One-Trick Pony

One-Trick Pony
Studio album by Paul Simon
Released	August 1980
Recorded	1979 - 1980
Genre	Rock
Length	38:12
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Paul Simon, Phil Ramone
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B-) link Rolling Stone (mixed) link
Paul Simon chronology
Greatest Hits, Etc. 1977 One-Trick Pony 1980 Hearts and Bones 1983

One-Trick Pony is an album released by Paul Simon in 1980.

Paul Simon's One-Trick Pony was released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred. Despite their similarities, the album and film are musically distinct, each feature different versions of the same songs, as well as certain songs that appear exclusively on either the film or the album. The album is best known for the track "Late in the Evening" which was a hit for Simon in 1980, peaking at #6 in the U.S. Two of the tracks (the title song and "Ace in the Hole") were recorded live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio in September 1979. The rest are studio cuts.

The record features several top session musicians (who also appeared in the movie as the character Jonah's backing band), including Eric Gale on lead guitar, Richard Tee on piano, Tony Levin on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums.

In 2004, One-Trick Pony was remastered and re-released by Warner Bros. Records. This reissue contains four bonus tracks, including "Soft Parachutes" and "Spiral Highway" (an early version of "How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns") both of which were featured in the film but were missing from the original album release. Also included in the re-release were the outtake of "All Because of You" (an early version of "Oh Marion") and "Stranded in a Limousine", which originally appeared on the 1977 compilation Greatest Hits, Etc.

After years of being available only on videocassette, in 2009, the film was finally released by Warner Brothers on DVD.

Miscellanea

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2009)

• The album is mentioned on the thank you page of Douglas Adams' novel, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

• The Victoria, B.C. band Immaculate Machine takes their name from the lyrics of the track "One-Trick Pony".

• String Cheese Incident have covered the song "Late In the Evening" on numerous occasions, with drummer Michael Travis on vocals.

Track listing

1. "Late in the Evening"
2. "That's Why God Made the Movies"
3. "One-Trick Pony"
4. "How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns"
5. "Oh, Marion"
6. "Ace in the Hole"
7. "Nobody"
8. "Jonah"
9. "God Bless the Absentee"
10. "Long, Long Day" (with Patti Austin)

Personnel

Paul Simon - vocals, guitar, percussion

• John Tropea - acoustic guitar
• Patti Austin - vocals
• Joe Beck - electric guitar
• Michael Brecker - saxophone
• Hiram Bullock - electric guitar
• Jon Faddis - flugelhorn
• Don Grolnick - synthesizer
• David Sanborn - saxophone
• Marvin Stamm - trumpet
• Ralph MacDonald - percussion
• Randy Brecker - trumpet
• Dave Grusin - horn & string arrangements
• Gordon Edwards - bass
• Steve Gadd - drums, percussion
• Eric Gale - guitar
• Lani Groves - background vocals
• Anthony Jackson - bass
• Tony Levin - bass
• Irwin "Marky" Markowitz - trumpet
• Hugh McCracken - acoustic guitar
• Jeff Mironov - electric guitar
• Richard Tee - piano, tambourine, background vocals
• Bob Friedman - horn & string arrangements

External links

• One-Trick Pony at the Internet Movie Database