[.ca] The Columbia Studio Recordings, 1964-1970 (5CD)

From Amazon.com:
Though the American folk movement of the early '60s would influence bands like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield and a score of oh-so-sensitive '70s singer-songwriters, its two most looming successes during the decade--Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel--couldn't have seemed more disparate. While Dylan turned hard-left, outraging many a folk purist by zealously embracing rootsy blues-rock and its electrified cacophony, S & G veered toward the center, equally infuriating snooty pundits by embracing a Top 40 pop sense whose ostensible shallowness often belied its rich musical diversity. In retrospect, Simon and Garfunkel's career as a duo was remarkably brief (five albums in six years), if no less commercially potent (a slew of Top 40 singles, two Number One albums, and the requisite handful of Grammy Awards). This box set compiles digitally remastered versions of the original S & G albums, each expanded to include bonus tracks (mostly previously unissued demos with a few scattered outtakes, the quartet on Sounds of Silence the best of the lot) and a booklet featuring new notes for each album and song lyrics. It's a rewarding journey, wending from the almost slavish folk devotion of Wednesday Morning 3 AM through the greeting-card iconoclasm of Sounds of Silence, the madrigal-pop of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme to the increasingly impressionistic lyrical landscape of Bookends. It also covers the rich musical tapestry of Bridge over Troubled Waters, which foreshadowed Simon's own diverse solo career by embracing everything from the Everlys and Jan & Dean to Andean folk and R & B. --Jerry McCulley

Touch the Sounds:
A few years ago, I reviewed COLLECTED WORKS, which at the time was the only comprehensive collection of Simon and Garfunkel's work (on 3 CDs). This is better. Much better. One complaint, though, just to get it out of the way. I love the fact that the discs have the original label design on them, but BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER was also released on the same label as the others in its first edition (I own two such vinyl copies). That aside, onward and upward. The music is what is important here. And it is given the royal treatment, beginning with WEDNESDAY MORNING, 3AM, a very good, if somewhat unassuming effort of basic folk arrangements. There are some standout tracks, indeed. "Sparrow", "Sounds of Silence", and the title track are among my personal favorites, but the rest of the album will not disappoint. With 1966's SOUNDS OF SILENCE, the duo opted for a more folk-rock approach, which has been impuned for its commercial value. Commercial does not mean bad. The Beatles were, after all, the most commercial music group of all time. No one seems to mind. Neither should they here. "Leaves That Are Green", "Blessed", "Somewhere They Can't Find Me", "A Most Peculiar Man", and "I Am a Rock" never cease to captivate me. They were well on their way with this one. Also in 1966, the duo released PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY, AND THYME. Let the opening title track work it's melodic and contropunal magic on you--it is hauntingly beautiful. PATTERNS is also first rate. In fact, very little on this record is not. BOOKENDS (1968) is, I must admit not my favorite of their collections--just a bit pretentious. Still has "Hazy Shade of Winter" and "Mrs. Robinson", though, so it is not to be missed. Finally 1970's BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER carried us to the brink of Simon's impending solo career. But songs like "The Boxer", "Cecilia", and "Keep the Customer Satisfied" are strong indeed. The way the albums are released and presented here, with that one exception of the label on BRIDGE. Even if you own COLLECTED WORKS, get this. You will be satisfied. If you want an interesting presentation and better sound quality from their recordings, look here. I promise.

The Complete Simon And Garfunkel Collection!:
While I don't share the breathless and hyperbolized estimation of Paul Simon as the "greatest lyricist of the last fifty years" that other reviewers sometime express, it is hard to deny either his singular talents and the incredible stream of hits that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel produced during their more than a decade of collaboration. What is most wonderful about this triple CD collection of their best is that it really does succeed in presenting the most comprehensive set of their work under one roof, so to speak. And it is really all here. From their initial success with songs like "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her" (here in a live version), "Homeward Bound", and of course, two versions (acoustic and electric) of their smash hit "Sounds Of Silence', which launched them into public awareness, proving jsut how uniquely talented a pair they were. Propelled by Simon's provocative way with words and melodies, they sung their way into America's heart, and soon had a number of successes with songs like "I Am A Rock", "The Dangling Conversation", and "Scarborough Fair", all basic examinations of life as seen by an alienated and frustrated baby boomer. All of the follow-up success is here, as well, from "Mrs. Robinson" to "The Boxer" to "America" to "Bookends". Of course, their final smash hit is here, and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was their biggest and most enduring hit, staying on the charts for months, and the album literally for years. This is a terrific collection of the best of the single most successful and creative forces in folk-rock and popular music in the sixties and seventies. It is one I keep permanently installed in my new 110+ CD player for instant playing. Guess I'm still "crazy after all thes

More Hiss Than On "Collected Works"?:
I do have "Collected Works", but could not resist the temptation of buying the recently released expanded versions of the original albums. I had to pay more and buy all five CDs individually, as I could not find the box set in this country. Naturally, I am quite pleased with the liner notes and bonus tracks, but I am rather disturbed by the hiss on these new discs. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes??? I thought that meant less hiss than the previous editions.

Great music, but 5 CDs?:
This is undeniably wonderful music, among the best of its time -- and that's saying something since S & G's recorded history from 1964-70 exactly overlaps that of the Beatles. I could listen to it over and over and never grow tired of it. (Well, maybe the first CD is a bit tiresome, but that's a minor quibble.) And while I love the idea of reissuing the 5 CDs exactly as they were originally released, with the covers and labels and everything, I can't help feeling just a little cheated. I noticed each CD has about 30-45 minutes of music, even with the bonus tracks. You could certainly fit it all onto 3 or maybe 4 CDs and save a bit of money. At full price, this isn't a bargain. But if you can find it on sale -- as I did, for half-price -- then it's a good deal. This is beautiful music. Own it, definitely. Just watch out for the price.

Columbia (Sony): always a step behind:
Or maybe they're mocking at us? When I bought the first CDs of Columbia (S & G or Dylan's...) they did their best to put out the worst edition (bad photo covers, CD cases that didn't close well, lack of original liner notes and dreadful presentation on the surface of the compact discs -just look at Collected Works, you'll know what I mean). Now they they got better on that issue, but they still do the things wrong. I agree with the reviewers that critic the edition of this collection and Old Friends. Why do we have Old Friends (a good selection with rarities) and THEN the Collected Works with rarities? Why not release the Complete Works and THEN a Box Set with rarities (also they could put on Complete Works more rarities, I feel that any of the 5 CDs ended before I begun to listen to them). And now they're releasing a live 1967 concert. Good, good, keep it giving us their gems with a dropper, we'll get the music, but it's not the best way. S & G are more than five stars, Columbia is -2.

• You Can Tell The World
• Last night I Had The Strongest Dream
• Bleecker Street
• Sparrow
• Benedictus
• The Sound Of Silence
• He Was My Brother
• Peggy-O
• Go Tell It On The Mountain
• The Sun Is Burning
• The Times They Are A-Changin'
• Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
• Bleecker Street
• He Was My Brother
• The Sun Is Burning
• The Sound Of Silence
• Leaves That Are Green
• Blessed
• Kathy's Song
• Somewhere They Can't Find Me
• Anji
• Richard Cory
• A Most Peculiar Man
• April Come She Will
• We've Got A Groovy Thing Goin'
• I Am A Rock
• Blues Run The Game
• Barbriallen
• Rose Of Aberdeen
• Roving Gambler
• Scarborough Fair/Canticle
• Patterns
• Cloudy
• Homeward Bound
• The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
• the 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
• The Dangling Conversation
• Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall
• A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into
• For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her
• A Poem On The Underground Wall
• 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night
• Patterns
• A Poem On The Underground Wall
• Bookends Theme
• Save The Life Of My Child
• America
• Overs
• Voices Of Old People
• Old Friends
• Bookends Theme
• Fakin' It
• Punky's Dilemma
• Mrs. Robinson
• A Hazy Shade Of Winter
• At The Zoo
• You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies
• Old Friends
• Bridge Over Troubled Water
• El Condor Pasa (If I Could)
• Cecilia
• Keep The Customer Satisfied
• So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
• The Boxer
• Baby Driver
• The Only Living Boy In New York
• Why Don't You Write Me
• Bye Bye Love
• Song For The Asking
• Feuilles-O
• Bridge Over Troubled Water