Menlo Park

Harper Simon says …

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | musiX | 2 Comments

There was something slightly familiar about Harper Simon’s voice when I gave his song “Shooting Star” a spin last night. The vocals in particular.

Simon is another in a long line of musicians to have had “The Gift” since they were floating in the womb. Liam Finn has it. So did Jeff Buckley. Jakob Dylan … right, not the best example. I guess being the son of the guy who wrote some of the greatest songs ever—”The Boxer,” “I Am a Rock,” “Cecilia”—could be considered a boon … or a curse. But I have a feeling Harper Simon is quietly going to make a name for himself this year.

The 37-year-old Simon, of course, has been around music his entire life. He made his debut with his old man on Sesame Street in 1976 when he was 4. By age 12 he was playing guitar on his father’s Graceland tour. Later on Harper attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before moving to London and playing in a post-rock five-piece called Menlo Park.

Now Simon is on his own and he’ll release his debut self-titled record on Oct. 13, produced by Bob Johnston, who twiddled the knobs on Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. The album was recorded in Nashville with a number of notable musicians (including pedal steel player Lloyd Green, who’s played with everyone from George Jones to the Statler Brothers, as well as Sean Lennon and, of course, his father Paul). The result is a glistening and lush recording where country twang meets melancholy pop melodies. And while you can definitely hear the influence of his father, it doesn’t overshadow the fact that Harper Simon’s songs are simply really good.

“Shooting Star” - Harper Simon

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