Paul Simon contemplates mortality and God on 'Seven Psalms,' his dream-inspired new album that isn't an 'album'

Paul Simon, "Seven Psalms" (Owl Records/Sony Legacy)The sounds of silence ring loud and clear on the intensely contemplative "Seven Psalms," Paul Simon's often whisper-soft new album that is not — he maintains — an album in the conventional sense of the word. Make that hushed and clear. This seven-song collection revels in melancholic understatement and gentle nuances as the legendary troubadour explores themes of mortality and spirituality, joy and dread, the past and present, the unknown future, and a clock that — for this 81-year-old music legend in the autumn of his years — ticks louder ea...