In the Blue Light is his final new album, Simon says; it offers brand new takes on 10 of his previously-recorded songs.
Some are gently tweaked, others more substantially rewritten and/or rearranged.
One of the new versions is an absolute hoot…and a nice surprise.
Pigs, Sheep and Wolves is an allegorical song that debuted on Simon’s 2000 album You’re the One.
I suggest you hear this – the 2000 version – first:
The new version’s lyric is updated, sharpened, as discussed here.
More importantly, the new performance is much more vibrant in every respect – Simon’s vocal is livelier, his handling of the lyric is shrewder, more amusing, and he is wonderfully accompanied by a New Orleans-accented ensemble.
Wynton Marsalis is the new version’s arranger; he and Marcus Printup are its trumpeters.
If you had never heard of Paul Simon – and you had never heard this song, until “ambushed” by its 2018 version – you would have no reason to suspect that its singer was 76 years old…an “ambushed” newcomer would reasonably assume that this must be some clever young songster’s response to President Trump.
After you have clicked “play”, below, you can proceed directly to Pigs, Sheep and Wolves by selecting “5/9” via the individual track selector icon which sits on top-left of the youtuber.
Then, I suggest you listen to the other cuts, too – most especially, to Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy, on which Sullivan Fortner is pianist, Jack DeJohnette drummer, Joe Lovano saxophonist and John Patitucci bassist.
Well, the evening’s gone, listening to your revelatory covers, Doug. Most enjoyable.