Official cds
They only released a few albums back in the day, but every song counted. Bookends is a masterpiece - songs that you know include America, Mrs. Robinson and Old Friends. But its the songs aren't considered hits that are the best songs here - Save The Life Of My Child, Fakin' It, Punky's Dilemma and Hazy Shade Of Winter are classics themselves. The Graduate was one of the best movies from the 60s - see it if you haven't. Different versions of Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson and Scarborough Fair on the soundtrack. What's he doing with that moustache?? Greatest Hits is the Simon and Garfunkel cd that everyone has. One Trick Pony is a Paul Simon cd which was also a movie. The story is about Jonah, a struggling musician. Late In The Evening is the most popular song from One Trick Pony. Next is Paul Simon - Negotiations and Love Songs 1971-1986. His best solo songs are here - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, Still Crazy After All These Years, Slip Slidin' Away, Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes and You Can Call Me Al (remember the cool video with Chevy Chase?). You're The One is his latest music - it came out in late 1999. Its quiet mood music. Paul Simon is one of my favorite songwriters. Even his most obscure songs are worth tracking down. The Only Living Boy In New York, Fakin' It and Save The Life Of My Child are among them.

The Rhythm Of The Saints is Paul Simon's go at samba and Brazilian sounds. The strong percussions were recorded live in Brazil. I bought this in Eilat in early 2008 - not long after returning from a backpacking trip which brought me to Rio!

Simon and Garfunkel bootlegs
Simon and Garfunkel bootlegs are an experience you want in your stereo. They're harder to find than Beatlegs, Zeppelin and Who bootlegs. These two gave fucking terrific shows. Their voices are often better than on the albums! The talk in between the songs is matched only by The Who in the "have something to say and are interesting to listen to" category. One bootleg has Art Garfunkel saying, "This is a new song of ours, I like it, Bridge Over Troubled Water." Imagine being in the audience and hearing it for the first time live before even radio stations got to it! That's one thing that makes bootlegs so amazing - hearing the artist talk about his new work in front of his audience. Official cds just don't do this. Even live official cds end up with no spoken words. Listen to these and you'll see what precise musicians Simon and Garfunkel were.

The back of Chez says, "A home recording done by Paul Simon for his girlfriend Kathy in 1964." It was recorded on a cassette and somehow preserved! Songs include Leaves That Are Green, Patterns, Kathy's Song, The Sound of Silence, I Am A Rock and Going To The Zoo (according to the cd, Paul and a neighborhood girl, Debbie). Some of these songs weren't released until a few years later. A must have.

Next up is a show titled Paul Simon From The Fillmore In Denver, Colorado, November 20, 2000. Its 2 cds (all Simon and Garfunkel shows from the 60's and 1970 fit on 1 cd). Hearts and Bones has unreleased songs and studio outtakes. Simon and Garfunkel Johns Hopkins University Live - 1966 is the kind of show I listen to a lot. Soundboard recording and you get songs like Cloudy, The Sound of Silence, Sparrow and more with the two of them interacting with the audience. These mid-60's shows are classics. I hope they're released one day.

Songbook is a Paul Simon album released in the 60's. He went to a studio in England and paid for a few hours of time and bashed it out. I donno why he asked for it to be erased from his catalogue - I enjoy it. My version has his original demo for Bridge Over Troubled Water. Sounds of Silence Live says it was recorded live in New York 1966. A nice setlist and as always great interaction with the audience.

Tom and Jerry!!! This is what they were called before Simon and Garfunkel. Bet ya didn't know this! They play 50's style songs and wow their voices show they're young. Its great hearing the roots of a band, even if the record companies won't ever release this. Paul Simon Unplugged is what it says it is. Voice of Intelligent Dissent is another classic show. The Hollywood Bowl, August 23, 1968. Sometimes bootlegs are named after a sentence that one of the performers says on stage. They play Punky's Dilemma, a favorite song.

The Alternate Bookends
Just what I needed - alternate versions of songs from one of my favorite cds. Save The Life Of My Child and Punky's Dilemma are two of the best Simon & Garfunkel songs yet no one's heard of them. How's about alternate versions of America and Old Friends? Also has live versions of the Bookends songs from various venues. The topping on the cake is the mono version (straight from the LP) of Bookends! Gives it that 60's feel to it. The back cover artwork is bright - like the music.

Atlanta, Georgia - December 20, 2003
This is a soundboard bootleg from their 2003 tour - likely their last tour. It surprised me - I expected to hear their greatest hits. They put together a show which takes you through the history of Simon and Garfunkel. They play Hey Schoolgirl - a song from when they were called Tom and Jerry in the late 50's and then they bring on The Everly Brothers to sing Wake Up Little Suzie and All I Have To Do Is Dream and a few more. They also played a bunch of rare songs - songs the casual fan might not know of, but are just as good at the hits. A Hazy Shade of Winter, At the Zoo, Baby Driver, Keep the Customer Satisfied, The Only Living Boy In New York and The Leaves That Are Green. That's six songs which hadn't been played since the sixties! What a treat to have The Only Living Boy In New York live. I'll look for more shows of this tour. And will definitely buy the rest of their official cds by the end of 2004!

Unsurpasses Masters and Tufts University 1979
Unsurpassed Masters has more Bookends studio outtakes. Tufts is another one of the classic shows Simon and Garfunkel did at American colleges and universities during the 60's.

Songs For The Asking
Songs For The Asking is the kind of compilation bootleg that should be released. Soundboard sources from 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1993 and 1995. A wide variety of songs that fills up over 79 minutes of each of two cds!