One-Trick Pony (album)

One-Trick Pony
Soundtrack album by Paul Simon
Released August 12,[1] 1980
Recorded 1979–1980
Genre Rock
Length 38:12
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Paul Simon, Phil Ramone
Paul Simon chronology
Greatest Hits, Etc.
(1977)		 One-Trick Pony
(1980)		 Hearts and Bones
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB−[3]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[4]

One-Trick Pony, Paul Simon's fifth solo studio album, was released in 1980. It was Simon's first album for Warner Bros. Records, and his first new studio album since 1975's Still Crazy After All These Years. His back catalog from Columbia Records would also move to Warner Bros. as a result of his signing with the label.

Paul Simon's One-Trick Pony was released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred. Despite their similarities, the album and film are musically distinct: each features different versions of the same songs, as well as certain songs that appear exclusively on either the film or the album. The album is best known for the Grammy-nominated track "Late in the Evening" which was a hit for Simon in 1980, peaking at #6 in the United States. Two of the tracks (the title song and "Ace in the Hole") were recorded live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio in September 1979. The rest are studio cuts.

A few of the session musicians appearing on the album also appeared in the movie as the character Jonah's backing band: Eric Gale on lead guitar, Richard Tee on piano, Tony Levin on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums.

In 2004, One-Trick Pony was remastered and re-released by Warner Bros. Records. This reissue contains four bonus tracks, including "Soft Parachutes" and "Spiral Highway" (an early version of "How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns") both of which were featured in the film but were missing from the original album release. Also included in the re-release were the outtake of "All Because of You" (an early version of "Oh Marion") and "Stranded in a Limousine", which originally appeared on the 1977 compilation Greatest Hits, Etc..

Album title

The title is a colloquial American expression meaning a person specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.[5]

Track listing

All songs were written by Paul Simon.

Side one
  1. "Late in the Evening" – 4:02
  2. "That's Why God Made the Movies" – 3:37
  3. "One-Trick Pony" (Live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, September 1979) – 3:53
  4. "How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns" – 2:49
  5. "Oh, Marion" – 4:00
Side two
  1. "Ace in the Hole" (Live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, September 1979) – 5:43
  2. "Nobody" – 3:32
  3. "Jonah" – 3:30
  4. "God Bless the Absentee" – 3:17
  5. "Long, Long Day" (with Patti Austin) – 3:57
2004 re-release
  1. "Soft Parachutes" – 1:53
  2. "All Because of You" – 4:06
  3. "Spiral Highway" – 2:56
  4. "Stranded in a Limousine" – 3:10

Personnel

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee/work Award Result
1981 "Late in the Evening" Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male[6] Nominated

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1980) Position
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[7] 2
New Zealand Albums Chart [8] 6
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[9] 8
Swedish Albums Chart[10] 9
French SNEP Albums Chart [11] 11
United States Billboard Pop Albums[12] 12
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[13] 15
Spanish Albums Chart[14] 15
UK Albums Chart [15] 17
Canadian Albums Chart[16] 23
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[17] 35

Year-end charts

Chart (1980) Position
Australian Albums Chart[13] 66
French Albums Chart[18] 89

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 60,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

References

  1. ↑ http://www.paulsimon.com/us/music/one-trick-pony
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  4. ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived December 16, 2008)
  5. ↑ "Oxford English Dictionary, Third edition, June 2004; online version March 2011".
  6. ↑ "Rock On The Net: 23rd Annual Grammy Awards - 1981". Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  7. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  8. ↑ "charts.org.nz - Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  9. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  10. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  11. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Paul Simon". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  12. ↑ Allmusic - One-Trick Pony > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
  13. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  15. ↑ "Chart Stats - Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  16. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4703a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=lo0152od4caliufjkgh3mkphk6
  17. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  18. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1980 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  19. ↑ "American album certifications – Paul Simon – One Trick Pony". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  20. ↑ "British album certifications – Paul Simon – One-trick Pony". British Phonographic Industry. Enter One-trick Pony in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
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