Essential Simon And Garfunkel, The - Simon & Garfunkel

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Product Details

Title: The Essential Simon And Garfunkel
Genre: Rock & Pop
Sub Genre: Folk Rock
Release Date: 24/11/2003
Recomended Retail Price: 18.99 GBP
Label / Distributor: Sony TV / Arvato Services   ... more

I was in HMV the other day with my best mate. I was imploring her to please, for the love of all that is good, just TRY to think who the heck sings that song with a woman's name featuring red hair. I mean obviously I meant "Valerie" by The Zuttons but in the fifteen run up to my finally realising that was the album I actually wanted, I spotted this Simon and Garfunkel CD. My best mate and I used to play them all the time when we were in our drunken teens (we were/are a peculiar pair) and my eyes lit up when I saw this. It was cheap at 10.97 and the cover looked quite boring and uninviting but it included a whopping forty tracks including my favourites like "Cecilia" and "Mrs Robinson" so I felt it was definetely worth the money.

I gave it a whirl the very next day and was surprised to find a few new favourites almost immediately. I can't possibly walk you through forty tracks individually so instead let me talk about the style and the music as a whole, using songs as examples here and there. First up, as I was saying, my new faves. I can't recommend the track "Keep The Customer Satisfied" highly enough for it's quirky 60's style hippy beat and quaint lyrics. In particular, the chorus really stands out. We hear the faint strumming of a funky little acoustic guitar ditty with the lyrics "I get slandered, libelled, I hear words I never heard in the bible". It's like some kind of chewing gum advert you can't get out of your head! Oh dear, please tell me this isn't bubble gum pop of the 60's I'm actually reviewing?! Well even if it is - I love it.

The next track I really liked that I hadn't previously taken note of was "At The Zoo". Again we're talking quaint, catchy, nothing too ground-breaking and certainly more pop than rock. But it's the lyrics that make me smile with Simon and Garfunkel. "The monkeys stand for honesty, Giraffes are insincere, And the elephants are kindly but - Theyre dumb. Orangutans are skeptical Of changes in their cages, And the zookeeper is very fond of rum." It's witty, it's fast-flowing and it's a light-hearted metaphor for the various personalities we see when we look around us. I guess you could imagine you were down at Leicester Square rather than The Zoo.

Simon and Garfunkel are masters of simple, easy to interpret and easy to listen to songs. Tracks like "Cecilia" and "Homeward Bound" have no deep hidden meanings in them but their beauty is that they are packed with emotive and descriptive lyrics that flow off the tongue. You'll soon find yourself singing along and tapping your feet and your mind will likely involuntarily wander off to some day gone by when you shared the thoughts and feelings being sung about. Your first love, changing career, feeling lonely. There's a song on this album for pretty much every emotion you've ever felt.

There's a darker side to Simon and Garfunkel in tracks like "I am a Rock" and "Sound of Silence" but even these tunes are more ditties than pieces. They're still rather upbeat, sung melodiously and flow from start to finish which is an unusual way to explore negative emotions. You won't find any guitar riffs or thrashing percussion even when they're singing "I have no need for friendship, friendship causes pain" in "I am a Rock". I guess you could say that what this duo have to offer is entertainment with a touch of emotion. They're not particularly artists or performers - they're singer-songwriters. They entertained huge crowds all over the world for decades (until they had a massive argument and fell out) and their catchy tunes have been made famous time and again thanks to films using them for soundtracks or modern bands releasing covers. "Mrs Robinson" has been both.

If I had to liken this style of music to another artist or band, I don't think I could really. The mix of folk, country, pop and rock n roll doesn't scream unique but really I guess it is. Simon and Garfunkel are like the Mills and Boon of the music industry. Overall what you're looking at here is a bit of light entertainment. There are one or two beautiful pieces of music, like the piano in "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and one or two really profound lyrics that'll make you stop and think but overall this is easy listening that's meant for toe-tapping and head-bopping. This is the kind of album that goes well with a warm fire and a glass of wine or in your car stereo. No-one can listen to this kind of inoffensive, light music and be offended or particularly annoyed by it, making it the perfect choice for long car journeys with the family. Whether or not you should buy this album quite simply comes down to whether or not you enjoy light-hearted, fun and easy-going music.

Thinking about their other releases, if you are interested in buying one of their albums - this has to be the one you choose. I cannot think of a single hit that isn't here plus they've included all the popular album tracks and even a few live songs and one or two covers like "Bye Bye Love". Personally I'm very impressed with the track listing on this one and couldn't have done a better job myself. I mean forty tracks for a tenner?! And whilst I don't like some of the songs, that's my personal taste - I don't think any of the tracks on here are just fillers. Often you'll find albums put all the live tracks or bonus extras at the end but this album offers a slight variation throughout (ie hopping from piano to guitar or hit single to album track). But because the style doesn't drastically alter throughout it's irrelevant what order they've listed the tracks in to me.

To say this is a "nice album" is the best way to sum things up. Nothing ground-breaking, nothing obviously special. And yet if you buy it - I guarantee you'll listen to it every now and again with a smile on your face.

Disc 1
1: Sound Of Silence
2: Wednesday Morning 3 AM (live)
3: Bye Bye Love
4: Bleecker Street
5: I Am A Rock
6: Most Peculiar Man (live)
7: Richard Cory
8: Kathy's Song (live)
9: Scarborough Fair/Canticle
10: Homeward Bound
11: Sparrow (live)
12: Leaves That Are Green (live)
13: He Was My Brother
14: 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
15: Dangling Conversation
16: Poem On The Underground Wall (live)
17: Blessed (live)
18: Cloudy
19: Blues Run The Game
20: Hazy Shade Of Winter

Disc 2
1: Mrs Robinson
2: Bridge Over Troubled Water
3: At The Zoo
4: Fakin' It
5: Old Friends
6: Bookends Theme
7: Punky's Dilemma
8: Overs (live)
9: Church Is Burning (live)
10: America
11: El Condor Pasa (If I Could)
12: Cecilia
13: Keep The Customer Satisfied
14: So Long Frank Lloyd Wright
15: Boxer
16: Baby Driver
17: Only Living Boy In New York
18: Song For The Asking
19: For Emily Whenever I May Find Her (live)
20: My Little Town

Product Details

Title: The Essential Simon And Garfunkel
Genre: Rock & Pop
Sub Genre: Folk Rock
Release Date: 24/11/2003
Recomended Retail Price: 18.99 GBP
Label / Distributor: Sony TV / Arvato Services  

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