Stranger to Stranger is ... Simon’s most interconnected work, a self-contained world unto itself full of backing tracks that wind up in multiple songs and recurring characters (“the Street Angel”) who pop up in unexpected places.
Stranger to Stranger is a title aptly reflected in the music; this is a record of Paul Simon extending his reach, engaging others, and putting the results on paper as well as on an album that just happens to be his most accomplished piece since Graceland.
Without a doubt,Stranger to Stranger is a testament to an artist who refuses to be ordinary and pigeonholed. With this LP, Paul Simon has created his best work in many years.
Carrying over the momentum from his last excellent release, 2011’s So Beautiful Or So What, this disc features Simon at his most restless, in terms of both his questioning lyrics and his search for the right sound, and that restlessness pays off for the listener in endlessly fascinating ways.
Where the specter of 9/11 hung heavily over Surprise, Simon seems at peace on Stranger to Stranger, acknowledging the twilight yet not running toward it because there's so much to experience in the moment. He's choosing to push forward, not look back, and the results are invigorating.
Stranger To Stranger is poof positive that Simon isn’t simply still here, but he’s kicking with gusto. In a year where good news has been fleeting for classic rock fans, Simon’s latest is worth grabbing onto with both hands.
Stranger to Stranger is arguably the best album of Paul Simon's uneven post-Graceland solo career. His reliably melodic songwriting is buoyed by his most adventurous arrangements in years.
#8 | / | MOJO |
#12 | / | Rolling Stone |
#12 | / | Rolling Stone (Australia) |
#20 | / | American Songwriter |
#20 | / | LA Music Blog |
#23 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
#24 | / | Diffuser |
#24 | / | Uncut |
#25 | / | Billboard |
#39 | / | Paste |
#47 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
#65 | / | PopMatters |
#66 | / | Fopp |
/ | AllMusic |
/ | NPR (First Half) | |
/ | Rolling Stone (First Half) |