Customer Reviews

Bookends [Bonus Tracks]

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I've always thought Simon and Garfunkel were one of the most beautifully arranged groups ever to record. Their voices are angelic. Their songs are often so emotional that I can barely stand to listen to them.

This album, Bookends, stands at the top of my list of favorite S&G recordings.

As the liner notes indicate, this is their fourth, "and arguably best, album"..."a meditation on the passage of life and the psychological impact of life's irreversible, ever-accumulating losses." That's probably what sets it apart from their other recordings to me. It's ambitious, and chock-full of import and meaning. If a progressive rock band would have attempted a concept like this in the 1970s, they would have been labeled "pretentious" or "bombastic." Yet, S&G got away with it.

Granted, there are tracks I don't like as well as others ("Save The Life Of My Child" for one), but tracks such as "America," "Voices of Old People," "Old Friends," "Bookends Theme" and "Mrs. Robinson" more than make up for the odd track or two that doesn't strike a chord within me. "Bookends Theme," alone, tugs at my heartstrings like very few songs do. And if any song seems to resonate with the spirit of the Sixties it's "Mrs. Robinson."

There really isn't anything else I can say about this album that you probably don't already know, or haven't already read in previous reviews.

Except for this: The remastering is outstanding. The voices ring out clearly, the acoustic guitars are crisp and bright and there are things going on in each track that you might not have noticed in previous editions of this album.

While S&G's previous release -- 1966's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme -- contains many more sing-alongable songs, more that you probably know by heart, I think Bookends is their crowning achievement. If you don't yet own one of their albums, I suggest starting with this one. If this isn't available, try Parsley, Sage.

Oh, one more thing: If you can, listen with a good pair of headphones on to capture every nuance and note. You'll be amazed at the remastering, and captivated by the depth of their performances.

My wife just bought me a new record player...yeah, you read that right. I don't need some crazy ipod that holds 3,000 of my favorite songs...just give me something simple...something uncomplicated...something that puts me in touch with my soul and I'm quite the happy guy.

This album is free from all pretenses. It's sad and yet it's beautiful. It's alive and yet it feels like death is its closest companion. I'm not being maudlin, here, that's the way it is. We go through so many mini-deaths during one lifetime. We make friends. We lose friends. We're riding high one moment and the next we're flat on our backs. But it's all part of the whole. Black and white with a million shades of gray in-between.

I put on this album that I've had since the fourth grade. The record cracks and creaks, it moans and groans...it's a lot like me...but just like this record, I'm always ready to start from the beginning and be me. Who else could I possibly be?

I'm tempted to buy a brand new version of this classic on CD, but I wait until the feelings pass and cling to something I've owned for the last thirty years. I don't have much left from those days gone by. But again, that's life.

This is probably the best album that Simon & Garfunkle put out. It caught them at a time when they, too, were going through changes and transistions, endings and new beginnings.

Life's a trip...pack accordingly.

You know an album is good when one of the worst songs on it is the band's biggest single.

"Bookends" is Simon & Garfunkel, and 60's folk-rock, at their absolute best. While other bands were exploring complicted concepts and rock operas, S&G created a side-long song cycle about the simplest of ideas; growing up and growing old.

The album opens with a soft acoustic guitar line of the "Bookends Theme" which explodes into the psychedelic blast of "Save the Life of My Child", then fades into the glorious land and soul-searching ode "America". "Overs" deals with the subject of relationships reaching a stalemate, and "Old Friends" takes an elequent look at old age with beautiful vocals and melodies and stirring strings, and fades back into the original opening guitar line with ending coda "preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." Brilliant. And that's just the first half.

The second half, merely a collection of songs, is one of their stongest collections. The moderate hit "Fakin' It", the wry "Punky's Delemma", the rocking "A Hazy Shade of Winter" and the poppy Orwellian-with-a-twist "At the Zoo". The monster hit of "Mrs. Robinson" although brilliant in its own right, sounds almost out of place here, and ranks up as one of the weaker tracks.

The album covers a great deal of ground, musically and emotionally, and transports the listener...and does so in about a half an hour. Simon & Garfunkel do in 30 minutes what most bands can't do with a full-length cd.

At long last, this gem of an album is getting the credit it so deserves. This is (arguably) Simon & Garfunkel's greatest work as a duo, and perhaps one of the greatest albums of all time. Absoulutely essential.

The first half of this mainly mellow album (originally one side of a vinyl album) is based around life experiences from childhood to old age. Beginning and ending with the bookends theme, the outstanding song in this half is the reflective America. Save the life of my child, Overs and Old friends are all great songs though I'm not too keen on Voices of old people.

The second half of the album has no obvious theme but is stronger overall, containing Mrs Robinson (the biggest hit here), Hazy shade of winter (revived in the eighties to good effect by the Bangles), Faking it (a minor American hit), Punky's dilemma (an excellent philosophical song) and At the zoo (a great song with which to close the original album). Some say that Mrs Robinson (which originally appeared in the soundtrack of The Graduate) doesn't really blend in with the rest of the album. Maybe not, but I'm glad it's here.

Two bonus tracks are nothing to get excited about, but the re-mastering gives a far superior sound quality. There are also some informative liner notes.

If you only want the famous songs, you can find them on any number of hits compilations - some double CD's, some single CD's. However, if you wish to explore further, this album should be a high priority.

"Bookends" shows a leap in creativity for Simon & Garfunkel, having been allowed more studio time by their record company, Columbia to really harness their craft and the end result is truly a work of art. Their first album, "Wednesday Morning 3AM" showed Paul and Art in a purely 1960's folk music light, while their next two albums, "Sounds of Silence" and "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" saw the duo enhance a "folk rock" style with some wonderful, sometimes whimsical melodies and beautifully poetic lyrics. Here on "Bookends" though, it feels as though Simon & Garfunkel have grown up. There's a more mature approach to the songwriting, the performances and to the production. They sound like young men with old heads on their shoulders, which could be seen as ironic as this album's theme (or at least side one of it) is one of aging. Paul and Art chose to start the album somewhat up tempo, moving to songs of reflection and ending with something slower and simpler, all in all to reflect the growing up and growing old in life while bookending the songs with a "Bookends" theme.

Following the short "Bookends" theme intro, the album bursts open with the vibrant "Save The Life Of My Child" before settling down with "America". The imagery created by the lyrics in this song is made all the more vivid by the soft tones Paul Simon sings it in before Simon & Garfunkel's unfailing harmonies crescendo to lead the song into an instrumental fade. The song is such a wonderful tale of a young, innocent, naive couple, clearly in love and looking for adventure with no real direction, while at the same time looking for themselves. You can really imagine the sense of fun and excitement the couple are having on the Greyhound bus they boarded in Pittsburgh when Paul sings, "Laughing on the bus playing games with the faces. She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy. I said be careful his bowtie is really a camera". Towards the end of the song it feels as though the fun has subsided as something unpretentious makes Paul sing, "Cathy I'm lost I said though I knew she was sleeping. I'm empty and aching and I don't know why". Cathy was the name of Paul Simon's girlfriend at the time, so the song at that point really seems "first person" in narrative, perhaps based on a real life experience. It's a fascinating song whatever. "Overs" is a very simplistic song of dilemma. Simon feels his relationship with his girlfriend/wife has run its course after a long period of time ("We're just a habit, like saccharin", he sings), but each time he feels he has gained enough courage to break off the relationship he stops and reconsiders. Why he reconsiders is not clear. Perhaps after being in the relationship so long he's actually more afraid of being alone. The album's theme of growing older is addressed here with Art Garfunkel's beautiful bridge where he sings, "Time is tapping on my forehead, Hanging from my mirror, Rattling the teacups." "Voices Of Old People" is literally just that, with some quite strange comments made by the elderly voices recorded. This leads into "Old Friends" which is a perfect musical metaphor for slowing down, reflecting on life and now finding it "terribly strange to be 70". We all hope to reach 70 some day, but at the same time we can't really imagine ourselves being that age.

With the album's linking theme completed on Side One, Side Two continues with a very similar style in songwriting and sound. "Fakin' It" tells of Paul Simon's distrust of the 1960's "flower power" movement with the line, "And a walk in the garden wears me down". It has an infectious drum track at the end and features an interesting break in the song where, from out of nowhere, a girl with a Lancashire accent (from northwest England) is heard supposedly entering a shop and says, "Good Morning, Mr. Leech. Have you had a busy day?". "Punky's Dilemma" is a fun song and unavoidably comes across as such with lyrics like, "Wish I was an English muffin, 'Bout to make the most out of a toaster. I'd ease myself down, Comin' up brown". The album concludes with three very recognizable songs from the Simon & Garfunkel songbook - one of their biggest hits, "Mrs. Robinson" from the soundtrack to the hit movie, "The Graduate", along with "A Hazy Shade Of Winter" and "At The Zoo."

"Bookends" tends to get overshadowed by its follow-up, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which went on to become one of the most successful and biggest-selling albums of all time and the winner of five Grammy awards. Whilst it deserved every bit of success and acclaim, the only minor criticism Paul Simon later leant to the "Troubled Water" album was that it might have been slightly overproduced. Compared to "Bookends" this does ring true and as a consequence it feels a little more "serious" in its approach. "Bookends" at least adopts more of an air of looseness and fun, despite not sounding as instantly commercial as the "Troubled Water" album. For me, "Bookends" is the quintessential Simon & Garfunkel album with the duo on peak form before their personal and professional differences interfered with their relationship. In 1968 they were riding the wave of their success through a collection of classic songs that perfectly reflect the time in which they were composed and recorded.

Perhaps S & G here were trying to tell a life story between the BOOKENDS from birth "Save the Life of My Child" to the near end "Old Friends"...One line from the latter song "How terribly strange to be seventy", I have remembered from time to time when seeing older people over the years,but now,of course,the age of 70 does not seem strange at all! "America",tells a fine road story,and has always been one of my all-time favorites. I still don't know if "Mrs. Wagner's Pies" is a real brand! "Overs" has a folk-jazz feel that makes it,and many of S & G's tunes, more interesting by far than much folk/pop of the time,or since."Fakin It",and "Punky's Dilemma", a whimical look at the serious topic of draft dodging at the time,are equally good."Hazy Shade of Winter" is one of the few fast moving folk-rockers that I've ever enjoyed. "At the Zoo" is amusing,but not the type of song you'll want to hear over and over. Ditto for "Mrs. Robinson", a phenomenal hit at the time,but not one of my favorites. It is for me the only dud on the record,but did it ever get this duo into the big-time!! Bottom line,a timeless pop masterpiece,which I would put right next to the Beatles' REVOLVER, and the BeachBoys PET SOUNDS as the very best late 60's pop/rock!

From the opening tip off, the listener can hear that this is a different Simon and Garfunkel sound... "Save the Life of My Child" is a creative rock song with gospel infusion that makes use of fantastic reverberation.. then, the track crossfades into "America", one of the most hauntingly beautiful folk/rock songs ever to hit the rock spectrum..

This is a nostalgic album... it's got a lot of east coast rock dating back from the time... in contrast to the west coast surfer sound (i.e. The Beach Boys, Mommas and the Poppas..) this is serious east coast conceptual stuff.. I love the east coast NYC flavor..

.. one beautiful moment is when Garfunkel comes sailing in toward the end of "Overs" like an angel from heaven...

This is definetely the beginning of the late Simon and Garfunkel sound you'll hear only one more time on Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon and Garfunkel are legends. Their albums are among the best ever recorded. Bookends is the best of them all. It contains more mood and emotion than any other. America may be their best song ever and Hazy Shade of Winter can not be listened to without listening to it twice (it is way to short).

I love this ablum for the mood, the music and the words.

I won this LP on e-Bay as a college graduation present to myself in May of 2002, after months of fruitlessly waiting for it to turn up at the local vintage music store. My interest in this had been spurred by hearing "Fakin' It" on one of the weekend programmes on the local oldies station, a song I hadn't heard in years and had even forgotten existed; I was really keen on getting the album from whence that song came when I went back to university after the winter break, but it didn't show up. But once I finally had the album, I loved it and knew it had been worth the wait.

In some ways this is a concept album; not like a psychedelic concept album, but a concept album nonetheless. Many of the songs are linked together by a theme of getting older, going through the progressive stages of life. I even like the non-musical piece "Voices of Old People," but then again, I also love the Beatles' sound montage "Revolution No. 9," another non-musical album track that many people consider too weird or superfluous to listen to. There are so many great songs on this album, like "America" (I always get chills when I hear this song; it was a very moving moment when David Bowie did this song to open the October 2001 Concert for New York), "A Hazy Shade of Winter," "Bookends Theme," "Old Friends," and "Save the Life of My Child." Even though it's lauded as a classic, "Mrs. Robinson" is way too overplayed on the radio for me to consider it one of my faves on here. The only flaw is that the closing track is "At the Zoo"; while it's fun and cute, it doesn't sound like a true closing track should. It would have been better if "Hazy Shade of Winter" had been switched with "At the Zoo."

Bookends is far and away one of the best, if not the best, album that Simon & Garfunkel ever released. Their sounds on this recording are phenomenal; the remastering job is superlative. This is a must-have CD for any Simon & Garfunkel fan; and we get two bonus tracks here that were not on the original record album release. Great!

The album begins with the "Bookends Theme." The guitar work stuns me with its beauty; it's all THAT good. "Bookends Theme" is a strong number with which to open the album, too. "Save The Life Of My Child" features great guitar and percussion work as Simon & Garfunkel perform this to perfection--and beyond! This is solid proof that these two masterful artists could handle complex tempo and key changes like the true pros they were and still remain. I'm very impressed. "America" is a much more mellow number with Simon & Garfunkel harmonizing faultlessly; "America" has a terrific flavor to it and the music fits in perfectly with their vocals. How's about that woodwind playing, too?

"Voices Of Old People" isn't exactly my favorite number on this album; but I can tell it has artistic value. It's just not my style; but many people will like this nonetheless. "Old Friends" stuns me with its beauty. "Old Friends" sports a lush musical arrangement and it all holds it own very well. The "Bookends Theme" comes back to complete the cycle of life with people growing old from being very young; and that's special.

"Fakin' It" has a mellow rock sound that strikes me with its beauty; this is Simon & Garfunkel at their best and just one listen will tell you why. They perform this without ever letting go of a superfluous note--impressive! "Fakin' It" is one of my favorite numbers on the entire album; it's really quite strong and the music fits beautifully with their vocalizing. In addition, "Punky's Dilemma" sports a mellow flavor that showcases the talents of Simon & Garfunkel; Punky's Dilemma" is indeed somewhat unusual--but it works every step of the way. Of course, "Mrs. Robinson" is an extremely popular number; all the stars in all the heavens were aligned in just the right places when Simon & Garfunkel wrote this tune. "Mrs. Robinson" worked well in the film "The Graduate;" and it's a classic ballad that will always remain incredibly special in its own right.

"A Hazy Shade Of Winter" uses the percussion and guitars well; even the brass sounds perfect! "At The Zoo" uses creative percussion while Simon & Garfunkel turn this out like champs! The guitars in "At The Zoo" couldn't have been any better sounding, either. We then get two bonus numbers, "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies" and "a demo version of "Old Friends." Simon & Garfunkel make these memorable with their impeccable delivery; and that's grand.

Simon & Garfunkel could never be forgotten; they gave us so much and we are all better off for their sharing their talents with us. I highly recommend this album for their fans especially since it has two bonus tracks. This is equally good as a starter CD for people just getting into Simon & Garfunkel.