Live From New York City, 1967 [Live]

Simon & Garfunkel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1967
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000069JIN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,710 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were the apotheosis of the '60s folk revival, bringing the music to the mainstream via Top 40 radio and network TV. This live set was recorded before a rapt audience at New York's Lincoln Center in January of 1967, just as their Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme album was carrying them to superstardom, and there's a palpable pre-Woodstock/Altamont sense of boundless possibilities in these performances. Carried by just their bittersweet, magnificently interlocking voices and Simon's acoustic guitar, the duo showcases its already impressive slate of hits ("Homeward Bound," "I Am a Rock," "The Sounds of Silence") and its stylistic diversity that was already confident enough to encompass breezy pop ("The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"), madrigal influences ("Benedictus"), and the introspective impressionism of "A Hazy Shade of Winter." Simon takes a jazz-folk solo instrumental turn on Davey Graham's "Anji," while Garfunkel showcases his angelic pipes on "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her." It's a remarkably crisp live recording as well, one whose digital remastering was overseen--but not artistically tweaked--by the musicians and their original engineer Roy Halee, ensuring the performance remains as true as the cold yet invitingly warm evening on which it was recorded. Their subsequent albums Bookends and Bridge over Troubled Water may have expanded their creative instincts and their fame, but, like the Beatles, their partnership eerily paralleled the decade's demise, its optimism and promise imploding in a swirl of cynicism and ego. Those facts make this find from the vaults all the more compelling. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

Out of print in the U.S.! Live from New York City, 1967 finds Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and their audience in perfect union. To this day, when people think about Simon & Garfunkel, they are thinking about nights like this: nights that brimmed with the promise that so much was possible, that seemed as if they could last forever, and that survive in this music and all it continues to mean. This performance was recorded at new York's Lincoln Center in 1967, just as as the duo's album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme was becoming a huge success. The duo's voices float and glide in perfect harmony, aided only by Simon's acoustic guitar and heartwarming melodies, sounding as fresh and crisp as the day it was recorded. 19 tracks.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one was definitely worth resurrecting!!, July 18, 2002

By 

William Merrill "eclecticist" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live From New York City, 1967 (Audio CD)

(4&1/2 stars) I'm not sure why it took 35 years for this live recording to be released, but it turns out to be a marvelous document of the classic folk duo's magical chemistry. The sound quality is remarkable, a pristine environment that faithfully captures their inspired harmonies, Paul's acoustic guitar strumming, and even their occasional small boo-boos. (This was recorded live after all.) Hearing Art sing "For Emily" is always spine-tingling, but especially from this era when he was at the very pinnacle of his art. And of course all the hits reminded me yet again what a gifted songwriter Paul was, especially "Homeward Bound," "the Sound of Silence," and "I Am A Rock." The way Paul's harmony line on "Rock" stays on the same note for most of the first verse is such an amazingly subtle but effective idea.

Art's between-song patter is amusing, particularly his explanation of the album cover for the Wednesday Morning record. Anthony DeCurtis also provided some informative and well written liner notes.

Of course it's important (and obvious) to note that this concert occurred prior to some of their later hits such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "El Condor Pasa," but live versions of those can be heard elsewhere.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime, August 12, 2002

By 

R. Riis "rriis" (NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live From New York City, 1967 (Audio CD)

The music and performance is sublime, capturing Simon & Garfunkel on their home turf on the cusp of broadening fame. This same material has appeared on easy-to-find bootlegs in the past, but not with this crisp, clear sound quality. Skip the "deluxe" packaging offered on an alternative edition of this CD unless a cardboard digipak sleeve with a shiny finish is important to you; the contents are otherwise the same as the regular jewel-case edition.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a treat - totally acoustic S&G, July 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Live from New York City, 1967 (Deluxe Packaging) (Audio CD)

Having been a long-time Simon & Garfunkel fan, the best thing about "Live From New York City, 1967" is that there are only (3) instruments on this CD - Paul's voice, Art's voice, and Paul's acoustic guitar. The vocal and guitar sound quality is outstanding.

The only live S & G performances I had ever seen/heard was the "Concert in Central Park". While the music was good, the tension between the duo was very evident. This live CD gives insight into what a Simon & Garfunkel concert was like in the early days - the stage banter reminds me of a very small music club setting.

If you are a Simon & Garfunkel fan or merely enjoy good folk music, "Live From New York City, 1967" is definitely worth listening to!