Wee bald Paul has decided to give up on the wig in favour of a wine-coloured baseball cap for these shows, his first UK appearances in donkey's years. Unfortunately, the young, sporty headgear does not hide the fact that Mr Simon is beginning to resemble Mel Brooks.
Though current album 'You're The One' may have disappointed the faithful - for the first time in over 15 years he leant on past glories and failed to break new ground - he swiftly wins the crowd over tonight with a greatest hits set, with songs like '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' and 'Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard' popping up in the first half hour.
'Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes' is great, with the band doing a fine impression of Ladysmith Black Mambazo for its a cappella introduction, and its light, breezy guitar and huge syncopated horn stabs reminding us how good 'Graceland' was - as does the storming 'You Can Call Me Al' that follows.
This is very much a no-frills-just-tunes show, the only trace of his multi-cultural escapades of the '80s and '90s being the curious international selection of musicians behind him: American, Hispanic, European and African, a typically diverse mix for the New Yorker.
It's all, by the standards of the acoustically dodgy Apollo Hammersmith, sounding enormously rich and crisp, but then, this is a full band. Three lead guitarists is a bit much, but three drumkits? Paul Simon is plainly the most percussive singer/songwriter in rock.
Other solo hits - 'Boy In The Bubble', 'Late In The Evening' - nestle alongside Simon & Garfunkel classics like 'Old Friends', 'Homeward Bound' and a huge and dynamic 'I Am A Rock', and the audience here love every minute of it, even though some of the trickier melodies, which he used to sing with ease, reveal that his voice is perhaps not as sprightly as it once was.
A great run of old favourites - 'Kodachrome', 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', 'Scarborough Fair' (performed with old folky Martin Carthy, who next to Paul Simon's easy US croon sounds as English as they come), 'The Boxer' and 'Still Crazy After All These Years' - complete this celebration of all Paul Simon has done in the last 30 odd years. And he - as well as his fans - deserve it, too. 'You're The One' may not contain any timeless classics, but not to worry. He already has enough of those for another few decades...
