Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon

Pared down from over 30 hours of conversation with Paul Simon, to just over 5 hours for this audiobook/podcast. I adore the minds and works of both Paul Simon and Malcolm Gladwell and the moment the announcement of this book landed in my inbox (via Gladwell's newsletter), I knew I had to have it. A gift to myself. I have listened to most of Gladwell's books as audiobooks because he narrates and I find his voice soothing and easy to listen to. Gladwell says this isn't a biography, per se, but rather a kind of musical biography. Just conversations they had over several meetings, over several months, about music, about inspiration, about the creative process. Also included are other people like Sting, and Roseanne Cash, among others, show more talking about how Simon's music informed their lives.

As *books* go, audio or otherwise, this is something I would prefer to have physically in my hands. But (so far, anyhow), it's only available as this podcast so that's the way I listened. Simon talks but also plays, sings, tells stories, and sounds like he's having a ball. He is full of stories, not just about specific songs, and his background, but also of the creative process. And lots of anecdotes, some of which were hilarious! If you have ever read anything by Gladwell, you will know that he often starts with a premise, then goes off on tangents and then ties everything up neatly, connecting all the dots. I love his style. And he can be funny, too. So can Simon!

Lots of music, too. And lots of in-depth questions, and responses.

In the final section of the audiobook, the Afterword, Simon and Gladwell discuss one of my personal favourite Simon songs, An American Tune. Simon said that he sings it differently now, even though when he wrote it, at age 30 (50 years ago!!), he was mostly talking about being *weary to the bone* of things going on at the time, like Vietnam, Nixon, and so on. Yet today, without naming anyone or anything specifically in the song, or getting political, he said the weariness feels so very contemporary and relevant: Iraq, trump, covid, the protests. It's really amazing, almost startling, yet somehow, not really, that Simon's lyrics can transcend time that way. *I can't help but wonder what's gone wrong.* As Gladwell says, the song is not an artifact, but it still has resonance, 2 generations later....

Paul Simon is 80 years old. His vocal quality is still strong, more mature but still as characteristically melodic as ever. Beneath his brilliant and insightful lyrics, is intent, precision. Gladwell calls it genius. I agree.

Gladwell is pretty insightful, himself, in the way he frames his questions and gets Simon to look at his own work. At one point, Simon says that he did not write a particular song (Tenderness) *that way* but now that Gladwell mentions this, maybe, in fact, that is exactly what he was doing. He comments that Gladwell's insight was better than his.

Confession: as soon as I finished listening, I went back and listened to it again, all the way through. It was that good. show less

Being a fan of Simon and Garfunkel since listening to my dad's Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. LP I was and remain hooked to their music. Also, a fan of Malcolm having read most of his books and an avid listener to his podcast, this audiobook was a real treat. I am fascinated by the creative process involved in the creation of music and songs. This audiobook delivers in buckets on Simons creative process and provides tremendous insight into the great songs written and albums produced by Paul. Having grown up in South Africa during that time, the chapters on Graceland hold special significance and interest for me and listening to what drove Paul to go to South Africa and how that ended up in a political quagmire that it did, and I vaguely show more remember the fallout from that time, and the wonderful response of the Graceland Tour thereafter, this was powerful stuff. As an engineer myself I appreciated the input by Roy Halee on how he was tasked with finding the right "colors" to add to Paul's music. The intimate conversations with the genius and music snippets were certainly a highlight of the audiobook. This is a MUST listen for all fans of Paul and music lovers. show less

Like many Americans growing up in the 1970s, I always enjoyed Simon & Garfunkel and early solo Simon but it took Simon's Graceland, 1986 to make me a real fan. Gladwell really hit on something here, capturing an artist who was really willing to sit down and discuss his craft. It is truly a marvel, listening to Simon analyze his creative process, along with playing and singing from time to time, (he is 80 years old and still in fine voice) Musical guests also stop by from time to time, to express their thoughts on Simon and music.
This is exclusively an audio experience and only available in that format, so if you are a fan, do yourself a big favor and track this beauty down.

Miracle and Wonder - Gladwell/Headlam/Simon
4 stars

This isn’t a book. It’s a priceless collection of interviews. But, even though Gladwell calls the sections ‘chapters’, it’s really a collection of podcasts. I’m not sure that is important. I enjoyed every listening minute.

I don’t read celebrity memoirs. I’m not interested in the name dropping or the sordid personal details. I am very interested in the creative process. Gladwell’s conversations with Simon focus on that process. There are occasional sidebars where Gladwell analyzes Simon according to psychological or philosophical theories of creativity. (Interesting, and I would like to read more of some opinions that were cited.) But mostly, this was Simon show more discussing how he does what he does. It was fascinating. show less

I listened to the audio edition of this book, and, in fact, I can’t imagine “reading” it any other way. “Miracle and Wonder” is a wonderful book, filled not so much with biographical information about Simon (although there is some of that), but more about Simon’s music and the culture in which it was created and popularized. Gladwell and Bruce (media desk editor for the N.Y. Times) sat down with Simon for several sessions to talk about life and Simon’s music and where that music fit into that life. The editing is excellent and the story is really enjoyable. Even if you’re not much of a Paul Simon fan, I guarantee you’ll find this book informative and enjoyable.

Malcolm Gladwell recorded conversations with Paul Simon over many months, touching on Simon’s early career as well as his later works.

I’ve always loved Paul Simon’s songs since I was a teenager in the early 70’s and Simon and Garfunkel were a team. Now I understand that Simon is also a musical and creative genius. Every chapter is enjoyable and enlightening.

The only downside I see to this book is that since it was an Audible production, it doesn’t seem to be available except through Audible. I was able to find it in my library’s Hoopla account.

Enjoyed.. hearing the stories behind his great music was enlightening, thought Gladwell tried a bit too hard to find the psychology in his lyrics. I loved the format, so relaxed, it was just a conversation with Paul Simon, talked about his father a lot (fascinating) and his songs with Garfunkel (also, fascinating). Easily recommend for fans of Paul Simon.