Interesting that Bob mentioned the South African connection, in light of our discussion of Dave Marsh yesterday. Marsh (virtually alone among critics) made a big deal of the fact that Simon had "violated" the boycott of SA by going there to record, and how he should be ashamed of himself etc etc. Never mind that he gave the situation more attention than any nerdy critic ever could, or that he employed a gaggle of South African musicians, some of whom (like Ladysmith BM) ended up with US record deals.
...and he paid
triple scale to every single person on the record down to the girl that brought them coffee.
...and he started a world tour on which he brought Ladysmith, Miriam Makeba & Hugh Maskela along, and let them tell their stories of Apartheid.
...and every single show ended with a rendition of "Nkosi Sikele Afrika", which was then the ANC anthem, and now is the national anthem of the Rep. of South Africa. A heart-stopping, tears-to-your-eyes performance with about 40 people on stage, virtually all of whom were South African.
