Homeward Bound is staggering in its breadth, a beautifully written chronicle of Paul Simon’s long and winding road ... Carlin is fearless in his depictions of Simon’s less savory qualities, especially accusations that he has a habit of ripping off ideas from other artists. Carlin’s prose is notably scintillating when he goes behind the scenes of Simon’s seminal albums.
Some bones of the rock-bio formula remain, but even from the get-go, Simon’s path—and Carlin’s recounting of it—bears intriguing abnormalities. The Portland author pays particularly careful attention to the New York songwriter’s formative years...It’s an often-overlooked period that’s crucial to understanding the rest of Simon’s career ... Carlin also diagrams his subject’s personality in a way that fully informs and illuminates the music ... Carlin provides a rewardingly complete picture in his briskly readable narrative.
Carlin provides a brisk and engaging overview of Simon’s career and protean musical output ... Carlin’s account of this early, near-anonymous phase of Simon’s career is both the most fascinating and the most telling part of the story ... For the most part Homeward Bound is crisp and well-paced, not long on psychological depth or detailed analysis, but generally lucid and evocative ... Not surprisingly, the long anticline of Simon’s post-Graceland career is the dullest part of the book.
Carlin’s account of Simon’s stinginess in sharing songwriting credits with other contributors throughout his solo career and apparent theft – from a trusting fellow musician – of the concept of what became his Grammy-winning Graceland album will leave a sour taste with fans. But like any good biographer, Carlin finds the genesis of many of Simon’s finest songs in his tough personality and personal conflicts.
...the thoroughly researched and solidly told Homeward Bound reveals many sides of a complicated, ambitious, insecure figure ... his love for Simon’s towering accomplishments as a songwriter is clear. He’s especially insightful examining the colossal Broadway flop of The Capeman.
...respectful, insightful — and so very damning ... Carlin offers several instances of musicians with credible claims of getting ripped off by Rhymin’ Simon.
