amazon.com: So Beautiful or So What: Paul Simon: Music
  69. ↑ "Amazon.co.jp： ソー・ビューティフル・オア・ソー・ホワット: ポール・サイモン: 音楽". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  70. ↑ Umusic.ie – News
  71. ↑ "Buy Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What online at Play.com and read reviews. Free delivery to UK and Europe!". Play.com. April 25, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-10.

External links