It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since Paul Simon released arguably his finest and most creative solo album Graceland. It's also hard to believe that this brilliant music legend hasn't released anything worthwhile since 1990's Rhythm of the Saints. 1997's Songs From The Capeman was a colossal, overly labored disaster and 2000's You're The One was a quick follow-up from an artist that realized he was losing his core audience; yet it turned out to be anything but inspired. No "surprise" then that a few years ago Simon finally decided to re-team with his old pal Arthur and go out on a wildly successful reunion tour to right his own personal sinking ship. Now that he's got his listeners attention once again, what is this aging fossil to do?

Surprise is Simon's answer and surprise! It doesn't suck (even if the dreadful cover art does). In fact, not only does Surprise not suck, it's definitely his best record since Rhythm (not that that's really a huge compliment or shock to anybody) and probably his most inspired since Graceland. It also rocks! But don't be alarmed easy listening fans, you do have to consider that this is Paul Simon were talking about here. Credit Surprise's producer Brian Eno (Roxy Music keyboardist, producer for U2 and Talking Heads, the father of Ambient music and legendary solo artist in his own right) for pushing Simon in a new direction. It couldn't have been easy for Eno to convince Folk troubadour Simon to add louder guitars and electronic beats to his repertoire, but thankfully Simon went with it. Try listening to something like "Everything About It Is A Love Song" with its engulfing techno influenced style and tell me Simon could have come up with something as engaging on his own this late in his career.

With Eno being brought in to worry about the "sonic landscape" as it's written in the liner notes, Simon seems to be solely focused on the delivery and creation of lyrics and melody, and for the most part these aren't just lyrics, they're verses of grace and poetry. Yes, there are terribly silly moments such as "Outrageous" where Simon tries too hard to show younger generations he can still be hip by trying (and failing) to unleash his own brand of rapping. But Surprise is full of rich and tender moments that really took me aback, such as "How Can You Live In The Northeast?" which deals with prejudice on all levels, and "Beautiful" which is based around the blessing of adopting children from third world countries. On all levels, Surprise is aptly titled and at times more of a shock; a record that no one could have seen coming from an artist that has proven here that the Boxer still has a few good rounds left in his legs.