Someone To Be Noticed

FEATURE 

by Tom Lounges

It’s been a quarter century since the last Simon & Garfunkel album “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released and since the most successful pop duo of the 1960s closed the door on a chapter of musical history.    

Though it is true that Paul Simon composed the many wonderful songs that filled the duo’s expansive songbook, one should not dismiss the too often overlooked Garfunkel side of the team, for he had a heavy hand in the arranging and final execution of several of their biggest hits, including the title track to that swansong album.     

And lest we not forget, that what really made those old Simon & Garfunkel songs so memorable –– the sweet vocal harmonies  –– of which half came courtesy of the New York born and bred Garfunkel.     

While he has kept busy in the ensuing years with a solo career highlighted by ten albums and such AC (Adult Contemporary) radio hits as “All I Know,”  “I Only Have Eyes For You,” “My Little Town,” and “Since I Don’t Have You.”        

He is back on the play lists and sales charts again with “Bounce,” the first single from his latest album, “Everything Waits To Be Noticed,” which generated quite an industry buzz when it was released last fall.      

“Bounce” was the second most added single at AC radio stations the first week of it’s release, being topped by only the duet by Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch.      

Like Sinatra, Como and other great crooners before him, Garfunkel’s greatest talent is his gift for vocal phrasing and his ability to interpret other people’s music and make it indelibly his own.    

At least until he hooked up with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock in 2001.  The two lesser known, but amazingly talented singer/songwriters put Garfunkel on the road to songwriting.  First by incorporating some of the prose from his 1987 poetry book, “Still Water,” into their newly written songs.  Then later, by bringing Garfunkel into the creative loop where he joined them in writing fresh words and the structuring melodies of many of the 13 tracks that fill the new CD.

     “I’m musical in terms of writing and I’m literary in terms of words, but I just never engaged in the art of putting the two together.  Songwriting is the seamless marriage of melody and words,” he said.  “I never engaged that kind of thing until Billy Mann put me together with these two wonderful partners.”    

Mann, a veteran record producer who has worked with Celine Dion and other major adult contemporary artists, contacted Garfunkel in late 2000 with the notion of teaming him up with two amazing singer/songwriters that he knew.       

The pop icon was intrigued and the idea of working in a partnership situation again after all his years away from Paul Simon.  He put his faith in Mann’s judgement  and the project became a long and tedious work in progress that stretched well over a year, because of various solo projects, three different geographical bases of operation and of course the 9/11 tragedies.     

At the time of our interview, Garfunkel said he is especially fond of the songs, “Perfect Moment” and “The Kid.”      

“That is such a pretty with a capital ‘P’ song,” he said of “Perfect Moment,” which he co-authored with Mondlock.  “It’s got so many textures and colors...it’s a remarkable number.”       

The latter is a solo number brought into the project by Mondlock.  “When I listen to it, ‘The Kid’, reminds me a lot of ‘The Boxer,’” he said, referring to the classic 1969 Simon & Garfunkel tune.  “It’s got that folky, picking, story kind of thing going on in it just like ‘The Boxer’ does.  Both of those songs have a special place in my mind and heart, which puts ‘The Kid’ in a very high place indeed.”     

For Garfunkel, who self-produced most of his earlier solo albums, it was sometimes hard to sit back in the studio and be directed by Mann.  “I had to put my trust in Billy’s judgement when in my head, I was disagreeing with him,” he laughed.  “In the end, listening back to this album, letting go of the control and following his lead ultimately was the right way to go.”     

“The buzz is really good on this album,” said Garfunkel.  “Reviewers have said a lot of nice things about this album.  Writers are telling me on the phone that where they usually tend to single out one or two highlights, they are finding a whole bunch of things to like about the album.         

Fans are likewise finding a lot to like about his latest album, which is a good thing, since several of the new songs are included in the set list of his current live show.    

Naturally, his live performance will also find Garfunkel delivering songs from his many solo albums and some of those classic S&G numbers which he admits he could never leave the stage without doing.     

Among them –– “Mrs. Robinson,” “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”      

“I still love those old songs as much as ever,” he said.  “They still stand up as well today as they did when they were written.  A good old song is like a good old pair of shoes.  They just get more comfortable with age.”  

                                   (Art Garfunkel performs at Ravinia Theatre in Highland Park on June 8)

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