[.ca] Old Friends

From Amazon.com:
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

Perfect Harmony:
Simon and Garfunkel have long been favorites of mine, their vocal harmony is unlike anything else I have heard. In this compilation, their beautifully balanced sound is showcased not only in the songs that made them famous, but also in a number of rare B-sides and previously unreleased tracks that make it clear that even their less popular songs are expertly crafted and performed. There is no chaff on this CD set, which is a real rarity for such compliations.

Keeping the customer satisfied:
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

Fabric of my youth:
My parents were conservative republicans in the '60s. Yet, they had a deep love for music of social conscience such as The Weavers, Peter, Paul, & Mary, and Simon and Garfunkel. And so, I came to love these groups as well. And thru the music, I gained a glimpse into the '60s a little later as I was 4 in 1970. Now 30 years later these songs play to me like an old friend come for a visit. I like compilations with outtakes and unreleased live material. THis set has enough to be needed by the serious collector. The Columbia years may be more comprehensive. But, it lacks some of the rarities found here.

Absolute Perfection, Appropriate for any and all...:
This box set is fantastic throughout, and is perhaps the most played folder on my iPod. Living in New York, the music always seems appropriate as the soundtrack to live, be it the famed titled from "The Graduate" to the hits that were made familiar to me with the Concert in Central Park disc. Must own for any collection.

• Bleecker Street \o#\c\oDemo Version\c
• Sound of Silence
• Sun Is Burning
• Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
• He Was My Brother
• Sparrow
• Peggy-O
• Benedictus
• Somewhere They Can't Find Me
• We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'
• Leaves That Are Green
• Richard Cory
• I Am a Rock
• Sound of Silence \oSingle Version\c
• Homeward Bound
• Blues Run the Game \o#\c
• Kathy's Song
• April Come She Will
• Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall
• Patterns
• Cloudy
• Dangling Conversation
• Scarborough Fair/Canticle
• 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
• For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
• 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night
• Hazy Shade of Winter
• At the Zoo
• Poem on the Underground Wall \oLive\c\o#\c
• Red Rubber Ball \oLive\c\o#\c
• Blessed \oLive\c\o#\c
• Anji \oLive\c\o#\c
• Church Is Burning \oLive\c\o#\c
• Fakin' It
• Save the Life of My Child
• America
• You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies
• Punky's Dilemma
• Comfort and Joy \o#\c
• Star Carol \o#\c
• Mrs. Robinson
• Old Friends/Bookends
• Overs \oLive\c\o#\c
• Most Peculiar Man \oLive\c\o#\c
• Bye Bye Love \oLive\c\o#\c
• Boxer
• Baby Driver
• Why Don't You Write Me
• Feuilles-O \o#\c\oDemo Version\c
• Keep the Customer Satisfied
• So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
• Song for the Asking
• Cecilia
• Condor Pasa (If I Could)
• Bridge over Troubled Water
• Only Living Boy in New York
• Hey, Schoolgirl/Black Slacks \oLive\c\o#\c
• That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine \oLive\c\o#\c
• My Little Town