Pop & Miscellaneous Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel – Old Friends (2004)
Simon & Garfunkel – Old Friends (2004)
Simon & Garfunkel – Old Friends (2004)
Disc: 1 1. Bleecker Street 2. The Sound of Silence 3. The Sun Is Burning 4. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M 5. He Was My Brother 6. Sparrow 7. Peggy-O 8. Benedictus 9. Somewhere They Can't Find Me 10. We've Got a Groovy Thing Going On 11. Leaves That Are Green 12. Richard Cory 13. I Am a Rock 14. The Sound of Silence 15. Homeward Bound 16. Blues Run the Game 17. Kathy's Song 18. April Come She Will 19. Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall Disc: 2 1. Patterns 2. Cloudy 3. The Dangling Conversation 4. Scarborough Fair / Canticle 5. The 59th Street Bridge Song 6. For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her 7. O'clock News / Silent Night 8. A Hazy Shade of Winter 9. At the Zoo 10. A Poem on the Underground Wall 11. Red Rubber Ball 12. Blessed 13. Anji 14. A Church Is Burning 15. Fakin' It 16. Save the Life of My Child 17. Program Open: America 18. You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies 19. Punky's Dilemma 20. Comfort and Joy 21. Star Carol Disc: 3 1. Mrs. Robinson 2. Old Friend / Bookends 3. Overs 4. A Most Peculiar Man 5. Bye Bye Love 6. The Boxer 7. Baby Driver 8. Why Don't You Write Me 9. Feuilles-O 10. Keep the Customer Satisfied 11. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright 12. Song for the Asking 13. Cecilia 14. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) 15. Bridge Over Troubled Water 16. The Only Living Boy in New York 17. Hey Schoolgirl / Black Slacks 18. That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine 19. My Little Town Warren Bernhardt Piano Art Garfunkel Vocals Jamey Haddad Percussion Jim Keltner Drums Jorge Milchberg Arranger, Guitar Pino Palladino Bass, Guitar (Bass) Larry Saltzman Guitar Rob Schwimmer Keyboards, Theremin Paul Simon Guitar, Vocals Mark Stewart Cello, Guitar
This three-disc collection features 15 previously unreleased tracks including live material, demos, and studio outtakes previously unreleased, alongside a substantial number of the duo's hits. Early demos point up Paul Simon's excellent acoustic guitar fingerpicking and emerging songwriting. "The Sound of Silence" is featured in its original undubbed form and the later overdubbed band version that became the hit. The duo's strongest work is all here, and the addition of several B-sides makes this a helpful collection to have around. --Rob O'Connor, Editorial Reviews
During their brief but remarkable career, Simon and Garfunkel recorded a mere five albums (not counting "The Graduate" soundtrack), and now there are at least as many repackagings of their work. Rather than waste time deciding where each collection overlaps, and which of your favorite tracks are or are not included, your best bet may be to pick up "Old Friends," a handsomely designed three-disc set.
All the major hits are here - "Sound of Silence," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Mrs. Robinson," "At the Zoo," "Scarborough Fair," "Cecilia," "I Am A Rock," "Hazy Shade of Winter," "El Condor Pasa," and "The Dangling Conversation," among others - as well as comparatively obscure gems like "Fakin' It" and "The Only Living Boy in New York."
What gives "Old Friends" the edge over other collections is the unreleased live version of "Red Rubber Ball," the Paul Simon composition previously available only in a version by The Cyrcle, and the inclusion of the rarely anthologized "Keep the Customer Satisfied" and Simon's rewrite of Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory."
The remastered sound is superb, and there's a booklet with an essay and rare photos. In one rather Orwellian move, the cover photo has been airbrushed to remove a cigarette from Simon's left hand, but the Surgeon General isn't mentioned in the credits. ---Brian W. Fairbanks, amazon.ca
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