Search - Simon & Garfunkel :: Essential Simon & Garfunkel

Only if you already own their classics...

Michael D. Kelley | Leesburg, Florida | 11/05/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is one *weird* CD.First of all, do not believe the other reviewers here who tell you that, for the most part, you get the original versions of the S&G songs. For the MOST part what you get are NOT the original versions of the songs. You get a lot of live versions but, what is worse, you get a whole lot (perhaps 80%) of "new" versions of the classic songs.This isn't a bad thing if you already own the S&G classics -- but if you own them, why in the heck do you want this CD? Yes, the sound quality is superb, but the two CDs here by and large sound like some sort of S&G "cover" band: a very good cover band, but nowhere near the original music.This is not the first time someone has put together a "collection" of what is supposedly their greatest hits, but it's the first time I've ever heard one with such odd reorchestrations. "Cecilia" is done at half speed, "Baby Driver" with such over orchestration it goes from being cute to pretentious, "The Only Living Boy In New York" goes from intimate to overblown. And so on.Anyone who grew up with S&G (or anyone who wants the best) needs to own "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme". These two essential S&G CDs will give you both nearly every song in this "essential" collection, but give them to you in their pristine, S&G classic sound versions. Then if you want to hear new versions of these classics by all means go ahead and buy this collection. But don't buy it thinking you're getting the essentials -- this, as Robin Williams once said, is not essence, it's pee-pee-ca-ca."

Better Off With The Single Disc Collection

Anthony Nasti | Staten Island, New York United States | 03/23/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Simon & Garfunkel are one of my all time favorite groups. They rank right up there with Zeppelin, Dylan, The Beatles, The Who, the Stones, Queen and all my other favorite musicians.



I loved my very first S & G cd, "The Best Of Simon & Garfunkel". Since that collection had but a mere 20 songs and had a somewhat short running time of only 64 minutes, I felt I hadn't gottent the full extent of their work. I thought I'd get a far greater view with the two cd, 31 song "The Essential Simon & Garfunkel". Unfortunately, I was wrong. Why? Read on for the positives and the negatives.



Positives:

-You do get the most well known hits from the band. "The Sound Of Silence", "Homeward Bound", "I Am A Rock", "Scarbourough Fair/ Canticle", "Hazy Shade Of Winter", "The 59th Street Bridge (Feelin' Groovy)", "Mrs. Robinson", "The Boxer", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and all the rest of the band's biggest hits are here.

-A few underrated gems are included as well, such as "Keep The Customer Satisfied", "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright" and "Baby Driver".

-Good sound quality.

-Affordable enough.

-Easy to locate.



Negatives:

-As many reviewers pointed out, several of the songs are different than the original versions, most notably "Homeward Bound", "The Sound Of Silence" and "I Am A Rock".

-Too many live versions! If they wanted to make a far more concise S & G collection that could've perhaps been definitive, they should've put the original versions.

-Neither disc fills up the eighty minute time limit. Stuff like "He Was My Brother", "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night", "Save The Life Of My Child", "Punky's Dilemma", not to mention the studio versions of the live tracks, could've easily been included.

-"Old Friends" and "Bookends" are separated. I've always preferred them together, like on "The Best Of Simon & Garfunkel".

-Sound quality is good, but the earlier "The Best Of Simon & Garfunkel" is better IMO.



Overall, this is a decent collection, but I feel that the single disc "The Best Of Simon & Garfunkel" is BY FAR a better bet. I hope to one day acquire the "Columbia Studio Recordings" boxed set, but until then, "The Best Of Simon & Garfunkel" is the best I can do. I prefer it to "The Essential Simon & Garfunkel", which I find pretty weak.

"

Good start...

J. Mehrtens | Dixon, MO United States | 11/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"These songs are great. That needs to go up front. And these are the songs that casual S&G fans will want. But if you're like me and you have the Columbia "Greatest Hits" album, you get used to how those songs sound on this release. Some of them are the same. Some are quite different. So much so that I don't plan to get rid of my Greatest Hits CD and let this one replace it. There are NO songs on Greatest Hits that aren't on this collection, but the number of songs that sound different is large enough to justify (at least to myself) keeping that original collection.Herein lies the problem, and the reason this only gets 3 stars. There is never, NEVER a reason that any disc of an anthology should be 42 minutes long! NEVER! Disc 1 is 42 minutes, Disc 2 is 55 minutes. Consider that these should be approaching 80 minutes per disc, and that's over an hour of unused disc space! Some would argue that putting "filler" on a CD doesn't improve anything, but not a lot of S&G's music would be considered filler. I can make a better collection myself (and probably will), and fill up the discs. It's just a pet peeve of mine, so if you don't mind short anthologies, don't let me stop you.Overall, the music is great. If you're a collector like me and like to have the "Essential" line, consider it, but beware that you're not getting much music for your money."