Album: Paul Simon, Graceland 25th Anniversary Edition (Sony Music)

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Andy Gill Author Biography

Andy Gill

Andy Gill is The Independent's Music Critic.

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Saturday 02 June 2012

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It may have broken a cultural boycott, but Paul Simon's Graceland probably helped hasten the end of apartheid by presenting black South Africans as other than faceless victims.

The character of the base music here is overwhelming: complex, ebullient and life-affirming, and in yoking this intricate dance music to his sophisticated New Yorker sensibility, Simon created a transatlantic bridge that neither pandered to nor patronised either culture. This 25th Anniversary Edition includes outtakes and demos, along with Joe Berlinger's wonderful film about the project, Under African Skies.

Download: The Boy in the Bubble; Graceland; Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

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