Paul Simon Considers God, Man and for Whom the Bell Tolls in Quietly Stunning ‘Seven Psalms’: Album Review

variety.com:

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic All these decades on, Paul Simon is still looking for angels in the architecture.

Maybe especially now; he’s 81 and, like many of his contemporaries, thinking about end-of-life issues both spiritual and corporeal.

The observations in his quietly stunning new album, ”Seven Psalms,” reflect a sort of consummate maturity: There aren’t many more stages of ripeness you can move on to, in this life, beyond the one where a hard out looms. “Psalms” is a collection of songs with concerns in the past, present and (maybe) future, with Simon briefly looking back at some bridges burned; looking presently at how little the topical concerns that divide us seem to matter in the face of mortality; and looking ahead to see… well, to see if there is an ahead, as afterlife concerns remain as murky in old age as they did in youth. “Seven Psalms” is unlike any other Simon album in almost too many ways to list.

On the most basic level, the extent to which the singer-songwriter wants you to experience it as a concept album is underscored by the fact that its seven distinct songs — plus two unbilled reprises — are being released digitally as one long track.