''Songs from The Capeman'' is the ninth solo studio album by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

, released in 1997. His first new studio album of original materials in seven years, it contains Simon's own performances of songs from the Broadway musical he wrote and produced called '' The Capeman'' augmented by members of the original cast. The songs retell the story of Salvador Agron, who was known as the "Capeman". A departure musically from his earlier work, the album features doo-wop, rock 'n' roll and Puerto Rican rhythms and a number of songs contain explicit lyrics, a first for Simon. The stage show was a commercial flop, losing $11 million, and the album did not sell well. It peaked at number 42 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

, the lowest chart position in Simon's career.

Track listing

All songs written by

, with lyrics co-written by

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...

. ;Side one ;Side two ;2004 reissue bonus tracks

Personnel

* Paul Simon – lead vocals (1-6, 8, 10, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 4, 8-12), backing vocals (3, 4, 6), hi-string guitar (4, 7) * Orinete Lopez –

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

(1),

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...

(2, 7, 9), horn arrangements (9),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

(12) * Oscar Hernández – acoustic piano (2, 5, 7, 9), synthesizers (2, 4),

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five- octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ...

(4),

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The gloc ...

(4),

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

(4), horn arrangements (5) *

Horace Ott Horace Ott (born April 15, 1933) is an American jazz and R&B composer, arranger, record producer, conductor and pianist, noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Simone, Hou ...

– acoustic piano (4, 8) * Paul Griffin – acoustic piano (6) * Michael Ramos –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

(12) *

Vincent Nguini Vincent Nguini (July 1952 – December 8, 2017) was a Cameroonian musician and guitarist. Nguini was best known for his work with American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, with whom he recorded and toured for 30 years. Biography Nguini was born in ...

– electric guitar (2), guitars (4, 9, 12) * Edgardo Miranda –

cuatro Cuatro is Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see Cuatro) and the other from Venezuela (see Cuatro) ...

(2, 3) * Nelson González –

tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * "Tres" (song) by Juanes * "Tres", a song by Líbido from their album ''Hembra'' * TrES, the ''Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey'' * Templi ...

(2) * Paul Livant – guitars (4) * Wally Richardson – guitars (6) * Saturnino Laboy – acoustic guitar (7) *

Diomedes Matos Diomedes Matos is a Puerto Rican musician and master instrument maker who is most famous for building string instruments. He built his first guitar at age 12 and later studied and mastered construction techniques for several traditional string ...

– acoustic guitar (7) *

Arlen Roth Arlen Roth (born October 30, 1952) is an American guitarist, teacher, and author. From 1982 to 1992, he was a columnist for ''Guitar Player'' magazine. Those ten years of columns became a book, ''Hot Guitar''. His father Al Ross (Abraham Roth) ...

– guitars (8, 10, 11, 12), acoustic guitar solo (12) *

Harper Simon Harper James Simon (born September 7, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He is the son of Paul Simon and his first wife Peggy Harper. Simon's talents have appeared on several studio albums, and has been featured in ...

– guitars (8, 10, 11),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

(8) *

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

– guitars (9) *

Robby Turner Robby Turner is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known for his work with Waylon Jennings and his contributions to recordings by many other artists. Biography Early years Turner grew up in a musical family; his parents Doyle and Bernice ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

(12) * John Beal – bass (2, 4) * Bernie Minoso – bass (5) *

Jay Leonhart Jay Leonhart (born December 6, 1940) is a double bassist, singer, and songwriter who has worked in jazz and popular music. He has performed with Judy Garland, Bucky Pizzarelli, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra, and Sting. Leonhart is noted for his cle ...

– bass (6) * Rubén Rodriguez – bass (7, 9) * Tony Garnier – bass (8, 10, 11) *

Bakithi Kumalo Bakithi Kumalo (; born 10 May 1956) is a South African bassist, composer, and vocalist. Kumalo is most known for his fretless bass playing on Paul Simon's 1986 album ''Graceland'', in particular the bass run on "You Can Call Me Al". Biography and ...

– bass (12) *

Robby Ameen Robby Ameen (born December 7, 1960) is an American drummer, composer, bandleader, and educator who resides in New York City. Although he is of Lebanese origin, Ameen is best known for the unique and powerful Afro-Cuban style he has created. He is ...

– drums (4, 9), "guitar case" kick drum (4) * Richard Crooks – drums (6) * Shannon Ford – drums (8, 10, 11, 12) * Bobby Allende –

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

(2), cymbals (2),

bell tree A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bow ...

(4) *

Marc Quiñones Marc Quiñones is a percussionist, a longtime player in salsa music, a former member of the Southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band (1991–2014) and the Gregg Allman Band. He is of Puerto Rican ancestry. Born in The Bronx, New York, he b ...

–

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

s (2),

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

(2), cua (2) * Milton Cardona – backing vocals (4, 5), bongos (7),

claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony o ...

(7),

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

(7), congas (9),

güiro The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet (instrument), ratc ...

(9) * Eddie Montalvo – congas (5) * Pablo Nuñez – bongos (5),

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

(5) * Johnny Andrews –

(5) *

Jimmy Sabater Jimmy Sabater (April 11, 1936 – February 8, 2012) was an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. A three-time winner of the ACE Awards, he was a singer and timbales player. He gained international fame thanks to his work with the Joe C ...

– congas (6), cowbell (6) * Errol "Crusher" Bennett – shaker (12) * Marcia Butler –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

(2) * David Mann – baritone saxophone (3), tenor saxophone (3) *

Bill Holloman Bill Holloman (born c.1956) is an American jazz and blues tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and trumpet player. Holloman featured in the bands of Nile Rodgers (Chic), Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers and alongside Danny Gatton. He has perfor ...

– tenor saxophone (4, 12) * Pablo Galigero – baritone saxophone (5),

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave ...

(9) * Mitch Frohman – tenor saxophone (5) * Chris Eminizer – tenor saxophone (6) *

Bob Franceschini Bob Franceschini (born 1961) is an American jazz saxophonist and instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He has appeared on more than eighty albums including those of Mike Stern, Paul Simon, and Willie Colón. Franceschini grew up in Manhatta ...

– soprano saxophone (9) * Luis Lopéz – trombone (5) *

Ozzie Melendez Osvaldo Melendez Jr, known professionally as Ozzie Melendez, has been a highly regarded studio musician and touring artist in various genres of the music industry since the mid- 1980’s. He has performed with some of the biggest names in the ind ...

– trombone (9) * David "Piro" Rodriguez – first trumpet solo (2), trumpet (9) * Ray Vega – second trumpet solo (2), trumpet (5), trumpet solo (5) * John Walsh – trumpet (5) * Barry Danielian –

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though som ...

(9) * Stewart Rose –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

(2) * Julliet Haffner – violin (2), viola (9) * Laura Bontrager – cello (7, 9) * Krista Bennion Feeney – violin (9) * Paul Peabody – violin (9) * Stanley Silverman – orchestrations (2, 9), orchestra conductor (7) *

Karen Bernod Karen Bernod (born May 13, 1964, Brooklyn, New York) is an American-born R&B vocalist, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her unique vocal harmonies as a background singer for Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, C&C Music Factory and D'Angelo. ...

– backing vocals (1, 3) * Reginald "Briz" Brisbon – backing vocals (1, 3) * Renee Connell-Adams – backing vocals (1, 3) * Myrna Lynn Gomila – backing vocals (1, 4), harmony vocals (3) * Derrick James – backing vocals (1, 3) * Kia Jeffries – backing vocals (1, 3) * DeWayne Snipe – backing vocals (1, 3) * Ed Vasquez – backing vocals (1, 3) * Ray De La Paz – backing vocals (2, 4) * Nestor Sanchez – backing vocals (2) * Danny Rivera – coro vocals (2) *

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

– lead vocals (3, 9) * Teana Rodriguez – harmony vocals (3), backing vocals (4) * Angelo Aponte – backing vocals (5) * David Davilla – backing vocals (5) * Hans Giraldo – backing vocals (5) * Louie Marrero – backing vocals (5) * Angel Ramirez – backing vocals (5) * Hechter Ubarry – backing vocals (5) * Robert Vargas – backing vocals (5) * Frankie Negron – falsetto lead vocals (6) *

Bobby Bright Bobby Neal Bright Sr. (born July 21, 1952) is an American former lawyer, farmer, and former politician who served as a U.S. Representative and was previously the three term Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. He served from 2009 to 2011 as the Repre ...

– backing vocals (6) * Sean Pulley – backing vocals (6) * Dionte Sutton – backing vocals (6) * Trent Sutton – backing vocals (6) * Ednita Nazario – lead vocals (7) *

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...

– lead vocals (9) * Victor Miles Levy, Jr. – interviewer (11) * Sara Ramirez – vocals (12)

References

{{Authority control Paul Simon albums 1997 albums Albums produced by Roy Halee Warner Records albums fi:Songs from The Capeman