Warning: The following review describes graphic violence and features video clips with excessive and pervasive language. Viewer discretion advised.
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Songs from The Capeman presents an album that represents a stark departure for pop singer and songwriter Paul Simon (b. 1941). It features a preview of songs that were eventually included in the 1998 Broadway musical, The Capeman, which Simon collaborated on with Derek Walcott. The musical focuses on the life of Salvador Agron (1943-1986), a Puerto Rican poet and former member of the Vampires street gang who was charged with double murder in New York City in 1959 at age 16 for stabbing two children and served twenty years in prison. The Broadway production proved a colossal failure due to the negative critical reception from audiences regarding the thematic material and stylistic choices. Both the musical and album combine 1950s doo-wop with genres from the transnational Puerto Rican musical diaspora via salsa, bomba, musica jibara, and other genres.  

Evidence from the album liner notes and biographical information respectively indicate that Paul Simon grew dissatisfied with musicals in the late twentieth century that he perceived as lacking originality and wished to do something different with musical theater.[1] He began working on The Capeman in 1989 while writing songs for his Rhythm of the Saints album (1990). His decision to explore Salvador Agron’s life through music stemmed from the connection that Simon had with also having grown up in New York City in the 1950s and his collective memories regarding public reactions to the murder in 1959: most notably, by the vitriolic rhetoric from the press and testimonies from Agron himself. The fact that Agron displayed candid contempt for authority and had no remorse for his actions back then did not alleviate the situation. [2] In many respects, Paul Simon and Derek Walcott present a more realistic 1950s that offers a darker depiction of gang warfare and racial discrimination in New York City. Both the Broadway production and album contain lyrics with abundant profanities via “f-words” and pervasive language. In addition to fusing doo-wop with musical genres from Latin America and the Caribbean, The Capeman incorporates sung dialog throughout the production.  

While the show has undergone revivals, the latest one from 2010, full recordings for The Capeman prove difficult to find. One can, however, find the documentary film The Capeman on Broadway, which concerns the musical and the processes involved. The documentary not only shows footage from the testimony by Salvador Agron. It also presents the collaboration between Simon and Walcott in St. Lucia while working on songs for the show, in addition to the casting and rehearsals that took place in 1996 (including moments with personal tension due to conflicting creative ideas). The original production featured a predominantly Latino cast, with Marc  Anthony and Ruben Blades respectively portraying Salvador Agron from youth to adulthood and Ednita Nazario portraying Agron’s mother.  

The Capeman attempts to humanize Agron by depicting him as more than just a criminal. He was someone with a purpose in life whose actions affected his family and whose time in prison caused him to alter his ways. That same humanization also backfired by causing outrage from audiences in 1998: many of whom either misinterpreted the musical as glorifying murder or who took umbrage at Paul Simon for trying to incorporate different musical genres. That last aspect presents some irony given that more contemporary musicals, like the works by Lin Manuel Miranda (In the Heights and Hamilton), apply Latin American music and hip hop and have mostly received critical praise.  
 
Songs from The Capeman includes thirteen tracks of the over thirty songs from the Broadway production. Simon reworks the songs so that the result sounds more like a concept album with Latin American music and doo-wop. He periodically intersperses audio clips from Salvador Agron speaking to news reporters after his capture by the police. These clips function as the glue that holds Songs from The Capeman together to give the album consistency. This does not mean that the album does not contain odd moments, however. Simon sings most of the songs himself, with a few moments from other artists. This decision can initially come off as jarring to listeners, especially when Simon spouts profanities on tracks like “The Vampires,” or when he sings the track “Can I Forgive Him?”: a song intended to represent how Salvador Agron’s mother felt about her son’s crime and conviction.[3] The liner notes to the songs also include lyrics assigned by the characters in the Broadway production, even though Simon sings most of the parts on Songs from The Capeman. In that respect, the album serves as an intimate glimpse into how Paul Simon approaches the material and to offer listeners a sample of what the music from the production sounds like.

[1] Marc Eliot, “The Singing Capeman,” in Paul Simon: A Life (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010), 218-230; Paul Simon, Songs from The Capeman (New York: Warner Bros. Music, Inc., 1997), Liner Nores.

[2] The liner notes for Songs from The Capeman demonstrate that the title for the musical derived from an infamous nickname that the New York City newspapers used to identify Salvador Agron because he wore a black cape.

[3] Paul Simon, Songs from The Capeman (New York: Warner Bros. Music, Inc., 1997), Tr. 5; Tr. 7.

I discussed in one of my previous posts last month that music marketing often requires the artist to stay vigilant and attentive to potential online scams. Consider this current post an expansion on what I previously said. Locating jobs related to music can prove difficult at times due to unpredictability. Even though creating an accurate and honest resume and Curriculum Vitae (CV) can help secure work for a potential candidate, such documentation alone does not suffice. The artist must also showcase their skills and demonstrate what they can do. I present this process through “Demo Reels.” They clearly show clips from audiovisual works and collaborations from my creative output over the years. I have intentionally inserted these reels on the “Home” page of my website so that potential visitors know what kind of works to expect from me in advance should they commission music.

Artists in this current era must also be aware that some job postings in the field are not always what they seem. It helps to conduct searches online to determine the legitimacy of a given company or organization for freelance or academic work. This shows whether or not a company or organization is officially accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and can elicit audience feedback via reviews and complaints from customers or clients. Here are some factors and situations to think about when searching for remote or location-based music jobs:
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1. The advertised institution or company features questionable background information about their history or services.
2. The company or website applies paid subscriptions and online job markets with polarizing services.
3. Customers often experience short trial periods with little time to react when the trial periods end.
4. Some paying customers also complain of being overcharged with monthly fees.
5. Customers often find it difficult to cancel subscriptions and lessons.
6. Success largely depends on how well the potential candidate for the job knows a given subject, which varies drastically based on audience feedback.
7. Some customers complain about deceptive or unethical business practices from a company or institution, leading them to proclaim that they are scam.
8. Potential candidates receive decent compensation, but the job applicant must find the clients on their own. This especially applies when tutoring or creating a private music studio for teaching.
9. The qualifications for freelance music composition jobs vary by what a given project requires.
10.  Qualifications for a job depend on how well the skills on an applicant’s resume match what the job requires.
11. Some job postings can appear new, but they are outdated.
12. Some job listings receive “promoted” advertisements to increase visibility and persuade potential applicants.
13.  The time to apply and submit works for consideration varies, with some offering a surprisingly short window of opportunity.