Simon and Garfunkel: Old Friends – Live On Stage

Elly Roberts reviews

Simon and Garfunkel: Old Friends – Live On StageDistributed by
Columbia

• Released: November 2004
• Rating: 10/10
• Cat.no.: 5191732

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Old friends become old enemies and become old friends again.

This album celebrates 50 years of their on-off friendship, since they were casttogether at 6th Grade (11 years of age) in Queens New York, in an elementaryschool graduation production of Alice in Wonderland.Garfunkel was the Cheshire Cat: Simon was the White Rabbit.

They began singing together at 13 years of age, and started arguing at 14.According to Simon they don’t argue anymore: now they say, “That’s youropinion, and I respect that.”

They made their first record, Hey Schoolgirl, when they were 16, as theduo of Tom and Jerry. The rest as they say, is history.

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This collection was recorded from shows at New Jersey Meadowlands’ ContinentalAirlines Arena and New York City’s Madison Square Garden, December 3-8, 2003,it’s Simon and Garfunkel’s first new recordings since 1981’s Central ParkConcert.In the summer of 1982, I was lucky enough to catch them do the same CentralPark set at Wembley Stadium, but not this year when they played Manchester’sEvening News Arena.

This, what in effect is, a greatest hits live, more than compensates for thatdisappointment. The concert is fantastic despite both voices sounding frayedat times. No wonder, as both are now in their early 60s. What was youthfulinnocence and optimism, has been replaced by experience and comfort zone ofthe enormous global achievements.Having seen and met Art Garfunkel two years ago in Liverpool, I knew his voicehad developed a huskiness,which is just as effective.

They even manage to bring on their heroes, The Everly Brothers for a stirringBye Bye Love. S&G remain the most successful duo of all time, eventhough they only charted in the UK with six studio albums – Sounds Of Silence(1966), Bookends (1968), Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme (1968),The Graduate (film soundtrack 1968), Wednesday Morning 3AM andfinally the awesome Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970). All the othersare compilations.

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So in four incredible years, they reached the masses like no other singer songwriters of their generation. Like old gloves they fit perfectly together, asthey take a stroll in the park through some of their best material, backed bya superb band. Songs from over 40 years ago resonate as much now as they didin the pair’s heyday, proving the their timeless quality.

Ultra best bits: the improvised guitar and piano on Homeward Bound, theirvocal pairing on Sound Of Silence, and the hair-raising version ofBridge, as the crowd go nuts when they’ve finished. There’s the bonusof an old song Simon wrote but never recorded – Citizen of the Planet.

Incredibly they only scored one number one single, Bridge Over troubled Water(voted Best Single of All Time at the Brit Awards in 1977) and two number onealbums – Bookends, and Bridge Over etc.

They were inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and were awardeda Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2003. Their singles spent 87 weeks on chart,whilst their albums spent 1103 weeks.

Visit the websites:Simon and Garfunkel.com /Paul Simon.com /Art Garfunkel.com /Sony Music Europe.com

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The full list of tracks included are :

Disc 1:

1. Old Friends
2. A Hazy Shade Of Winter
3. I Am A Rock
4. America
5. At The Zoo
6. Baby Driver
7. Kathy’s Song
8. Tom and Jerry Story
9. Hey, Schoolgirl
10. Everly Brothers Intro
11. Bye Bye Love – with The Everly Brothers
12. Scarborough Fair
13. Homeward Bound
14. The Sound Of Silence

Disc 2:

1. Mrs. Robinson
2. Sli Slidin’ Away
3. El Condor Pasa
4. The Only Living Boy In New York
5. American Tune
6. My Little Town
7. Bridge Over Troubled Water
8. Cecilia
9. The Boxer
10. Leaves That Are Green
11. Citizen Of The Planet

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