Premier Rock Forum

"Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles proves that a spirited performance can (potentially, anyway) rescue even the most self-satisfied poesy. Other stalwart efforts in this department include "I Am a Rock" as performed by Buck Owens and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter--the Jackson 5 version's not bad either.

But to hear such songs sung by Simon & Garfunkel themselves?...You'd better get a new plan, Stan.

As a kid I thought the man on the radio was telling me "You don't have to be courdoroy" - and that brought great comfort.

I think Paul Simon's strengths as a songwriter and lyricist overshadow his New York City Jive (see also B. Joel, L. Reed).

So overrated, but not bad. Due to the immense overrating i give them a Crap.

Yes, some of their songs are downright disgusting.

However, Paul Simon is a phenomenal guitar player and nobody but nobody works a mic like Art G.

Seriously, it always seems like he's engineering his vocals as they're so spot on in terms of BOTH sound quality and pitch. (Points for Roy Halee?) That's not a common combination among white males IMHO.

There's no doubt in my mind, however, that Arthur IS a prick. I saw some interview with him and was struck by how important he thinks he is. Phooey.

gmilner wrote:Has anyone ever noticed how completely insane the production on the song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is? It's like Trevor Horn trying to do Lee Perry trying to Phil Spector. Or something.

Paul Simon has said that Art Garfunkel went off to shoot the movie Catch 22 before they finished the BOTW album, so he and the producers ended up piling up overdubs upon overdubs on the stuff they already had done to keep themselves occupied, which is why a lot of that album sounds like that.

Paul Simon is a really good songwriter, and Art Garfunkel is a somewhat talented vocalist who can't do much on his own. I like Simon's solo work better, but S&G made some really wonderful records together, and even if they're overrated, they're hardly crap.

Not crap, if only because at some level I know that I should hate "The Only Living Boy In New York" but it still gets to me. There's something fundamentally honest and direct about their music, even at their most saccharine.

Also, "Homeward Bound" was written on Wigan station platform, and that has to be worth something.

I'll echo the childhood sentiments here. S&G wrote some of the first songs I remember so along with Creedence, I will always like them. My dad used to play their records constantly while I was growing up.

Cecilia is the jam.

NOT CRAP

Mayfair wrote:NOT CRAP!

All of that and I still dont get it.

button8706 wrote:

Mayfair wrote:NOT CRAP!

All of that and I still dont get it.

Button8706...are you following me?

I don't like everything these two did and have no interest in seeing them live. That said, I like alot of their songs and those that I like are important soundtrack pieces for the early years of my life.

'For Emily, Wherever She May Be' and 'Patterns' are favs, along, of course, with 'P,S,R &T' and 'Mrs. Robinson.'