Simon amp Garfunkel - Bookends Exp (14 tracks) +Album Reviews

Tugs at your heartstrings

Just Bill | Grand Rapids, MI United States | 09/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've always thought Simon and Garfunkel were one of the most beautifully arranged groups ever to record. Their voices are angelic. Their songs are often so emotional that I can barely stand to listen to them.This album, Bookends, stands at the top of my list of favorite S&G recordings.As the liner notes indicate, this is their fourth, "and arguably best, album"..."a meditation on the passage of life and the psychological impact of life's irreversible, ever-accumulating losses." That's probably what sets it apart from their other recordings to me. It's ambitious, and chock-full of import and meaning. If a progressive rock band would have attempted a concept like this in the 1970s, they would have been labeled "pretentious" or "bombastic." Yet, S&G got away with it.Granted, there are tracks I don't like as well as others ("Save The Life Of My Child" for one), but tracks such as "America," "Voices of Old People," "Old Friends," "Bookends Theme" and "Mrs. Robinson" more than make up for the odd track or two that doesn't strike a chord within me. "Bookends Theme," alone, tugs at my heartstrings like very few songs do. And if any song seems to resonate with the spirit of the Sixties it's "Mrs. Robinson."There really isn't anything else I can say about this album that you probably don't already know, or haven't already read in previous reviews.Except for this: The remastering is outstanding. The voices ring out clearly, the acoustic guitars are crisp and bright and there are things going on in each track that you might not have noticed in previous editions of this album.While S&G's previous release -- 1966's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme -- contains many more sing-alongable songs, more that you probably know by heart, I think Bookends is their crowning achievement. If you don't yet own one of their albums, I suggest starting with this one. If this isn't available, try Parsley, Sage.Oh, one more thing: If you can, listen with a good pair of headphones on to capture every nuance and note. You'll be amazed at the remastering, and captivated by the depth of their performances."

A Classic

John P. Morgan | Beautiful San Dimas, CA | 08/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My wife just bought me a new record player...yeah, you read that right. I don't need some crazy ipod that holds 3,000 of my favorite songs...just give me something simple...something uncomplicated...something that puts me in touch with my soul and I'm quite the happy guy.

This album is free from all pretenses. It's sad and yet it's beautiful. It's alive and yet it feels like death is its closest companion. I'm not being maudlin, here, that's the way it is. We go through so many mini-deaths during one lifetime. We make friends. We lose friends. We're riding high one moment and the next we're flat on our backs. But it's all part of the whole. Black and white with a million shades of gray in-between.

I put on this album that I've had since the fourth grade. The record cracks and creaks, it moans and groans...it's a lot like me...but just like this record, I'm always ready to start from the beginning and be me. Who else could I possibly be?

I'm tempted to buy a brand new version of this classic on CD, but I wait until the feelings pass and cling to something I've owned for the last thirty years. I don't have much left from those days gone by. But again, that's life.

This is probably the best album that Simon & Garfunkle put out. It caught them at a time when they, too, were going through changes and transistions, endings and new beginnings.

Life's a trip...pack accordingly."

A classic sixties folk-rock album

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 06/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first half of this mainly mellow album (originally one side of a vinyl album) is based around life experiences from childhood to old age. Beginning and ending with the bookends theme, the outstanding song in this half is the reflective America. Save the life of my child, Overs and Old friends are all great songs though I'm not too keen on Voices of old people. The second half of the album has no obvious theme but is stronger overall, containing Mrs Robinson (the biggest hit here), Hazy shade of winter (revived in the eighties to good effect by the Bangles), Faking it (a minor American hit), Punky's dilemma (an excellent philosophical song) and At the zoo (a great song with which to close the original album). Some say that Mrs Robinson (which originally appeared in the soundtrack of The Graduate) doesn't really blend in with the rest of the album. Maybe not, but I'm glad it's here.Two bonus tracks are nothing to get excited about, but the re-mastering gives a far superior sound quality. There are also some informative liner notes.If you only want the famous songs, you can find them on any number of hits compilations - some double CD's, some single CD's. However, if you wish to explore further, this album should be a high priority."

S&G's Magumn Opus

Thomas Downey | Roseville, MI USA | 06/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You know an album is good when one of the worst songs on it is the band's biggest single."Bookends" is Simon & Garfunkel, and 60's folk-rock, at their absolute best. While other bands were exploring complicted concepts and rock operas, S&G created a side-long song cycle about the simplest of ideas; growing up and growing old.The album opens with a soft acoustic guitar line of the "Bookends Theme" which explodes into the psychedelic blast of "Save the Life of My Child", then fades into the glorious land and soul-searching ode "America". "Overs" deals with the subject of relationships reaching a stalemate, and "Old Friends" takes an elequent look at old age with beautiful vocals and melodies and stirring strings, and fades back into the original opening guitar line with ending coda "preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." Brilliant. And that's just the first half.The second half, merely a collection of songs, is one of their stongest collections. The moderate hit "Fakin' It", the wry "Punky's Delemma", the rocking "A Hazy Shade of Winter" and the poppy Orwellian-with-a-twist "At the Zoo". The monster hit of "Mrs. Robinson" although brilliant in its own right, sounds almost out of place here, and ranks up as one of the weaker tracks. The album covers a great deal of ground, musically and emotionally, and transports the listener...and does so in about a half an hour. Simon & Garfunkel do in 30 minutes what most bands can't do with a full-length cd.At long last, this gem of an album is getting the credit it so deserves. This is (arguably) Simon & Garfunkel's greatest work as a duo, and perhaps one of the greatest albums of all time. Absoulutely essential."

This One Has Never Sounded Better even after over 30 years!!

S. Henkels | Devon, Pa United States | 12/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps S & G here were trying to tell a life story between the BOOKENDS from birth "Save the Life of My Child" to the near end "Old Friends"...One line from the latter song "How terribly strange to be seventy", I have remembered from time to time when seeing older people over the years,but now,of course,the age of 70 does not seem strange at all! "America",tells a fine road story,and has always been one of my all-time favorites. I still don't know if "Mrs. Wagner's Pies" is a real brand! "Overs" has a folk-jazz feel that makes it,and many of S & G's tunes, more interesting by far than much folk/pop of the time,or since."Fakin It",and "Punky's Dilemma", a whimical look at the serious topic of draft dodging at the time,are equally good."Hazy Shade of Winter" is one of the few fast moving folk-rockers that I've ever enjoyed. "At the Zoo" is amusing,but not the type of song you'll want to hear over and over. Ditto for "Mrs. Robinson", a phenomenal hit at the time,but not one of my favorites. It is for me the only dud on the record,but did it ever get this duo into the big-time!! Bottom line,a timeless pop masterpiece,which I would put right next to the Beatles' REVOLVER, and the BeachBoys PET SOUNDS as the very best late 60's pop/rock!"

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