Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends

Track for track, this is Simon & Garfunkel's best album. By 1968, Simon had shed his more precious tendencies as a songsmith. Meanwhile, the duo and coproducer/engineer Roy Halee had become adept studio technicians. "America" and "Mrs. Robinson" displayed the kind of sonic breadth that would flower even more fully two years later with "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water." Bits of whimsy ("Punky's Dilemma," "At the Zoo") and melancholy ("Old Friends," "A Hazy Shade of Winter") complete this autumnal album. (The 2001 reissue adds two bonus tracks, including a demo of "Old Friends.") --Steven Stolder Amazon.com essential recording

Beautiful

Nobody writes stuff this good anymore, except maybe Nick Worrall. Simply beautiful in every way possible. July 10, 2008

It never got any better than this.

During the 1960's Paul Simon entered a very introspective, moody place in his head, and wound up producing one of the greatest bodies of music in pop history. This album is arguably the best of his best.

Virtually no filler, every song will leave its haunting image in your brain for months or years after you hear it. May 24, 2008

"What's becoming of our children?"

Whilst the duo's previous masterwork (1966's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme) showcased both Paul Simon's supremely literary lyricism and Art Garfunkel's gorgeously elegiac vocals at the height of their powers, 1968's Bookends transcends its predecessor in terms of its understated ambition.

Whilst it is possible to view Bookends as something of a parody of all that S&G and their contemporaries were (rightly or wrongly) associated with (be it folk rock, 60s counter-culture, the ever-widening disparity between age and youth), the wryness of many of the its tracks belies the top-to-bottom subversive nature of a record conventionally viewed as one of transition.

Traditional production values and classic song structure in particular are each flagrantly disavowed by Simon's lithe song writing and Garfunkel's atypical vocal arrangements - most notably Simon's almost zeugmatic lyrical stream on `Save the Life of My Child' or Garfunkel's beautiful interlude on `Overs' - on the album where each of the duo's customary roles are least apparently delineated, rendering Bookends their most diplomatic work.

Themes of age and existence pervade the record with many tracks calling into question many sacrosanct inter-/intra-generational ideals yet refusing to divulge any definitive answers. Indeed it is the tracks that most apparently partake this ambiguous stance - `America', `Old Friends', `Bookends', `A Hazy Shade of Winter' and perhaps the duo's most famous work, `Mrs Robinson' - that have become amongst the most beloved in S&G's canon.

For much of it's overt seriousness and underlying caveat however, there is still an infectious sense of exuberance to Bookends with some memorably ornate touches here and there (`Fakin' It' and `Punky's Dilemma' in particular) - and it would take a heart of stone not to raise a smile at Garfunkel's outrageous falsetto-counter to Simon's vocal on the line "'he must be high on something,' someone said!" during `Save the Life of My Child'. March 28, 2008

An absolutely classic album...

Under-rated on its release and rapidly eclipsed by the massive success of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Bookends" has, with time, proved to be not only Simon & Garfunkle's best album but one of the very best albums of the 60s.

And, 40 years on, the first seven tracks tracks that formed side one of the original LP, with its themes of old age and alienation, remain as fresh and relevant today as they were then... a cohesive and beautifully reflective suite of quite exceptional musical poetry. So good that the quality of "side two", with its five incredibly catchy but more mainstream folk-rock tracks, is often lost in reviews... which is a shame as they're also among Simon & Garfunkle's best and are good enough on their own to justify five stars. But, in the end, it's the timeless brilliance of side one that elevates "Bookends" to "classic" status.
August 18, 2007

Not called their best for nothing

This is the first Simon and Garfunkel album I've ever bought, although I've heard them alot on the oldies stations. I must say, this album is a very good introduction to S&G.

The album is somewhat of a concept album, at least for the first half. Growing older, feeling lost, questioning life are all themes explored by Paul Simon during the first half of the album. The classic "America" as well as "Old Friends" are highlights. The montage "Voices of Old People" is surprisingly poignant, as is the song "Overs." The first side of the album is soft spoken, thoughtful, introspective.

As the album progresses to the second half, it loses it's "concept" a bit, though it doesn't lose the great songwriting. "Fakin' It" and their smash hit "Mrs. Robinson" are here, as well as many more toe-tapping fun songs. "Punky's Dilemma" always makes me smile, and "At the Zoo" is another catchy tune. The album is short but sweet and leaves me wanting more.

While the songs are very good, one big thing detracts from the album as a whole for me, and that is that the album seems to begin as a concept album but then doesn't stick with it. Perhaps I made up the idea that this album was intended in any way as a concept album, but the first few tracks definitely seem thematically linked, especially "Voices of Old People," "Overs," "Old Friends," and "Bookends." However, most of the rest of the album doesn't seem to have anything to do with the first half, its more like a collection of random songs. This might not bother most people, but I like albums to be internally coherent and not just a collection of random songs. Especially if the album starts off as though it's going to be internally coherent. But, it's a small complaint. And I'm not even sure if Paul Simon intended for it to be a concept album. But it sure looks like it starts off as one.

Overall the albums good points outweigh its bad points. I would highly recommend this album to anyone and everyone. July 29, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...