Paul Simon Announces New Album 'In The Blue Light'

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Paul Simon is currently in the middle of his farewell tour, which has seen him revisit a number of long-lost deep cuts along with a bevy of his most beloved material. Simon will accompany the final leg of the tour with the release of a new album entitled In The Blue Light on September 7. The LP features new interpretations of 10 of Paul’s “personal favorites from his body of work.”

Paul Simon recruited longtime collaborator Roy Halee to produce In The Blue Light. Contributors include iconic jazz musicians Wynton Marsalis, Bill Frisell, Jack DeJohnette and Steve Gadd. Simon also brought in yMusic to add to tracks on the album. yMusic are currently touring with Paul for a segment of the show that features “Can’t Run But” and “Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War,” both of which are included on In The Blue Light.

“This album consists of songs that I thought were almost right, or were odd enough to be overlooked the first time around. Re-doing arrangements, harmonic structures, and lyrics that didn’t make their meaning clear, gave me time to clarify in my own head what I wanted to say, or realize what I was thinking and make it more easily understood,” Simon explained in a press release. “It’s an unusual occurrence for an artist to have the opportunity to revisit earlier works and re-think them; to modify, even completely change parts of the originals,” Paul added in the liner notes.

“Happily, this opportunity also gave me the gift of playing with an extraordinary group of musicians, most of whom I hadn’t recorded with before. I hope the listener will find these new versions of old songs refreshed, like a new coat of paint on the walls of an old family home.” Head here to pre-order Paul Simon’s In The Blue Light.

[The Story Of In The Blue Light]