Soundin' Groovy
By KRISTINA DORSEY
Day Staff Columnist
Published on 11/27/2003
It's a Baby Boomer's musical reunion fantasy come true: Paul and Art, together again. Simon and Garfunkel's current tour has served as a sonic stroll down memory lane ´” you know, getting people kickin' down the cobblestone, lookin' for fun and feelin', um, groovy.
All the great songs are present, accounted for, and sung in memorable, harmony-honeyed style, according to the raft of reviews. The duo starts off with ´Old Friends/Bookends,´ segues into ´A Hazy Shade of Winter,´ ´I Am a Rock´ and ´America.´ And, yes, ´Bridge Over Troubled Water´ is on the set list, prefacing the encore. Paul and Art even toss in a version of 1957's ´Hey, Schoolgirl,´ the first song they recorded, back when they went by the moniker Tom & Jerry. (But, sorry, Simon fans, don't hold out hope for too many solo songs, although ´Slip Sliding Away´ made the cut.)
The duo is performing Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena about halfway through their 40-city tour, which ends in mid-December. And it is a rarity. This is their first tour in two decades and only their second since 1970.
Their status as folk-pop heroes is legendary. A lot of rock groups are said to have provided the soundtrack to the '60s, but Simon and Garfunkel provided one of their own: a mellow, introspective soundtrack. Garfunkel's ethereal voice became one of the duo's distinctive calling cards. Simon's thoughtful lyrics had sixth-grade English teachers using the compositions for lessons on poetry.
They, of course, famously broke up (for artistic and ego-based reasons) and even their reunions have been strained.
At a recent Los Angeles show, Garfunkel recalled that the duo met 50 years ago. Simon piped up, ´We met at 11, started singing when we were 13 and started to argue when we were 14. So it's the 47th anniversary of our arguing. But now we don't argue anymore. We say, ´˜That's your opinion and I respect that.' ´
Simon and Garfunkel are backed by a seven-person band on some songs and just go acoustic on others. Their heroes, The Everly Brothers, pop up for a trio of their own hits, with S&G joining in on ´Bye Bye Love.´
One more thing. Want to feel old? Simon and Garfunkel are now both 62.
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