Paul Simon\'s 1980 film, One-Trick Pony, was not autobiographical, strictly speaking, but probably mirrored his career anxiety as the \'70s segued into the \'80s. It came five years after the hit-making album Still Crazy After All These Years and five years before Graceland made him “relevant” again. He may have been wondering what it might feel like to become a once-was from the \'60s, popularity slip-sliding away and reduced, like the protagonist of his story, to opening for punk rock bands and arguing with a glib producer trying to mold him into a more contemporary act.
He didn\'t have to worry, as it turned out. Simon would become a beloved touchstone. The Legacy reissue of the One-Trick Pony album, complete with a couple of bonus tracks from the soundtrack not included on the original LP, is a reminder that he was doing good work in those in between years. Overlooked among his solo albums (maybe Simon had reason for worry?), it features a batch of songs that ably synthesize folkiness with jazz and echoes of reggae and Brazil. His lyricism, warmth and wit were as superb as ever.
