One-Trick Pony (album)
One-Trick Pony | ||||
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Soundtrack album / Studio album by Paul Simon | ||||
Released | August 12,[1] 1980 | |||
Recorded |
1979–1980 A&R Studios, New York except "Ace in the hole" and "One Trick Pony" recorded live at The Agora Club/Cleveland, Ohio | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 38:12 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Paul Simon, Phil Ramone | |||
Paul Simon chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Robert Christgau | B−[3] |
Rolling Stone | (mixed)[4] |
One-Trick Pony, Paul Simon's fifth solo studio album, was released in 1980. It was Simon's first album for Warner Bros. Records, and his first new studio album since 1975's Still Crazy After All These Years. His back catalog from Columbia Records would also move to Warner Bros. as a result of his signing with the label.
Paul Simon's One-Trick Pony was released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred. Despite their similarities, the album and film are musically distinct: each features different versions of the same songs, as well as certain songs that appear exclusively on either the film or the album. The album is best known for the Grammy-nominated track "Late in the Evening" which was a hit for Simon in 1980, peaking at #6 in the United States. Two of the tracks (the title song and "Ace in the Hole") were recorded live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio in September 1979. The rest are studio cuts.
A few of the session musicians appearing on the album also appeared in the movie as the character Jonah's backing band: Eric Gale on lead guitar, Richard Tee on piano, Tony Levin on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums.
In 2004, One-Trick Pony was remastered and re-released by Warner Bros. Records. This reissue contains four bonus tracks, including "Soft Parachutes" and "Spiral Highway" (an early version of "How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns") both of which were featured in the film but were missing from the original album release. Also included in the re-release were the outtake of "All Because of You" (an early version of "Oh Marion") and "Stranded in a Limousine", which originally appeared on the 1977 compilation Greatest Hits, Etc..
Album title
The title is a colloquial American expression meaning a person specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.[5]
Track listing
All songs were written by Paul Simon.
- Side one
- "Late in the Evening" – 4:02
- "That's Why God Made the Movies" – 3:37
- "One-Trick Pony" (Live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, September 1979) – 3:53
- "How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns" – 2:49
- "Oh, Marion" – 4:00
- Side two
- "Ace in the Hole" (Live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, September 1979) – 5:43
- "Nobody" – 3:32
- "Jonah" – 3:30
- "God Bless the Absentee" – 3:17
- "Long, Long Day" (with Patti Austin) – 3:57
- 2004 re-release
- "Soft Parachutes" – 1:53
- "All Because of You" – 4:06
- "Spiral Highway" – 2:56
- "Stranded in a Limousine" – 3:10
Personnel
- Paul Simon – vocals, nylon string guitar, electric guitar, percussion, acoustic guitar on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only), horn and string arrangements
- John Tropea – acoustic guitar on "Jonah"
- Patti Austin – vocals
- Joe Beck – electric guitar on "Long Long Day"
- Michael Brecker – saxophone on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Hiram Bullock – electric slide guitar on "That's Why God Made the Movies"
- Jon Faddis – flugelhorn on "Oh, Marion"
- Don Grolnick – string synthesizer on "That's Why God Made the Movies"
- David Sanborn – saxophone on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Marvin Stamm – trumpet on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion
- Randy Brecker – trumpet on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Dave Grusin – horn and string arrangements
- Gordon Edwards – bass on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Steve Gadd – drums on all songs, percussion on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Eric Gale – electric guitar, nylon string guitar on "How the Heart Approaches What it Yearns"
- Lani Groves – background vocals
- Anthony Jackson – bass on "Oh Marion"
- Tony Levin – bass on all songs except where noted
- Irwin "Marky" Markowitz – trumpet on "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only)
- Hugh McCracken – acoustic guitar
- Jeff Mironov – electric guitar on "Oh, Marion"
- Richard Tee – Fender Rhodes electric piano, piano on "God Bless the Absentee" and "Stranded in a Limousine" (2004 reissue only), tambourine, background vocals and co-lead vocal on "Ace In the Hole"
- Bob Friedman – horn and string arrangements
- Paul Simon, Phil Ramone - producers
- Jim Boyer - recording engineer, mixing engineer
- Ted Jensen - mastering engineer
Accolades
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | "Late in the Evening" | Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male[6] | Nominated |
Charts
Weekly charts |
Year-end charts
Certifications
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Cover versions
- The String Cheese Incident have covered the song "Late In the Evening" on numerous occasions, with drummer Michael Travis on vocals.
- Peter Mulvey covered "Stranded In a Limousine" on his album Ten Thousand Mornings.
In popular culture
- The album is mentioned on the thank you page of Douglas Adams' novel The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
- The Victoria, B.C. band Immaculate Machine takes their name from the lyrics of the track "One-Trick Pony".
References
- ↑ http://www.paulsimon.com/us/music/one-trick-pony
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Robert Christgau review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived December 16, 2008)
- ↑ "Oxford English Dictionary, Third edition, June 2004; online version March 2011".
- ↑ "Rock On The Net: 23rd Annual Grammy Awards - 1981". Retrieved 2011-08-08.
- ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ "charts.org.nz - Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ "swedishcharts.com Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Paul Simon". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ Allmusic - One-Trick Pony > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
- 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ↑ "Chart Stats - Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4703a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=lo0152od4caliufjkgh3mkphk6
- ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1980 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Paul Simon – One Trick Pony". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "British album certifications – Paul Simon – One-trick Pony". British Phonographic Industry. Enter One-trick Pony in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search