There was a long in-depth interview of Paul Simon by Nicholas Dawidoff in Rolling Stone a few weeks ago, and among different topics, comes the unavoidable Dylan one. It seems that he is still annoyed by the tendency people have to compare him to Dylan.
This is what Simon said:
‘One of my deficiencies is my voice sounds sincere, I've tried to sound ironic. I don't. I can't. Dylan, everything he sings has two meanings. He's telling you the truth and making fun of you at the same time. I sound sincere every time. Rock & roll has a lot to do with image. If that's not your strength, people find fault with the work’.
‘I usually come in second, I don't like coming in second. In the very, very beginning, when we were first signed to Columbia, I really admired Dylan's work. 'The Sound of Silence' wouldn't have been written if it weren't for Dylan. But I left that feeling around The Graduate and 'Mrs. Robinson.' They weren't folky anymore’.
Ah well, I don’t blame him, coming in second has always been frustrating, although I don’t think there is any bitterness between the two songwriters since they toured together in 1999. For my part, I don’t even think they are comparable, they are two distinctive voices, and comparing them would be like comparing strawberry shortcakes to chocolate brownies. All good!