2. Paul SimonThe Paul Simon Anthology

The first track from Paul Simon is ‘Train In The Distance’ which is about things that you want that are distant or don’t come to fruition but there’s that train in the distance. Wonderful. I love Paul Simon’s early work. It’s about life and about a love affair, about how you always love the train in the distance almost more than the train that’s passing right by. I love songs for different reasons and that one always takes me back to memories that I have. ‘American Tune’ taught me that you can talk about one thing, and then immediately shift to something that sounds so different. You see the way his mind works. I want to meet him. I want to talk to him about his brain because I’m learning to do that in my own songs. ‘American Tune’ is completely up to date now – the United States Statue of Liberty is floating away into the sea where it’ll probably drift down to the bottom like Colston’s statue. I love Paul Simon’s musicality and the way he never overstates. He knows just how to understate and his musicians always do things I absolutely love.