Woefully inadequate anthology that is just begging to be updated.

Dec 17, 2008

by drifter51
posted in Music Matters

Rating:

Memo to Sony records: Your 1988 release "Garfunkel" which was touted at the time as some sort of "Greatest Hits" anthology was a hugely disappointing offering back then and now more than 20 years later is an insult to the artist. Featuring a meager dozen tracks this disc does a great disservice to Art Garfunkel himself and to his legion of loyal fans all over America. It is high time that this situation was corrected!
"Garfunkel" leaves an awful lot to be desired on any number of levels. First and foremost a mere 12 tracks is simply not acceptable. In this day and age one would expect a minimum of 20 tracks in any collection covering the career of such a significant artist. Next, I would add my voice to that of another reviewer who questioned why an edited down version of Tim Moore's marvelous tune "Second Avenue" was included here instead of the full five minute album track. It is extremely frustrating and I want to pull my hair out every time I hear it! It just ruins the song entirely. Finally there is the matter of all that was not included. I can easily think of at least 8 or 10 tunes that should be a part of any Art Garfunkel collection. Among the tunes that should have been included is Art's haunting 1974 single release "Traveling Boy' from his LP "Angel Claire". While this one failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, Art's vocal performance ranks right up there with "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which I personally consider to be among the best vocals in pop music over the past half century. Other tunes that might have been included are "Looking For The Right One' from the LP "Breakway" and "Crying In My Sleep". Anyone who has ever attended an Art Garfunkel concert knows of his affinity for doo wop music. While "Garfunkel" does feature his renditions of "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "So Much In Love" it would have been nice if "Since I Don't Have You" was included as well. And while I am not usually a big fan of "Live" albums I might include a couple of numbers from Art's "Across America" CD in any new collection as well.
It is a mystery to me why Sony has not yet chosen to release a brand new collection of the music of Art Garfunkel. For now it would appear to me that the 1998 "import" release simply entitled "The Best of Garfunkel" would be your best bet. But if you take a good look you will find that there are notable omissions on that one as well. It is high time that Sony stepped up to the plate and corrected this situation. "Garfunkel" as it is presently constituted simply does not measure up. I would recommend that you pass on this one.

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About the reviewer

Paul Tognetti (drifter51)
Ranked #1

I guess I would qualify as a frustrated writer. My work requires very little writing and so since 1999 I have been writing reviews on non-fiction books and anthology CD's on amazon.com. I never could … more