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Shazam's Review

Paul Simon, as one half of Simon & Garfunkel, had a very long and distinguished career before releasing his solo work which took him to new levels of international acclaim. 'Graceland' was the album that drew most attention. Inspired by a visit to Elvis Presley's estate in Memphis, it took influences from Zydeco and Tex-Mex as well as many African styles, and a large chunk of it was recorded in South Africa. In fact Simon caught some flak for that as it happened during apartheid, and a cultural boycott was in place. However, general consensus was that he promoted the musicians involved in the project without showing any support for the government. Apparently triggered by a real life party in which Simon was mistakenly called 'Al' by the host (who also called Simon's wife Peggy 'Betty'), 'You Can Call Me Al' has its foundations in a great moving bassline and tribal drum pattern onto which is hooked a straight forward synth/brass chord progression and the somewhat existential lyrics. The African tone both in the instrumentation and rhythm lends the track a welcome tone of optimism and was one of the reasons 'Graceland' was so well received. ~Martin Gadgil. Copyright (c) Shazam Entertainment Limited 2009. All rights reserved  shazam