The Concert in Central Park Music

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by: Simon & Garfunkel

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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - One of the all-time great live albums 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... Rating: - mixed feelings 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. Rating: - A good introduction, but not much else This is a wonderful place to introduce anyone to some of Paul Simon's or Simon & Garfunkel's work beyond the radio hits. The obvious hits here sound perfunctory, particularly "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "The Sounds of Silence," and there's no excuse for the faux-jazzy treatment given "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or the awful synthesizers cluttering "Still Crazy After All These Years." That said, "The Boxer" here comes close to its original achievement, "April Come She Will" is utterly gorgeous and evocative, and this particular "American Tune" is wonderful with Art Garfunkel's lead (he breathes, "I'm so in the mood," before launching into it). The live atmosphere doesn't really add or detract much, though the duo does interact some with its audience. This recording functions well as a greatest-hits record, expanding on Simon & Garfunkel's sterling Greatest Hits album, but anyone who enjoys this one should seriously consider delving further into the full canon and hearing the originals.

The Concert in Central Park Music

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