On his debut album, Harper Simon, the son of legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon has created an album that dear ol' dad would be proud of. Famous offspring usually don't take this long to put out their own music, but after a few years in the band Menlo Park, the 37 year old Harper thought it was time to strike out on his own and use the last name that so many are familiar with. Although it's hard to listen to the record and not be swept away with the voice that sounds eerily similar to Paul's, the effort shows a man who knows a thing or two about music himself. The albums foundation was laid down in Nashville with a host of session musicians that included Elvis Presley's bassist Mike Leech and guitarist Al Perkins. After those sessions were complete Harper went to New York to finish the album with producer Tom Rothrock, who has lent his talents to a host of musical minds most notably Elliott Smith. In fact, The track "Shooting Star," sounds like something Elliott would have came up with if his mind wasn't so clouded with drugs and depression. Harper also enlisted a group of famous friends to round the album out including Aaron Espinoza, another child of rock royalty, Sean Lennon, and even Poppa Paul contribute to the discs concrete foundation. Even when some of the lyrics are not at there strongest, the country twang, comforting folk, and elegantly strummed acoustics hold the songs together like crazy-glue. It will be hard for Harper to be mentioned without something about Paul following, but this album proves that you can take the gifts that were passed down to you and make something beautiful and significant without sounding like a carbon copy.
