Paul Simon's Graceland (Paperback)

Paperback. Celebrated, controversial, and conspicuously eclectic, Paul Simons Graceland stands among the monumental albums of the 20th century. This book explores how and why it made its mark, from the international collaborations that defined its musical character, to the inflamed political environment from which it emerged.Graceland incorporated some of South Africas most beloved popular music traditions, including township jive, kwela, and the intricate isicathamiya harmonies of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It also featured contributions from Central and West African musicians, alongside an array of North American styles Chicano rock, country, synth-pop, Louisiana zydeco and, of course, Simons characteristically abstract poetics. This book revisits Graceland as an important example of the global relevance of African music. Released in 1986, amid an intensified period of anti-apartheid activism across world, the album had a unique relationship to South Africa: it drew attention to apartheid and Black African music while its popular significance was simultaneously propelled by the anti-apartheid movement. As a collaborative, cross-cultural project straddling the boundaries of a deeply unequal world economically, politically, racially Graceland invites reflection on the relationship between art and politics, both then and now. An illumination of Graceland, Paul Simons celebrated and controversial album of 1986, made in collaboration with American and Black South African musicians against the violent backdrop of apartheid. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…