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BAD FRIDAY!
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The Windmill, Brixton
Good Friday, 14th April 2017
3pm till late

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Gig Review

Simon and Garfunkel
Hyde Park

Article written by Matt H - Jul 17, 2004

I've been asked quite a few times whether going to see Simon and Garfunkel was some sort of ironic gesture. It's a question I can't particularly understand - and not just because �40 a pop is a bit steep for irony.

In my book Paul Simon is simply one of the best writers of popular music there is; and the brand of folk that he popularised with Art Garfunkel has always featured as part of the soundtrack to my life. The intelligent, wordy lyrics, whether tied to whimsy like the 59th Street Bridge Song or more maudlin tunes such as the Sound of Silence, carry as much influence as the likes of Dylan. As if by way of evidence the first song they launch into is a downbeat version of I am a Rock, which sounds as if it taught Will Oldham half of what he knows. It's no mean feat to be able to delight a full-to-bursting Hyde Park with that sort of material.

And they are terrific. Joking about their famous 18 years of acrimony, they appear rather like they've been aged by make-up effects rather than time. Taking a saunter through their classics and one or two of Paul Simon's solo efforts, they effortlessly demonstrate the quality of songs that, in their recorded versions, might sometimes have paled through sheer familiarity. The strength is highlighted by the interlude of the Everley Brothers coming on to run through 3 or 4 of their greatest hits. Nice, well-performed songs with a nostalgic appeal - but going expressly to see them would have been an ironic gesture.

I didn't think there was any danger that Simon and Garfunkel would disappoint - there's no shame in being old if you're peddling music rather than image. And I was right. We could only dream of such good songs dominating popular taste nowadays.

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