Well, that was utterly glorious!
You don't often see/hear the slide technique being used on the bass guitar, do you? It's more about feel than note perfection using fretless, too.
The more we discuss "Graceland", the more I realise just how good it is. It's incredible to think now how much Paul Simon was criticised at the time:
"Controversy[edit]
Following the album's success, Simon faced accusations by organizations such as
Artists United Against Apartheid,
[20] anti-apartheid musicians including
Billy Bragg,
Paul Weller, and
Jerry Dammers,
[21] and
James Victor Gbeho, at the time the
Ghanaian Ambassador to the United Nations,
[22] that he had broken the cultural boycott imposed by the rest of the world against the
apartheid regime in South Africa.
[23] Before going to South Africa, Simon sought advice from Harry Belafonte, with whom he had recently collaborated on "We Are the World". Belafonte had mixed feelings and advised him to discuss the matter with the
African National Congress (ANC).
[23] At an album launch party, Simon bluntly clarified his opinions on the controversy: "I'm with the artists. I didn't ask the permission of the ANC. I didn't ask permission of Buthelezi, or Desmond Tutu, or the Pretoria government. And to tell you the truth, I have a feeling that when there are radical transfers of power on either the left or the right, the artists always get screwed."
[23]
Although supported by the
United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee, as the album showcased the talents of the black South African musicians while offering no support to the South African government, the ANC protested the collaboration as a violation of the boycott.
[20] Critics condemned Simon for having potentially damaging solidarity, calling him naive.
[23] The ANC voted to ban him from the country, and he was also added to the United Nations blacklist.
[10] Simon was removed from it in January 1987,
[24] and announced that he had been cleared by the ANC, but this was denied by
Dali Tambo, the founder of Artists Against Apartheid. The
Graceland concert at London's Royal Albert Hall prompted protests from Dammers, Weller, and Bragg. In 2012,
The Guardian wrote that the controversy had been revived to an extent when Simon returned to London for a 25th-anniversary concert celebrating the album.
[23]
In contrast, Simon received praise for encouraging South African music from
Hugh Masekela, one of South Africa's most prominent musicians and an exiled opponent of apartheid, who subsequently toured alongside Simon and
Miriam Makeba.
[21] The album's worldwide success introduced some of the musicians, especially Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to global audiences. But
Jonas Gwangwa has criticized the notion that Simon was responsible for making South African music popular: "So, it has taken another white man to discover my people?"
[23] Some critics viewed
Graceland as
colonialist, with Simon
appropriating the music of another culture to bring to the global market.
[25] As stated by
Star-Ledger reporter Tris McCall in 2012, "Does it complicate matters to realize that these musicians were second-class citizens in their own country, one groaning under the weight of apartheid? How could Simon approach them as equal partners when their own government demanded that they treat him as a superior?"
[25]
According to Simon:
In 2012, Andrew Mueller of
Uncut wrote: "Apartheid was of course a monstrosity, but it would be absurd to suggest that Simon's introduction of South Africa's music to the world prolonged it and quite plausible to suggest that it did some small amount to hasten its undoing."
[26]
Linda Ronstadt[edit]
Simon's choice to feature American singer
Linda Ronstadt on "Under African Skies" was criticized, as three years earlier she had accepted $500,000 to perform at
Sun City, a South African luxury resort.
[2] Nelson George of
Billboard said her inclusion on
Graceland was like “using gasoline to put out birthday candles”, and rock critic
Robert Christgau wrote: “Even if the lyric called for total US divestiture, Ronstadt’s presence on
Graceland would be a slap in the face to the world anti-apartheid movement."
[2]
Simon defended Ronstadt, saying: "I know that her intention was never to support the government there ... She made a mistake. She’s extremely liberal in her political thinking and unquestionably antiapartheid."
[4] He told
Spin he did not think Ronstadt would play at Sun City again, and did not think she was "incompatible" with the record.
[27]
Simon refused to perform on the 1985 antiapartheid single "
Sun City", as the demo had included a list of names shaming artists who had performed at the resort, including Ronstadt's, and as he felt
Graceland would be "my own statement".
[4] He said he had refused two offers to perform at Sun City,
[4] and drew a distinction between going to South Africa to perform for a segregated audience, which he felt was unacceptable, and going to record.
[28]"
(Wikipedia)
I suppose he's been completely vindicated as the gig I went to was sold out and there was a fantastic reaction to the songs and performances. The audience was very diverse too, all ages, races and sexes. It was a wonderful night for music and I was buzzing walking home afterwards.