reviewvancouver: VSO -The Paul Simon Songbook

American singer-songwriter Paul Simon seems to have been around for decades - well, in fact, he has! Starting with the release of Simon & Garfunkel’s oddly titled first album "Wednesday Morning, 3am" in 1964, Simon has been pretty prolific, putting out around twenty albums, including five with former musical partner Art Garfunkel.

In this tribute concert dedicated to his vast catalogue, guest conductor Sean O’Loughlin, current he Principal Pops Conductor of the Victoria Symphony, leads the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in a program that encompasses the subject’s fifty-plus year career. The first half of the program essentially covers his early range of work recorded with Garfunkel. The second set, following an intermission focused on his more recent work including the iconic Graceland (his seventh solo studio album) that was influenced by the South African style of Mbaqanga – an urban Zulu form of music.

Maestro O’Loughlin gets top notch help from three vocalists that know Paul Simon’s song well, and mostly do full justice to American conductor and arranger Jeff Tyzik’s new arrangements. Native New Yorker Paul Loren is an exponent of soul, classic pop, and the Great American Songbook. Daniel Berryman, another New Yorker, is essentially a musical theatre artist who has performed on the ‘Great White Way’ many times. Last, but certainly not least is Oklahoman Emily Drennan who comes from a musical family. Her mother is a singer/songwriter, her father is a trumpet player and she has a brother who is a multi-instrumentalist.

The concert gets under way with a format contradiction in “Graceland.”We might have expected to hear in the second set. All three singers come together with “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate soundtrack. The next song, “Scarborough Fair” is actually derived from an old English folk ballad that the Simon/Garfunkel duo added a canticle to in 1966. It was then the turn of Emily Drennan to lead the vocals on “El Condor Pasa” and have her interpretation join the 4,000 previous versions of Daniel Alomía Robles' song. On “America”- inspired by a road trip that Simon took with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty - Drennan proved that these songs can sound as good with a female voice.

Following an intermission, Paul Loren, who had so far mostly played guitar and joined in the harmonies, really came into his own as a lead singer. He has a similar timbre to Paul Simon and on “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover,” which featured guest musician Eric Metzger on drums, and “Mother And Child Reunion” he demonstrated his understanding of Simon’s unique style of songwriting. However, with “Still Crazy after all these Years” he delivered a more personal interpretation.

It was fitting that the three singers came together to close the concert in a three-part harmony of Simon’s popular anthem “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” After several minutes of appreciative applause, Maestro Sean O’Loughlin, members of the orchestra and featured vocalists Daniel Berryman, Emily Drennan, Paul Loren remained on stage for a rousing version of “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard.”