CONEY ISLAND

()reek and American Cuisine
OPEN 7 DAYS A WELK

154 S. Woodward, Birmingham
(248) 540-8780

Halsted Village
(37580 W. 12 Mile Rd.)
Farmington Hills
(248) 553-2360

6527 Telegraph Rd.
Corner of Maple (15 Mile)
Bloomfield Township
(248) 646-8568

4763 Haggerty Rd. at Pontiac Trail
West Wind Village Shopping Center
West Bloomfield
(248) 669-2295

841 East Big Beaver, Troy
(248) 680-0094

SOUTHFIELD SOUVLAKI
CONEY ISLAND
Nine Mile & Greenfield
15647 West Nine Mile, Southfield
(2a) 569-5229

FARMINGTON SOUVLAKI
CONEY ISLAND
Between 13 & 14 on
Orchard Lake Road
30985 Orchard Lake Rd.
Farmington Hills
(248) 626-9732

NEW LOCATION:
525 N. Main
Milford
(248) 6841772

UPTOWN PARTHENON
4301 Orchard Lake Rd.
West Bloomfield
(248) 538-6000

HERCULES FAMILY RESTAURANT
33292 West 12 Mile
Farmington Hills
(248) 489-9777

Serving whitefish, Iamb shank,
past trio and moussaka

TY •

2/16
2001

78

Photo courtesy of Lynn Goldsmith/Warner Bros. Records

Simon Says

Nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Paul Simon sounds off

GEORGE VARGA

Copley News Service

I

don't know anything, really," said Paul Simon, who has
probably forgotten more about making memorable
music than many singer/songwriters will ever learn.
His half-serious, half-facetious claim to the contrary
Simon knows exactly how to remain a vital creative force in the
ever-fickle world of pop. And with his impeccably crafted new
album, Youre the One (Warner Brothers), he begins the 44th
year of his recording career not only with his restless nature and
desire for artistic growth still intact but a Grammy nomination
for Album of the Year. The Jewish singer/songwriter is the
recipient of 34 Grammy nominations and 16 Grammys.
This year, he goes up against other musicians with a Jewish
heritage, Beck (Midnite Vultures) and Donald Fagen of Steely
Dan (Two Against Nature). Detroit's own Eminem (The Marshall
Mathers LP) and Radiohead (Kid A) round out the category.
"You have to keep developing, otherwise, its not interest-
ing," said the man who helped introduce millions of pop fans
to the music of South Africa, Brazil, Puerto Rico and beyond
with his landmark Graceland, Rhythm of the Saints and Songs
From "The Capeman" albums.
"If you're going to be talking to your generation and the
generations that are close to you — as we all get older — you
better have something to say," continued Simon, in a recent
interview from a mid-Manhattan rehearsal studio.
What Simon has to say about himself on You're the One is
alternately playful and profound, carefully considered and
spur of the moment.

"Stuff came like a torrent and I was very surprised, particu-
larly by the emotional elements," he said. "And it was funny,
too. It just seemed simpler. But there's also something about it
that's very sweet."
One of his most relaxed albums in years, the 11-song You're
the One features the same international cast of musicians that
backed him when he toured in 1999 on a double-bill with
Bob Dylan (nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal
Performance for "Things Have Changed").
Youre the One offers a thoughtful, sometimes whimsical,
treatise on youth, aging, love and the intricacies of seeking
and sustaining a sense of community, belonging and history.
All are delivered with the lyrical eloquence and musical
sophistication that have long been trademarks of Simon, 59
and the father of three young children — Adrian, 7; Lulu, 5;
Gabriel, 2
by his third wife, former New Bohemians
singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, 34. (Simon has a son, Harper,
27, from his first marriage.)
His new album also provides an understated, yet enchanti-
ng, summation of where Simon has been in his multifarious
career, while offering little indication of where he might be
headed next.
"I think that's accurate," he said, before quickly adding: "I
think this [album] is pretty much a step forward."
But You're the One also is a refinement of the previous styles
he has embraced, which range from gospel, rockabilly and
homegrown pop idioms to South African township-jive,
Brazilian samba and Puerto Rican plena and bomba.
"This album draws from all of my recording career; it's
more in the summation category than those [previous]

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