page_title: So Beautiful or So What
section_title: Recording and production
hierarchical_section_title: So Beautiful or So What / Recording and production
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a photo of Phil Ramone taken at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 18th, 2009.
context_page_description: So Beautiful or So What is the twelfth solo studio album by American folk rock singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was released on April 8, 2011, by Hear Music.
  The album found Simon reuniting with former collaborator and record producer Phil Ramone. Having experimented with rhythm-based textures for much of the previous two decades, the singer returned to composing songs in a more traditional manner using only his acoustic guitar. These songs were further augmented by experimental recording practices in the studio. The album was largely recorded in a small cottage at Simon's home in New Canaan, Connecticut.
  The music of So Beautiful or So What features West African blues-inspired guitar playing, Indian-style percussion, and experimentation with samples, which ranged from an excerpt from a 1941 sermon to nighttime ambience in Kenya. The songs were recorded with little bass but with a very large presence of bells. Much of Simon's lyrics touch on themes of spirituality and mortality, which Simon said was unintentional and resulted naturally in his songwriting process for the album.
context_section_description: For So Beautiful or So What, Simon reunited with record producer and former collaborator Phil Ramone, who previously worked with him on Simon & Garfunkel's 1982 live album The Concert in Central Park. According to Simon, the reunion came casually; he told Ramone when they met each other that he was beginning to work on a new album and, as Ramone lived in the next town, they decided it would be easy to work together again. Simon recorded the album at his small cottage in New Canaan, Connecticut. The recording sessions often consisted solely of Simon, Ramone, and engineer Andy Smith. Throughout the production of the record, the album's engineers would gradually make upgrades to the space during months off. As it was not acoustically designed or soundproofed, Smith often employed iZotope RX software to rid the recordings of extra noise, such as an oak tree above the home from which acorns fell, interrupting recordings. Keeping in line with his experimental attitude, Simon decided to record the acorns, remarking, "All sounds are musical once you start to listen." Occasionally, Simon would record in the control room instead. Like all of Simon's output from his 1997 effort Songs from The Capeman onward, the album was recorded digitally using Pro Tools.
  Much time was spent on getting guitars to sound as Simon preferred. A bit of experimentation among the additional session players occurred, from which Simon would edit himself, compiling them together or often deleting them altogether. Many songs were recorded with a hand-built cigar-box guitar, which Simon bought from Mississippi blues musician Super Chikan. Analogue effects were applied before recording digitally to keep mixes simple; this method also inspired Simon while arranging the songs. Smith would burn Simon a compact disc each evening of the day's session, and he would return the next day with notes on the recordings. This resulted in mixes being created as the album developed, rather than at the end of the process. Simon and Ramone often listened to their recordings while driving around, noting what would need changes.
  The album's production lasted over a year. Additional recording took place at Simon's summer home in Montauk, New York on Long Island, but less so than his previous efforts. Home recording, as Ramone told Sound on Sound shortly after the album's release, required a certain discipline. Simon would often arrive in the morning and recording until nightfall. Percussion and vocals were overdubbed at Germano Studios. The Indian ensemble on "Dazzling Blue" was recorded at Clinton Studios in New York City, while a bluegrass ensemble was cut at Tony Bennett’s New Jersey studio. Simon’s wife, Edie Brickell, and his teenage daughter Lulu contributed harmonies, while Chris Bear of indie rock band Grizzly Bear contributed electronic drum parts to the album.
  Simon financed the recording of So Beautiful or So What himself after being released from his 30-year record contract with Warner Bros. Records. After the recording sessions were finished, he signed a deal with Concord Music Group to distribute the album. Simon said, "It's the best work I've done in 20 years." The cover art, titled "DNA Mutation", was designed by visual artist and NASA systems engineer Sven Geier.
caption: So Beautiful or So What was co-produced by Phil Ramone (pictured in 2009).
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