Having experimented with rhythm-based textures for much of the previous two decades, the singer returned to composing songs in a more traditional manner using only his acoustic guitar.

The music of So Beautiful or So What features West African blues-inspired guitar playing, Indian-style percussion, and experimentation with samples, which ranged from an excerpt from a 1941 sermon to nighttime ambience in Kenya.

[1] Keeping in line with his experimental attitude, Simon decided to record the acorns, remarking, "All sounds are musical once you start to listen.

[1] Many songs were recorded with a hand-built cigar-box guitar, which Simon bought from Mississippi blues musician Super Chikan.

[4] Analogue effects were applied before recording digitally to keep mixes simple; this method also inspired Simon while arranging the songs.

[5] Additional recording took place at Simon's summer home in Montauk, New York on Long Island, but less so than his previous efforts.

"[6] The cover art, titled "DNA Mutation", was designed by visual artist and NASA systems engineer Sven Geier.

[3] Unlike his previous rhythm-based albums, in which he would gain inspiration for his guitar parts from pre-recorded backing tracks, Simon took a more traditional approach to building the songs on So Beautiful or So What.

He wrote songs at home before developing them further in the studio with the help of a natural click track, such as "a percussion instrument, or even just tapping out a rhythm on his guitar.

[1] The music for So Beautiful or So What was inspired by West African blues, which Simon combined with "Indian drumming, Old Hollywood strings and bluegrass harmony singing.

"[1] The album's music is also largely devoid of heavy bass (some tracks actually using a baritone guitar instead), and drums are very quiet and reserved.

Club suggested that the album's gospel influence inspired the touch of humor when discussing dark subjects such as death.

Simon heard the sermon on a box set titled Goodbye Babylon, which consists early 20th century Americana.

[11] "The CAT scan's eye sees what the heart's concealing", sang Simon over African cadences and Indian tablas, before marvelling at how his wife and he "were born beneath a star of dazzling blue".

[1] "Questions for the Angels" includes a reference to American rapper Jay-Z, which was inspired by a billboard featuring him that was present over the Brooklyn Bridge for a time.

[8] "So Beautiful or So What" contains what Simon once admitted is "one of [his] favorite Bo Diddley rhythms," and the song's title references Miles Davis's "So What".

"Rewrite" and "Love and Hard Times" appeared in Simon's 2008 book Lyrics; 1964-2008, "Questions for the Angels" was included on the 2009 Starbucks compilation This Better Be Good,[8] and the lead single "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" premiered on National Public Radio on November 16, 2010.

[19] It was released on formats including digital download, vinyl LP, and a CD deluxe edition with a DVD featuring footage of Simon's live performances at Webster Hall.

[4] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said So Beautiful or So What sounded not only focused but "vivid, vibrant, and current in a way none of [Simon's] peers have managed to achieve".

[28] Los Angeles Times writer Margaret Wappler praised its "multiethnic landscape" of American folk and Afropop influences on an album that is his best since 1990's Rhythm of the Saints.

[37] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles took note of Simon's lyrics: "Sketches of individuals and moments are intertwined with grander pronouncements; unforced humor tempers gloomier reflections".

[38] Will Hodgkinson from The Times believed his meditations on the afterlife are informed by both youthful enthusiasm and the wisdom of old age,[35] while The Guardian's Maddy Costa said Simon "finds an answer to the ineffable in song".

[12] Many reviewers took note of the rather overt religious symbolism in Simon's lyrics; one Irish blogger facetiously called So Beautiful or So What the year's best Christian music album, while American evangelical journalist Cathleen Falsani said it was the most significant record of spiritually reflective music in recent years.

[9] Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau found Simon's usual folk rock "graced with global colors that sound as natural" as his guitar and said his lyrics are imbued with gratitude for his wife's love and God, although he disagreed with Simon's view of God's benevolent nature.

He named "Love Is Eternal Sacred Light" as a highlight but still felt its evocation of the singer's 1987 song "The Boy in the Bubble" made it seem predictable coming from Simon.

[41] It was voted the 14th best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide.