Our church custodian likes to play music when he’s working
in an area. Most of the time he has some
kind of Simon and Garfunkel CD in his player, and has it turned up relatively
loud as he works in large areas and is somewhat hard of hearing to boot. I enjoy hearing snippets of songs I’ve known
for many, many years and sometimes just hang around until a song is finished.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have had a storied and wildly
successful career. Starting in the days
of Greenwich Village and the folk era, (discounting a stint they did in the
late 50’s), they have managed to make themselves a sound unto themselves and
have forever changed the landscape of music from that time to this. Other than Peter, Paul, and Mary, this duo is
probably the most recognized and the most revered in the folk genre coming from
that era.
Recently, I purchased a DVD which gave the background to
several of the songs that they made famous.
The DVD consisted of interviews of the two and interviews with others
associated with them, as well as parts of live performances and studio stints. One of the things I was struck by was the
extraordinary lengths they would go to in order to get a certain sound. Everything from using an orchestra to
recording in a cathedral was used in their songs. They would take great pains to make sure it
was just right.
By far most of us who have listened to their songs don’t
have a clue what they did, how they did it, or the extreme lengths they went to
at times to obtain the recording as it is.
And that’s OK. Suffice it to say
that there is something magical and special about many of their songs that have
caused them to endure these many years.
And that magical-ness may well be those extra touches they put to the
recordings.
Garfunkel performed in Wichita recently. Sadly, I didn’t have the money to spend on
tickets for the performance. I’ll be
content, however, to occasionally listen to the wafting of a CD as it plays “The
Boxer” or “Scarborough Fair.”
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