Bodo
Jul-28-2025, 15:35 GMT
Netherlands
  | In the mid-1990s, it was time for a pilgrimage and a tribute to Art Garfunkel’s long-distance walk across the United States. This was the only album where Paul doesn’t appear on the cover—he had taken a sabbatical from the group to raise his three children. So Garfunkel embarked on a solo project within the group, which was a groundbreaking idea at the time.
He walked across the country, singing harmonies into a Walkman he held in his hand. Whenever someone drove by, he handed them the cassette tapes and asked them to deliver them to his childhood home in Queens. Once a month, Paul Simon drove by the house to pick up the mail. On the long drive back to Montauk, he listened to the tapes.
Breaking from their usual songwriting process—normally harmonies first, then guitar chords, then lyrics—Paul decided to keep things minimal. He added just a few simple, three-chord guitar parts to Art's harmonies, which were full of images of nature, walking, highways, and chewing gum stuck to the soles of his shoes.
The original plan was to write a full musical based on the 127 songs recorded during the walk. But after months of rehearsals, it became clear that no one could replace Art Garfunkel’s voice on stage. In the end, only this album, containing 17 tracks, was released. |
