Review: Paul Simon’s New Live LP, ‘The Quiet Celebration Concert’ From His Latest Tour

Paul Simon has released a 2-disc live album, The Quiet Celebration Concert, a soundtrack (if you will) of a concert video released in combination. I love music BluRays but I so rarely put them on I’m just focused on the live album, because as you know, I love live albums. I also love me some Paul Simon, as the saying goes.

This live album is culled from the tour he did last year in support of his 2025 album Seven Psalms. I didn’t review Seven Psalms when it came out because I’ve never had any use for psalms from anywhere or anyone. But even a pagan like me can admit it was an important late work from an important artist. Simon was so motivated he came out of retirement from touring in support of this piece.

If you’re like me and watched all the 50 year celebrations for SNL, you probably saw Simon perform “Still Crazy After All These Years,” SNL’s defacto theme song, with Sabrina Carpenter. I was left stunned at how the ravages of time had come for his voice. It was… well… not good.

Those concerns even kept me away from Simon’s tour which pulled through town at the Midland Theater last year. Despite that, I was drawn to this live album. I’ve been a fan of Simon’s since before I was even listening to music. My parents had the Simon and Garfunkel greatest hits album from ’72 and it was occasionally played at the house.

While his voice is, yes, very husky and is showing the wear and tear of time – and who amongst the rock legends hasn’t had this happen (Neil Young, McCartney, Leonard Cohen, Dylan) – I found this concert recording to be warm and very entertaining. His voice doesn’t bother me on this album.

The band creates a wonderful backdrop to support Simon. And if you can get past his diminished voice I think you’ll find some gems here to enjoy. Simon has such an amazing songbook from which to draw from, from Simon And Garfunkel to his solo stuff, that this makes for an interesting listen. It’s made doubly so by the fact that he digs deeper into the songbook for some rarities.

After a brief intro from Simon himself he plays “Seven Psalms” in its entirety and it fills the entire first disc. “Seven Psalms” is a 7-track song cycle, released as 1 song, that speaks of god, life, death, and pretty much everything in between. I actually like this live version better than the studio version. I think the hits and rarities that come after are a reward for sitting through this long, long piece.

I think “Seven Pslams” is definitely worth a listen but the casual fan will likely not get into it. The piece runs over 35 minutes. And most people haven’t heard it. I’m sure more than a few fans in the audience might have been freaked out about it. As for me, I’ll always applaud an artist taking a big artistic swing like this.

Disc 2 is where the fun is. As promised we get some of Simon’s greatest hits. He starts the second set with “Graceland” the title track of his landmark 1986 album. It too is about a religious pilgrimage, this time to Elvis’ home in Memphis. Who doesn’t love the King?

The set is littered with hits: “Slip Siding Away,” “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard,” and “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.” We also get a number of great, great songs from his Simon and Garfunkel era: “Homeward Bound,” “The Boxer,” and of course “The Sound Of Silence.”

It’s the rarities that draw me into this set. He does “The Late Great Johnny Ace” about yes, Johnny Ace but also John Lennon. He also does “Rewrite” from his great 2016 album Stranger To Stranger. I love that he also reaches back to Graceland for “Under African Skies.”

He even does a 2-song set from The Rhythm Of The Saints, “Spirit Voices” and “The Cool, Cool River.” I dated a woman who once told me that Rhythm Of The Saints was as important as Graceland. She wasn’t right about much, but she might have been on that one.

Simon’s wife Edie Brickell even shows up to sing duets on a couple of tracks. I always liked Edie, she’s got a nice voice and it’s a good counterpoint to Simon’s.

Simon speaks to the crowd a couple of time and he’s always witty and entertaining. Listening to this album is like hanging out with a cool uncle that you used to drink or get high with when you were in college. Or a letter from an old friend. It all seems to work.

These legends like Paul Simon won’t be around forever, so let’s enjoy what we can while they’re still here to thrill and entertain us. Hopefully all of this will inspire Simon to write some more music.

Enjoy this one with a tumbler of sour mash, enjoy a “quiet celebration,” and let’s all get ready for the craziness that this fall will certainly bring…and maybe we’ll have a louder celebration in November.

Cheers!