Album Reviews

Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What (Decca 7232814) £13.99Now in his 70th year, Paul Simon remains one of the world’s greatest singer-songwriters and the quality of his work shows no signs of diminishing with the advancing years. Still best known for his work with Art Garfunkel and 1986’s outstanding solo album, Graceland, Simon’s latest sees him bang back in form. His acoustic guitar playing is as adept as ever and his voice as pure as when he sang 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover all those years ago. Simon is still on top of his game. PW

Emmy The Great – Virtue (Close Harbour, 538001242) £11.99

Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter Emmy The Great was rightly feted as one of the brightest stars of the British folk scene following 2009’s excellent First Love. Here she abandons some of the honesty and acerbity which characterised her debut, and expands her sound away from the acoustic guitar.

Fans of the first record – particularly of Emmy’s over-enunciated word endings – will find enough to keep them happy through the album. AM

Julian Steckel – Cello Concertos (Avi-music, 8553223) £13.99: This compelling recording reflects the differing experiences of three 20th century Jewish composers: Korngold, Bloch and Goldschmidt. Korngold, who wrote for Hollywood, is represented by his brief, harmonically lush concerto, Bloch by the dark-hued Rhapsodie hebraique and Goldschmidt by his four-movement work. The young German Steckel plays each with touching sensitivity. While Korngold beguiles, and Bloch challenges, the standout piece is Goldschmidt’s in a zestful performance with the Rheinische Philharmonie. RC

Mélodies – Stéphane Degout. (Naive: V5209) £13.99: Fauré, Debussy and Ravel may be the cornerstones of French art song, but there were other pillars as Stéphane Degout demonstrates in this fine recital. While he is better known in this country as an opera singer, his flexible, beautifully shaded baritone reveals an artist of wider gifts in this programme of works by Debussy, Duparc, Saint-Saens, Chabrier, Hahn and Ravel. From Duparc’s febrile Le Galop to Chabrier’s perfumed L’île heureuse, the phrasing is immaculate, the voice is beautifully and perfectly controlled throughout the whole of the recording. RC