The New York Times Book Review - Alan Light
Carlin…received no cooperation from Simon…But the thoroughly researched and solidly told Homeward Bound reveals many sides of a complicated, ambitious, insecure figure.
Publishers Weekly
10/31/2016
As Carlin (Bruce) points out in this often tuneless critical biography, Paul Simon has been chasing his musical muse since his childhood, when he first heard the Crows’ “Gee” on the radio. Drawing on a wealth of research as well as interviews with some of Simon’s friends and fellow musicians, Carlin nimbly chronicles Simon’s life and music. The saga starts with Simon’s youth, which might have foreshadowed Simon’s lifelong curmudgeonly personality—“There was a sadness about the boy from the beginning”—and childhood, in which he took on his father’s willfulness and sarcastic nature. He and Art Garfunkel formed the duo Tom and Jerry. Following their ascent to the musical stratosphere as Simon & Garfunkel in the late 1960s, their relationship became contentious, but his solo career was mostly successful. Carlin provides colorful details of the events surrounding the recordings of many of Simon’s albums, such 1973’s There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, which he recorded in the famed Muscle Shoals studio where so many of his favorite soul songs had been recorded. The book is lackluster, painting a portrait of Simon with which fans are already familiar: a creative genius whose reticence is often mistaken for misanthropy, whose gleeful humor is often mistaken for sarcasm, and whose desire to discover the perfect lyric or chord or hook is insatiable. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"Definitive... Simon’s personal life, drug problems and marriages are intimately detailed, and figures from Bob Dylan to Woody Allen make cameos…Carlin has gone deeper than anyone yet.” —Rolling Stone
"Respectful, insightful — and so very damning." —New York Daily News
“Touching…pure pleasure” –People, book of the week
"You can almost hear the melodic anthems Simon created through Carlin's exhaustively researched, deeply-felt prose." —Harper's Bazaar
"[T]horoughly researched...Homeward Bound reveals many sides of a complicated, ambitious, insecure figure."—New York Times Book Review
"The alchemy of pop stardom is a curious process, and few stories are as unlikely and as absorbing as that of the Jewish kid from Queens turned folk superstar. Fresh off 2012’s “Bruce,” his take on another quintessentially American subject, Carlin provides a brisk and engaging overview of Simon’s career and protean musical output…a good story, and Carlin tells it well…crisp and well-paced…lucid and evocative…Carlin is admirably even-handed when faced with Simon’s sometimes acrid personality.”—The Washington Post
“Drawing on vast research and original interviews...[Carlin] traces Simon’s Jewish lineage back to Austria, where his grandfather, also named Paul, was born and raised before emigrating to the United States and becoming a successful tailor. He examines Simon’s deep-seated insecurities, including his lifelong hang-up about his height and a contentious relationship with his father.... Carlin is also fearless in his depictions of Simon’s less savory qualities, especially accusations that he has a habit of ripping off ideas from other artists...[his] prose is notably scintillating.”—The Boston Globe
"You hold in your hands a book just as epic and fine as "Sound of Silence" or "American Tune." Peter Carlin has gotten it all down, the partnerships, the comedy, the heartbreak and triumph of Paul Simon, who might well be the one who lasts. And it's not just the words—it's the music, that is, the sharp clarity of Carlin's writing that keeps the pages flying. The great gift of Homeward Bound is to let you hear Paul Simon's great catalog of tunes all over again, as if for the first time."
—Rich Cohen, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun & The Moon & The Rolling Stones
"The world of pop music has paraded its own mythologies for decades, insisting that art and business can be separated, that authenticity is the condition of the greats, that politics is as easy as a statement made from a stage. But the truths are different: art and commerce are regularly in unflattering bedroom situations, the greats spend much of their time adjusting masks, and politics only begins with a protest song. The case of Paul Simon, presented here by Peter Ames Carlin with an admirably even tone and unabashed skill, pushes these truths out front. Homeward Bound is a book you should read if the ruckus you hear behind those soaring melodies is of interest, as it should be."
—Warren Zanes, New York Times bestselling author of Petty
“While fans wait for Simon’s own story of his life, this insightful, well-researched work from Carlin (who penned an acclaimed Springsteen bio before Bruce did) will certainly do.” —New York Post
"First Major Paul Simon Biography Is a Real Whopper: This compelling period in Simon’s career is expertly detailed – along with the rest of his life, musical and otherwise — in Peter Ames Carlin’s exceedingly well-written book. And while Paul Simon has been the subject of several, more slender bios, this is incredibly the first actual detailed tome, with the author conducting in-depth research and more than 100 original interviews." —Houston Press
"Carlin achieves a satisfying balance across every decade of Simon’s life.Carlin also diagrams his subject’s personality in a way that fully informs and illuminates the music. Be advised: You’ll want to have Simon’s recordings on hand as you read Carlin’s engrossing account of how they got made—and with the road map he provides, you’re bound to hear something you never noticed before."
—Portland Mercury
“[A] nuanced, fascinating portrait…Carlin expertly tracks Simon's professional career, from the earliest days with Garfunkel when they were finding their footing as performers, through the climax of their career as a band with their 1970 album ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ to Simon's solo artistic peak with the 1986 release of ‘Graceland.’ Simon's music career defies easy categorization—much as his relationship with Garfunkel does—but in Carlin's portrayal, his legacy as an innovative songwriter and musician is undeniable. An absorbing and layered study of ‘one of the most influential voices in Western popular culture.’” —Kirkus Reviews
"Throughout this highly readable biography Carlin depicts an artist who is tough, smart, uncompromising, audacious, and incredibly talented." —Booklist
"In Homeward Bound, biographer Peter Ames Carlin (who also published a best-selling 2012 bio of Bruce Springsteen) brings the shrewd eye of a reporter, as well as the enthusiasm of a lifelong fan, to his scrutiny of Simon...meticulously reported, often startlingly perceptive portrait...In this tough but compassionate examination of his life, his fans will come to understand Paul Simon a little better."—Dallas Morning News
“The best Bruce Springsteen biographer yet takes on another iconoclastic singer-songwriter." —Oakland Press
"[Homeward Bound] offers a sweeping panorama of the singer-songwriter’s life story...favoring a psychological approach to understanding its subject’s lifelong conflicts, ... [it] provide[s] a picture of a man struggling with the binary tensions of post-immigrant, postwar Jewish life in America."
—Forward
“Carlin excels at telling a rattling good story, and his book is full of plenty of them. After reading Homeward Bound, you might dislike Simon or you might love him even more than you’ve ever loved him. No matter, you’ll certainly discover the forces which drive him and his songwriting, and you’ll gain a new appreciation for his songwriting genius… Even-handed and absorbing, Carlin’s Homeward Bound introduces us to a musician whose heart is restless until it rests in a song.” —No Depression
FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator Adam Grupper gives an unflashy performance of this fact-driven biography, which traces Paul Simon from his roots to the work he’s doing today. Simon’s many relationships—romantic as well as his lifelong friendship/feud with onetime partner Art Garfunkel—are engaging enough without a narrator’s embellishment, and Grupper’s style helps listeners track the many names and places that feature in Simon’s life. Grupper does set off quotes with a credible version of Simon’s voice, as well as other familiar voices, adding to clarity. His skill also gives variation to a narrative that occasionally drags with unnecessary repetition and tangents. This solid biography will appeal to many music fans. A.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-08-03
A biography of the singer/songwriter who helped define the cultural landscape of the 1960s as half of the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel and who later achieved massive success as a solo artist.At an impromptu school assembly in 1952, Paul Simon (b. 1941) first heard his classmate Art Garfunkel sing, though they didn’t know each other at the time. The experience made an impression on the young Simon, who saw in Garfunkel his nascent desire to become a singer and star. As freelance journalist and veteran music writer Carlin (Bruce, 2012, etc.) observes in his nuanced, fascinating portrait, Simon’s friendship with Garfunkel would be the defining relationship of his life, both professionally and personally. Their brotherly and often contentious friendship would see them rise during the 1960s from humble wannabes with second lives in law school and a graduate program in mathematics to pop superstars. Growing up in a musical household—his father, Louis, was a professional bass player—Simon’s musical interests were encouraged, and he received early lessons in the business, which would influence his shrewd approach to making deals. As Carlin notes, however, Louis would become resentful of his son’s success and would harangue him to give up his career to become a teacher despite being a world-renowned pop star. This feeling of inferiority would fuel Simon’s lifelong identity crisis, as he adopted many pseudonyms throughout his career, notably Jerry Landis, and constantly struggled with fame and his own abilities. Carlin expertly tracks Simon’s professional career, from the earliest days with Garfunkel when they were finding their footing as performers, through the climax of their career as a band with their 1970 album “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” to Simon’s solo artistic peak with the 1986 release of “Graceland.” Simon’s music career defies easy categorization—much as his relationship with Garfunkel does—but in Carlin’s portrayal, his legacy as an innovative songwriter and musician is undeniable. An absorbing and layered study of “one of the most influential voices in Western popular culture.
