Customer Reviews

Paul Simon and Friends [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A very special DVD. Using Simon's own band to back up the other artists performing his songs was a brilliant move, as it maintained the integrity of his works in their new forms. It did seem like the videographer (or editor) was enamored of Simon's band manager Mark Stewart, as he appears prominently in an extraordinary number of scenes.
The inserted clips of Simon singing "Mrs. Robinson" at the Yankee Stadium tribute to DiMaggio was as awkward here as it was originally. The clips of Simon's recorded duets with Miriam Makeba and George Harrison were priceless, welcome additions.
The only real downer of the whole experience was Philip Glass's piano mangling of "Sounds of Silence". It was tortured and barely recognizable!
Overall, this purchase was well worth the money!

This concert is a real treat. Great performances from Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovett, James Taylor, Marc Anthony and others. Paul Simon's band played superb and also the guest musicians played wonderful. You could see everyone had a very good time on stage. A great tribute to Paul Simon and his music. Very worthwhile to buy this DVD.

I caught the original broadcast when it was first aired, then made sure I saw each rebroadcast. I was extremely excited when I finally found it was being being released on DVD. I had been waiting for 2 years to get another chance to see this great concert. Lyle Lovett, Marc Anthony and Stevie Wonder, to name a few amazing performances.

Great songs, great arrangements, and you can tell the guest performers are having a ball, too! A definite A+.

I liked it but wish Paul Simon had a bigger role. I also would have liked more emphasis on his older songs which were good poetry besides being good songs. Most of the songs in this video were his later solo works which are good but I like his older works better. It was nice to see him being honored with this award but I don't think I would have bought it if I had been able to review it first.

I do not usually enjoy hearing "other people" do their interpretation of classic songs. They so often fall far short of the original version. This excellent show is the exception for me though. Each and every performance is very good indeed. Some performances are similar the original versions and sometimes they're very different indeed..... but they're all good. The quality of filming and editing and sound is exemplary also. The Library of Congress is such a beautiful setting. By the time Art Garfunkle joins Paul Simon on the stage, the viewer realises that this blu ray is something of a historical document too and one well worth preservng.

This is one of the best things I have heard in a long time. A must own for any music lover. I was on a cloud of euphoria for most of the show. BUY IT!

The Product Description for this disk lists all the performers and I'll not repeat that here. Suffice it to say that what is presented on this disk includes a few performances from earlier years, eg: Homeward Bound (1976), Graceland (1987 with Miriam Makeba- I saw that concert at Chicago's Poplar Creek Theatre), Mrs. Robinson (Yankey Stadium, 1999).

This is a very beautiful concert with excellent video quality. An ecclectic selection of performers, each puts its spin on a Paul Simon composition delightfully.

The disk offers only one audio option; Multichannel. No PCM stereo and no MC-DTS. And therein lies the problem with the audio, I think. If you've preset your system to decode DTS you may need to change that to MC. Even then I had to select 2 Channel Stereo on my Sony Amp for a satisfactory audio. This paragraph is for the benefit of Shout Factory who issued this disk. They need to re-issue the B-Ray disk and stamp it Ver. 2.0 so we'll know they've rectified their error, if they do. Collective Soul's "Home" B-Ray disk sets the standard in audio quality

You may need to push the ENTER button (instead of PLAY) to start.

Happened upon this program on PBS and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I have been waiting for this to come out on DVD for two years. There's a reunion of Simon and Garfunkle, a performance by LadySmith Black Mombaza, and much more. We are so fortunate to have a song writer of this magnitude in our lifetime.

Even though I consider Paul Simon one of the three most important (and personal favorite) "pop rock" song writers of all time, for some reason I had not pulled the trigger on purchasing this blu ray until this month.

Well I finally got around to watching it last night, and I was very pleased with my purchase. The picture on the blu ray itself is glorius, (I'm not a videophile so I can't speak to the technical aspects). And most of the performances were wonderful.

There were a few lowlights where the performance felt a little lacking. Sometimes the guest singer and song pairing didn't quite work out as well in reality as it sounded on paper.

One other lowlight is the lack of extras. If you're going to put "Homeward Bound" from SNL with George Harrison on here, why not put "Here Come the Sun" as a bonus track? The blu ray format is supposed to take advantage of this space. No interviews? No back stage banter? Definitely disappointing.

But let's focus on the good stuff.

I'm quite suprised no one has mentioned how majestic Alison Krauss' version of Graceland was in the concert. The band are really locked in and her voice is absolutely haunting.

Jessy Dixon and Yolanda Adams absolutely kill Gone At Last. Such joy.

A few folks have mentioned Marc Anthony. He pretty much stole the show for me. El Condor Pasa is one of my least favorite Paul Simon tunes, and Marc's version is unbelievably beautiful. He also nails Late In The Evening.

Of course bringing Stevie into the finale is going to be special. And believe it or not, it actually EXCEEDED my infinitely high expectations on Loves Me Like A Rock. I'm so happy they left the first version in where Stevie literally stops the song, because getting to hear Ira Tucker sing two different takes of his verse was literally a tear jerker for me.

No exaggeration, both times the song started up, my level of enjoyment kept rising and rising. And by the time Stevie and Ira were ad-libbing at the end, I was welling up with tears of joy. Worth the price of admission for that moment alone.

Firstly, a tiny caveat; Paul Simon, the recipient of the Gershwin Prize for popular Song isn't the main performer in this High Definition concert disc, his very talented friends are. Yes Simon does appear live but only in the last 5 songs (plus 3 notable clips from the past).
But what friends these are ! Culturally and stylistically diverse, they rock the evening with exuberant performances of his songs and just about blow the enraptured audience away. Lyle Lovett starts proceedings with his typical laid back vocals in 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover followed by a countrified Boxer ala Alison Kraus and Jeremy Douglas, different but quite enjoyable. The South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing Homeless and what a revelation they are--smooth a capella singing with infectious charm and boundless energy. The soloists who really grabbed my attention have to be James Taylor whose easy going Slip Slidin Away and haunting Still Crazy After All These Years greatly impress and Marc Anthony with a soulful El Condor Pasa and a high -octane Late In The Evening which nearly steals the evening. Great stuff.
In no small measure, the evening's success may be credited to the fantastic back up Band, whose pounding percussion, pulsing guitars and thumping bass propell the aural excitement to fever pitch. And what a glorious Audio recording they are accorded in this Blu Ray disc. Play this one through a proper 5.1 speaker set -up via suitable electronics, pump up the volume and the Dolby TrueHD will give you goose-bumps....it is that good. Listen, for example to the band upping the tempo when Paul Simon duets with Stevie Wonder in a foot-stomping rendition of Me And Julio By The Schoolyard. As if that isn't enough adrenaline, in the next act, Simon, Wonder, the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Band work up a veritable storm with Loves Me Like A Rock. What a blast!
Yes, Paul we love you, all is groovy.