Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scores The cover art for the album was taken from a portrait of Simon painted by artist Chuck Close. It was officially announced with the lead single "Wristband" premiering online on April 7, 2016. Stranger to Stranger was first announced when Simon announced his tour dates in February 2016. The instrumentals "The Clock" and "In the Garden of Edie" function as interludes, designed to give listeners "space." The two tracks were originally composed for John Patrick Shanley's play Prodigal Son, but went unused. I don't see why characters shouldn't appear more than once," said Simon. "The idea of finishing one song and having the character appear in another song appeals to me. The album also has continuity, with characters reappearing in songs. "Proof of Love" and "In the Garden of Edie", meanwhile, stand as tributes to Simon's wife, musician Edie Brickell. It also takes root in a visit Simon made to wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital. "The Riverbank" was inspired by a teacher that Simon personally knew who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012. "Wristband" creates a narrative around a rock musician unable to gain entry into his own concert because he lacks the wristband required. The song's origins came from Simon and his band experimenting with slowing down the tempo of a recording they made of the Peruvian percussion instrument Cajón, the Indian instrument gopichand, and hand claps. "The Werewolf" centers around a werewolf, also an angel of death, who is looking for victims. That microtonal thinking pervades this album." "He had a totally different approach to what music is and had to build his own instruments so he could compose on a microtonal scale. "Parch said there were 43 tones to an octave and not 12," Simon remarked in Rolling Stone. Simon briefly moved the sessions to Montclair State University, where the instruments are stored, in 2013 in order to employ them on the album. Composition Īndy Greene of Rolling Stone dubbed Stranger to Stranger an "experimental album heavy on echo and rhythm that fuses electronic beats with African woodwind instruments, Peruvian drums, a gospel music quartet, horns and synthesizers." The album makes use of custom-made instruments, such as the Cloud-Chamber Bowls and the Chromelodeon, which were created by music theorist Harry Partch in the mid-twentieth century. "I always liked working with him more than anyone else," Simon noted. He was unfamiliar with Pro Tools, so Simon helped him with it. Halee, who had retired years earlier, was mostly recruited to advise on how to create natural echo. Simon also worked with longtime friend Roy Halee, who is listed as co-producer on the album. He and Clap! Clap! worked together via email over the course of making the album. The two met up in July 2011 when Simon was touring behind So Beautiful or So What in Milan, Italy. Simon was introduced to him by his son, Adrian, who was a fan of his work. Simon collaborates with the Italian electronic dance music artist Clap! Clap! on three songs-"The Werewolf", "Street Angel", and " Wristband". Simon began writing new material shortly after releasing his twelfth studio album, So Beautiful or So What, in April 2011. It represented Simon's highest-ever debut on the Billboard 200, at No. His first release in over five years, Stranger to Stranger received wide critical acclaim. Three of the songs on the album are collaborations with Italian electronic artist Clap! Clap!. Its music is experimental, making use of custom-made instruments by composer and music theorist Harry Partch. Simon wrote the material over a period of several years, perfecting it and rewriting it to his liking. Produced by Paul Simon and Roy Halee, it was released on Jthrough Concord Records. Stranger to Stranger is the thirteenth solo studio album by American folk rock singer-songwriter Paul Simon.
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