Product Description

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were initially inspired by theEverly Brothers and under the name Tom And Jerry enjoyed a hit with 'Hey Schoolgirl'. The duo reunited in 1964 for Wednesday Morning 3AM, which included an acoustic reading of 'The Sound Of Silence'. Producer Tom Wilson made the presumptuous but prescient decision to overdub 'Sound Of Silence' withelectric instrumentation and an album titled after the million-selling single was rush-released early in 1966. Parsley,Sage, Rosemary And Thyme had a varied mood from the grandlyserious 'For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her' to the bouncy '59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)'. The duo contributed Mrs. Robinson to the soundtrack of the 1968 film, The Graduate. That same year saw the release of Bookends, a superbly-crafted work. In 1969 the duo released the celebrated Bridge Over Troubled Water. One of the best-selling albums of all time, the work's title track became a standard with its lush, orchestral arrangement and contrasting tempo. While at the peak of their commercial success, the duo became irascible and their partnership abruptly ceased. Since then there have been sporadic reunions, most notably The Concert In Central Park.

Track Listing

1. Mrs Robinson
2. For Emily Wherever I May Find Her
3. Boxer
4. 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
5. Sound Of Silence
6. I Am A Rock
7. Scarborough Fair
8. Canticle
9. Homeward Bound
10. Bridge Over Troubled Water
11. America
12. Kathy's Song
13. If I Could
14. Bookends
15. Cecilia

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #538 in Music
• Released on: 2004-12-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Simon & Garfunkel have two three-CD box sets collecting their entire career output, one with out-takes and live recordings, but the duo who were among the bestselling acts of the 1960s only recorded five studio albums throughout the entire 1960s! Their studio perfectionism is never better served than here. This greatest hits is simple and to the point, a perfect collection for anyone looking to get the basic idea (and hits) without committing to a more serious relationship. The harmonies, Paul Simon's masterful songwriting, Garfunkel's soaring choirboy voice, are all here. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

The classic S&G compilation -- BUT READ THIS CAVEAT
It would be churlish to criticize "Greatest Hits", as it's the classic compilation, and the best possible 40-odd minute introduction to the duo's work. On the face of it, everything's here. Plus this is an of-the-time release, one you or your parents probably owned way-back-when, and even the cover can bring on pangs of nostalgia. It's still a superb listen and, even if like me you own all the original albums, it's something that is always first to get in the player. Sometimes I don't even stop it before "Cecilia" -- and not just because I'm not quick enough having been lulled into a pleasurable stupor by the "Bookends" coda.

BUT this is what you must know. A number of these songs are NOT the original studio versions, they're live recordings. This album was not released to celebrate the duo's career, it was released to commemorate a brief reunion in 1972 when they played a concert tour. The company rushed out the album in 1972 to cash in on the reunion. That's why you have the lovely moustached Simon on the front. Rather than just package all the hits, which the fans would already have (they only split up a year or so previous), they threw in a bunch of live recordings which made it a must-have for the completists (and still does). "Emily", "Feelin' Groovy", "Homeward Bound" and "Kathy's Song" are all live versions. They sound lovely, but they're not the original album versions.

Also, you might want to be aware that, in the spirit of the day, the introductions to both "Sound of Silence" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" overlap with the live audience applause, which may have been to attempt to blur the boundaries between the live stuff and the studio stuff. It's not clean. We're not talking a "Shaved Fish" hatchet job here, but it might just annoy you enough to wish you'd bought one of the more recent compilations.

Where and when were the live tracks recorded? I have no idea. Possibly during the reunion, but I'd love to think they were 60s vintage. I'd also wish the company could dig out the entire concert and release that -- where there's some, there must be more. (This is NOT the January 1967 Philharmonic Hall concert released in 2002 as "Live From New York City 1967".)

My personal advice is: buy this one. You know you'll buy all the original albums anyway, and there's nowhere else you can hear all the live stuff here. Plus, it's such a cool album, with such strong memories attached. Even if the CD presentation is cheap and lacks any informative liner notes (or tells you some of the tracks are live) whatsoever.

A Very Good Place To Start

This is a good collection of Simon & Garfunkel's wonderful work, and a good place to start if unfamiliar with their music. However, I prefer their double disc 'Tales From New York'. That collection expands on what is here, particularly including some of their important early stuff, and is a better representation of the diversity of their music.

One of my most personal albums
This is a diamond of an album! Some of the songs must have been composed from an alternate world;a world that reflects our inner desires, and one that plucks our heart strings once melodies such as "Emily", "Sound of Silence" and Bridge of Troubled Water. There are no bad or even averagesongs in this album and if I could give six stars,I wouldn't hesitate to do so.