• Record Label: Legacy
  • Release Date: Jun 5, 2012
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 53
  2. Negative: 7 out of 53
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Mar 1, 2023
    9
    Wow. What a fantastic record. Lyrics, production and performance executed perfectly. Admittedly, I only gave it a shot because I heard a couple of artists cite it as their inspiration.
  2. May 2, 2015
    10
    One of my favorite albums. It's chock full of great pop hits that sounds like the best of 80s music. Combining African, American, and Mexican music into one great piece.
  3. Mar 11, 2013
    10
    This is my second favorite album of all time. Can't begin to understand why the user score is this low. Paul Simon's African tinged melodies are remarkable and the musicianship (especially the six-string fretless bass performed by Bakithi Kumalo) is superb. Absolute classic, for me, this album doesn't deserve anything less than a 10 or 9.
  4. Aug 31, 2012
    9
    It's a great album that I never really liked. I like hearts & bones way more than this one. This one annoyed me when it came out because all the baby boomers were listening to it and Lionel Richie.
  5. Aug 28, 2012
    8
    Graceland [25th Anniversary Edition] - Paul Simon , great album by Paul Simon. Great Musician. His sound is just the way I like, smooth, deep. Thank you Paul Simon
  6. Aug 26, 2012
    10
    Graceland was a big album for me in high school; all my friends and I were into it. I recently gave it another spin, and found it has all the musical and lyrical depth of a true classic. I also love Rhythm of the Saints, and while I won't be buying the anniversary edition of Graceland, I appreciate this look back at one of the game changers of the 80s.
  7. Jul 25, 2012
    5
    Average. Not convinced it stands the test of time. Hard to imagine now what all the fuss was when it was released back in the 1980s. Did not blow me away then, and does not now.
  8. Jul 15, 2012
    5
    This is a great album, but a poor reissue. There are three commonly available versions of this record. The CD from 1987 sounds the best. Every time they rissue it, they increase the loudness and decrease the dynamic range. They have done nothing to remix the sound or provide a surround sound experience. The add-ons are nice but most have been available for a while. If you don't haveThis is a great album, but a poor reissue. There are three commonly available versions of this record. The CD from 1987 sounds the best. Every time they rissue it, they increase the loudness and decrease the dynamic range. They have done nothing to remix the sound or provide a surround sound experience. The add-ons are nice but most have been available for a while. If you don't have Graceland, buy it, its a great record. But, don't buy this reissue, buy the original. Collapse
  9. Jul 5, 2012
    10
    I grew up listening to this album and just this week decided to put it on my iPod for a closer listen. Simon's lyrics are fantastic, poetic even. The instrumentation blends genres flawlessly. I made an account on Metacritic just so that I could give this the best possible rating. While not "flawless" Graceland is about as damn close as you're going to get. It's worth a listen.
  10. Jun 13, 2012
    6
    It is ridiculous the way re-issues of good albums get so many 10 out of 10 scores.
    10 out of 10 means absolutely perfect.
    Not even my favourite album is absolutely perfect.
  11. Ale
    Jun 12, 2012
    10
    released in 1986 this is one of the best album ever... perfect! Simon's genius with a great story behind....... african and american music and culture side by side.
  12. Jun 11, 2012
    2
    This album sucks. I don't even care that he won a Grammy. There's nothing else to be said. |
    |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Metascore
98

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Aug 1, 2012
    92
    [Graceland] was unique in its total, and totally natural, synthesis of musical strains that turned out to be not nearly as different from each other as its listeners might have expected, and the result resonated strongly around the world and across generations.
  2. Jul 26, 2012
    67
    The usual ephemeral padding--an extensive oral history rendered redundant by the documentary, a poster, and a replica of Simon's legal pad of lyrics--fills the linen-bound Graceland deluxe, which footnotes the remastered album with a 25-minute bonus CD of demos mostly heard on previous editions, though a 10-minute "The Story of 'Graceland'" audio deconstruction by Simon sums up the box in a song.
  3. Jun 27, 2012
    100
    The album is the real star here, sounding as fresh, vital and universally accessible as ever 25 years down the line.