I'm pleasantly surprised with Paul Simon's concert, album

Paul Simon’s new album, “Surprise,” hardly comes as a shocker to longtime fans. More than 40 years after the release of his first album, he’s created another artfully woven musical experience.

Simon is a rare brand of musician that can fit a philosophy encompassing love and politics into an album. Usually, the two aren’t good bedfellows, but Simon blends the two seamlessly. With beautiful guitar work, “Wartime Prayers” explores the effects of national struggles on private supplications. As he’s been doing since the 60’s, Simon uses snapshots of private life to comment on society.

To help launch his first new album in 6 years, Simon performed his last concert of the tour Sunday, July 30 at Harvey’s Outdoor Amphitheater. As he shifted back and forth between his classic crowd pleasers and his latest songs, it was clear he’s captured the latest chapter in his life in the same lyrical structure as his hit 1986 album “Graceland.”

There are differences in subject matter and sound. “Surprise” lacks “Graceland’s” global flavor, lent from the album’s African collaborations. “Surprise” is purely homegrown. And rather than tell a song’s story from the eyes of a divorcee with a child, as in the album’s title track, “Surprise” visits the theme of being a new father, anxiously watching the clock run down on his remaining time.

While I still believe “Graceland” is the best album on the topic of midlife crises, I’m looking forward to savoring Simon’s signature word puzzles in his latest album to get the full meaning. Simon’s work is best digested slowly.

But by mainstream audiences, Simon may be pigeonholed by his own success. For many, the first chapter of Simon’s musical career with Art Garfunkel contains his best work, such as “The Boxer,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “Mrs. Robinson.” Some say Simon is nothing without Art.

A woman sitting next to me at the concert told me after the fourth song, the older crowd would stand up and cheer as soon as he started playing his older music. To which I said, “But “The Boy in the Bubble” (1987) is a classic.” She looked at me sternly and said, “Not old enough.” In spite of enthusiastic whoops and hollers, most of the crowd remained seated for more than half of the show.

But Simon knew his audience. To keep all groups happy, he jumped back and forth in his repertoire, hopping through what might loosely be categorized as the three eras of Simon – teenage angst, midlife crisis and the new music. By the end, everyone was standing.

Even at 64, his voice is still sweet and sincere enough to give his words full impact. Simon and his band had impressive energy and impeccable timing. Simon himself is so expressive, it was amazing to see the emotion I’ve heard in his songs for years, embodied in the man.

It’s still a question of whether his latest album will reach the lofty description of being a “classic” that some of his other albums have reached. Then again, the audience called Simon back onto the stage for three encores, and would have cheered for more had the stadium lights not come on.

I have a feeling his new album will may be a surprise hit.