Simon & Garfunkel Album: “The Concert in Central Park”

This whole CD is breathtaking. I have never heard such a powerful collection of words and chords before and i dont believe i ever will. Paul Simon has a voice that was meant to sooth and empathize. Art Garfunkel almost seems like he isnt there. Thats how good he is. The harmony is brilliant. I still listen to this album every day and wish I could find America...This is an album to own. This is something you will cherish and keep.

Simon and Garfunkel's `An American Tune' is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs they ever made together. Though it is not their most famous song, its meaning is timeless, and it is softly and consistently revealed as the song rolls on. The comforting sound of the guitar and their two harmonizing voices is so classic, so peaceful.

I came across their music through my parents, who were both at the Simon and Garfunkel concert in 1981 at Central Park. They introduced me to Simon and Garfunkel's music in about my tenth grade year of high school and I have been a devout fan ever since. The sound of their music, especially their live album, has always been able to transport me to another place, almost make me feel like I was there in 1963 with my parents cheering and applauding with them.

Regardless of the time it was created, anyone who has ever felt confused, made mistakes, and can accept life as it is and as it will come can relate to the song. It is a song Paul Simon wrote about the two men's journey and their career in music, but also about life in general - an understanding that everyone suffers and learns and grows at different points in time, and that in the big scheme of life, we've "lived so well for so long." It was also written in the midst of America's most historically split time period; many in the country were for Vietnam, and many, including Simon and Garfunkel, were against it. The meaning of the song also reaches a bigger picture that the twosome believes: things will get better, and this is still America, their country, regardless of the current stress of the war. Even though many of Simon and Garfunkel's original listeners were predominantly doves, the song was meant to bring peace to those so angry and to take an introspective look on what was happening in the country.

In essence, it is almost inevitable to be taken in by the song. It begins with Garfunkel's soft voice and then he is joined in the second verse by a harmonizing Paul Simon, the acoustic guitar and very few instruments in the background playing ever so lightly. It is a simple song, but its meaning is profound, and almost everyone will find some meaning in it.

I have mixed feelings about this recording. Certainly, the prospect of a S&G reunion in their native New York in Central Park was an exciting proposition, and they are supported by crack New York session musicians. The performances are fine, but.....something's just not right. The psuedo-jazz late seventies arrangements seem out of place in some of the S&G 60s classics, particularly the watery electric piano. Makes the performances sound dated...in the wrong era. The most enjoyable songs are the ones where the arrangements are sparsest - Scarborough Fair segues nicely into April Come She Will.

Furthermore, in ways, this is a Paul Simon concert with special guest Art Gunfunkel. There are many Paul Simon songs from his solo years up until that time. Some of the Simon's solo songs don't adopt well to suddenly becoming S&G vehicles, though Garfunkel's reading of American Tune is beautiful. Anyway, this reunion smacks a bit of opportunism on the part of Simon, but I guess he's entitled.

S&G's saga parallels that of the Beatles - they took that particular sound as far as they could, and then it was time to move on. At the time of breakup, I lamented it (I had to deal with the breakup of my two favorite groups within six months of each other). But, like the Beatles, it was the right thing to happen.

That doesn't mean there can't be "reunion" concerts or projects like this one, but it is true that you can never really "go back." I am happy that S&G reconciled sufficiently to make an event like this possible - the Beatles never did - and I am happy that it has been preserved for posterity. But, if you really want to hear what S&G were all about, you really need to hear the original recordings. This is merely a very nice gift to all their fans, and for that we should be grateful.

For anyone who's grown up with Simon & Garfunkel playing in the background, this album is certain to bring childhood memories flooding back! The melodies are magical, and Paul Simon was never quite able to recreate the once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere of 'Concert in Central Park' (no matter how hard he tried in 1993).

The album doesn't consist of individual songs, it is just one tremendous and inspirational performance. Best of all, it still sounds real in your living room! Having said that, however, and given that I wasn't there in 1981, I have made my way to NYC to listen to the album on the Great Lawn...

One word sums up this incredible disk: transcendent. I use superlatives sparingly, but I haul out the big guns for this gem. Phenomenal. Puts the others to shame. There are SO many things important and interesting about this disk, and I say this as a rather tepid Simon and Garfunkel fan. First, this disk is required listening for anyone who wants to produce a live performance- the sound is great, the arrangements are flawless, and it's evident that EVERYBODY, even the guys "selling loose joints" in the audience, are have one HELL of a time. My guess is that there are a million people who claim to have been in that crowd of maybe sixty thousand. Isn't that a telling index of success? Second, the recording retains all the charm of the video- I watched it countless times back when cable was in its infancy and the indefatigable rebroadcasts of HBO were still considered a novelty, and it was a great show that the recording captures marvelously. The only things you don't get from the music are the drips of sweat from the drummer and the shots of Paul and Art obviously enjoying each other's company for the first time in years. I take that back- the recording adequately conveys that fact as well. Thirdly, the performance maintains fidelity to the original intent of all the songs (as far as they are expressed on their albums) while also adding a great live interpretation: so often "live" albums fail because good songs sound [weak] or they don't sound anything like them to begin with.

This recording bridges the generations of those who grew up listening to Simon and Garfunkel when their albums first came out, those who clapped along while their parents watched the concert on cable television, and the young kids who consider the seventies and eighties to be the middle ages of modern culture. Simon and Garfunkel have appeal beyond their milieu, and this is their seminal gift to modern pop music.