Customer Reviews

1964-1993 (3cd)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When boxed sets first appeared they set the standard. Clapton Crossroads, Allman Bros. Dreams to name a few.

Then artists felt they had to make an artistic statement with an anthology and go beyond what it was supposed to do-anthologize.

Case in point - Paul Simon's box contains a wealth of his best music, but it just misses in a few areas.

First, the dates. Nothing on this box is from 1964. Oh, Sound of Silence can be argued (they took the Wednesday Morning 3AM track from 1964 and overdubbed it) but the version on this is from 1965. Still, you have Hey Schoolgirl from 1958.

Next 1993. Thelma is an outake from Rhythym Of The Saints from 1991. I'm sorry, an outtake from two years earlier is not a NEW track.

Then Paul feels he still has to edit songs. Loves Me Like A Rock again loses seconds (this time 15) and 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover loses over half a minute.

Where is A Church Is Burning from The Paul Simon Songbook? Where are the S&G tracks: Homeward Bound, and I Am A Rock? Where are the S&G outtakes from Hearts & Bones? Where is Stranded In A Limousine?

Then the packaging: no CD sleeves?

Artists should stay out of the compiling of boxed sets. That way boxed sets can do a better job of what they are designed to do - anthologize

For starters, I'll admit this is not for the fanatic Paul Simon fan. They will already own nearly all of this. And even for the casual fan, this box set duplicates all of 1988's Negotiations and Love Songs (except "Train in the Distance" from Hearts and Bones, and "Still Crazy after All These Years" is replaced with a previously unreleased 1991 live version). The box also duplicates most of 1978's Greatest Hits, Etc. (The glaring exception is the inexplicable omission of the otherwise unavailable "Stranded in a Limousine.")

What you are left with is 3 CDs worth of prime Paul Simon. Granted, you only get a dozen Simon and Garfunkel songs. (If you want more, buy the excellent Old Friends box set.) All the solo hits are here. Plenty of album tracks from his entire career. Of special interest is the hilarious spoken word "The Breakup" with Art Garfunkel. The last disc perhaps focuses to heavily on Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints, but all told the music stands as a testament to one of pop music's best songwriters ever--period.

We could argue indefinitely as to what should or shouldn't have made the final cut. More rarities. More live cuts. More alternate takes. This box isn't perfect, but the music on it is. RECOMMENDED

As most of the other customer comments indicate, this collection does have a lot of repeated tracks found on other Paul Simon or S&G complilations; however, as the die-hard Simon fan that I am, I find that this 3-disk set trumps the other collections I own (and, lemme tell you, I have A LOT!). Why? Well, my favorite part of this collection is the packaging. The "box" looks like a hardcover book. It is absolutely beautiful with a lovely black&white photo of Paul on the front. Inside, along with the 3 disks, you'll find a booklet. This booklet has given me insight into the musician's mind. Paul comments on each song and what was going on in his life when he composed it. He also explains the circumstances behind the various musicians with whom he's worked. Paul has such a broad musical talent and has played with such an ecclectic variety of styles (folk, do-wop, cajun, African), so this insert (almost a book itself) really makes me feel like I know Paul when I hear the songs. Sure, this collection repeats songs found in other collections mentioned by the other customer reviews, but for the true Paul Simon fan there is no meaning to the word "enough."

Every song on this set is a wonderful song. I love them all. So it is certainly not the songs that cause me to give this set only 4 stars. The songs alone deserve 5 stars. The reason I give it just 4 stars is for the fact that unlike most boxed sets, there are not enough previously unreleased songs, just 2 really, and one of those is a poor demo of 'Bridge over Troubled Water'. This set would have been much better with more previously unreleased songs and alternate versions, and maybe by not focusing so much on 'Graceland' songs, 7 altogether. As wonderful as these songs are...'Graceland' happens to be one of my all-time favourite albums...I am sure that any real Paul Simon fan would have that album already, so there was really no need to duplicate nearly the whole album on this box set. But despite these short-comings, it is still a nice set to have for anyone who enjoys wonderful music and lyrics. And this set certainly does have that.

If you are like me in that you are a bigger fan of Paul Simon than you are of Simon & Garfunkel, yet you like Paul's work with Simon & Garfunkel too, then this is the boxed set for you. It includes most of Paul Simon's best and most popular work, from the days of Simon & Garfunkel through his solo career until 1993. The songs are taken from 21 different albums, from Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 album "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" through Simon's solo album "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park" from 1991. 1964/1993 is the most comprehensive collection of Paul Simon's work that you will find in one place. It is less than perfect, however. My one serious complaint about this set is that there is too much of Paul Simon's later work and not enough of his work with Simon & Garfunkel. Cd #3 is entirely songs from 1986-1991, which encompassed only 2 studio albums. There is definitely some good stuff there, worthy of representation. But those 2 albums are over-represented, while hits like "Homeward Bound" and "I Am A Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel are conspicuously absent. It seems like someone has sacrificed the quality of what could have been an excellent and thorough anthology in order to promote his later work. A simple solution would have been to add one more cd. Then Paul Simon could over-represent his later work to his heart's content, and we could enjoy his earlier work to ours.

The packaging is so-so. The three cd's are in jewel cases inside of a book-like box. CD number 3 can be a little difficult to fish out. A booklet that comes with the set sits inconveniently right on top of the cd's. It contains some essays on Paul Simon and his music, including the stories behind some of the songs. Unfortunately, it does not contain lyrics. This boxed set is tall but will fit nicely on a bookshelf.

Paul Simon is one of those people who produced great music in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. First as a part of Simon and Garfunkel and then later as a solo artist.

However, whenever I debate the great musicians with friends his name rarely comes up without my bringing up his name because nobody else has brought it up before me. Everybody rushes to bring up the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Lou Reed, the Sex Pistols, U2, the Eagles, etc. Yet, for some reason folks appear to forget the likes of Paul Simon. I can only assume that it has something to do with his music being more folksy and slower. Yet, it is part of the same musical movement as the rest of them. And nobody ever says that his name doesn't belong on the list of the all-time greats. Just people rarely mention Paul Simon in debates like that.

The problem is that the work for Simon is truly some of the best work in all of music. Think about it, "The Sound of Silence", "America", "Mrs. Robinson", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Me and Julio down by the School Yard", "Hey, Schoolgirl", "Still Crazy after all these years", "Jonah", "50 Ways to Leave your Lover", "Graceland", "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes"... And that's but a sampling of his work.

One of my all time favorite songs is "America". This is a great collection for people to listen too. It hits what would be considering the three great stages of Simon's career, the Simon and Garfunkel years, his early solo work, and then his later solo work.

Yes, this collection is a tad expensive, but it is worth it. I highly recommend this collection.

This set offers many of his finest songs but if you want your truest memories restored this won't do it for you. These are re-makes and newly edited versions in many if not most cases, and it just ain't the same that way.

This is a great box, despite the fact that it is mostly a 'greatest hits'-type recording. I am a relatively new Paul Simon fan, seeing as I am all of 15 years old. I heard this first online, just having become a passionate fan of Simon after receiving "Graceland" as a gift. I had been at least a passing fan of Simon and S&G because of my parents as a child. Buying this box cemented it; I will be a major Paul Simon fan for the rest of my life. My only regret with this box is the fact that it IS a box, and IS mainly hits (with a few rare gems in there like the spoken "The Breakup" which is REALLY funny, and the 1957 hit for S&G as Tom + Jerry, "Hey, Schoolgirl") and so prevents me really from buying other albums for the great lesser-known songs I am missing. For example, much of the album "Hearts and Bones" is on this box, with about five songs left over. The slight incompleteness, which I don't really perceive in listening but instead when I go to buy other CDs that have songs I already own does get a little annoying, but why worry? Just buy this wonderful box and wait for a much-needed b-sides collection!

I WAS ABLE TO HEAR THE MUSIC BEFORE PURCHASING THE ITEM. THE CONDITION OF THE CD WAS EVEN BETTER THAN DESCRIBED, SINCE IT CAME WITH THE ORIGINAL BOX, WHICH I DIDN'T EXPECT. I HAVE ENJOYED THE CD SINCE I RECEIVED IT.

Two words: Paul Simon. He's a master of music, a genius in his art. This boxed set captures many of his greatest songs but it is lacking in some S&G hits. Maybe they saved those for the S&G Old Friends boxed set? However you see it, there is no doubt about it: Paul Simon is simply amazing. It's not very often that a musician can leave me so speechless. This boxed set--with its music, lyrics, and incredible vocals--does wonders for the soul.