To be totally honest, In my opinion, I think they should let sleeping dogs lie. These reunion things never work out well and it’s not like they haven’t performed together multiple times since they parted ways.
I will always tip my hat to them and will concede they have a talent & duality I can’t explain. I’ll even admit that I’m listening to the live stream of the set / Q&A their doing over the net right now.
That being said, I’m sorry - but I really don’t think a reunion tour is necessary.
Face it these two do NOT have great chemistry together and when I watch them, their body language/tone make me feel like they are “forced” to be together.
I think they were great in “their day” but times have a changed and I don’t think they have changed with the times.
Isabelle, I have to respectfully disagree. Even when they got along S&G weren’t known for their really, really exciting live appearances. Their music just doesn’t lend itself to leaping about the stage destroying things and screaming into microphones, and it’s difficult to make “two guys standing next to each other and singing” appealing to current 3-second-attention-span concertgoers. And if not having great chemistry together was a criteria for whether or not groups should tour, we’d never see most bands out on the road. Fleetwood Mac, anyone?
Considering that groups like Kiss, The Who, The Eagles, and the Rolling Stones are each on… let’s see… their eighth or ninth “farewell” tour, [sub]no, really, this time we mean it!![/sub] I’m all for Simon and Garfunkel doing a few shows considering their last live concert performance was quite some time ago. Unfortunately I have the feeling prices are going to be outrageous, otherwise I’d be there.
The concerts that I find exciting are the ones where the audience is pulled in and involved with the performance, not the ones with histrionic performers. I don’t at all think they should “let sleeping dogs lie” here, because the closest I have ever come to seeing them perform together is watching video of the concert in Central Park, because I happened to be born too late to see them in their heyday. If they tour again, I’ll have the opportunity to see two of my favorite musicians LIVE.
Other “farewell” and “final” tours are generally from bands that have broken up and then decided to be bands again, or else are bands that didn’t break up but decided sales needed to be pumped up. Neither of those situations are the case here. Simon & Garfunkel aren’t reuniting to become “Simon & Garfunkel” again – they’re just touring together to perform old material. It’s not to support a new album or boost sales, it seems to be because they know they’re beloved as a duo and that lots of people want to see them live (in my case, for the first time).
Actually it is to support a ‘new’ compilation album with 32 tracks. Maybe technology has improved where Sony can clean up the awful quality of the recordings (the masters were supposedly destroyed in a natural calamity <flood? or fire?>).
Don’t get me wrong, I do like them. I just don’t think it’s necessary. But we all know opinions are like bung holes.
Prediction: They’ll play the Democratic Convention for Howard Dean’s nomination. I just hope they don’t even attempt to better their live rendition of For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her that they did for McGovern(?) in the 70’s(?)…thaty would be impossible all these years later.
All I can say is YIPPEE! YIPPEE! YIPPEE! I have always loved Simon & Garfunkel I can remember when I was a very small child I begged for the 45 of Sound of Silence. I played it so much my parents threatened to throw it out. I bought every albumb they did together and separately. I have always wanted to see them live in concert and hopefully now I have a chance. I really hope that one of the 32 cities is near me.
Oh, they broke up because of various differences, Paul wanted a solo career, “creative differences”, and something about who was getting the most credit for their work.
I am truly psyched and can’t wait to find out where I can see them. Those of you who think it will not be an exciting performance must not have seen any of Paul Simon’s recent concerts.
Have any of the locations been revealed yet? I have to believe there will be at least one in the greater NYC area.
I’ve been an S & G fan since I was 7 years old (we’re talking 35 years ago!), and I went to see their famous Central PArk show with 500,000 of my closest friends! So in theory, I should be happy to see them together.
Unfortunately, I saw their reunion at the Grammies last year, and while they sounded okay, they both looked as if they’d rather being getting root canal work done than singing together. I don’t pretend to know all the problems that exist between them, but it seemed pretty clear that they couldn’t stand each other and that performing together was an unpleasant chore for both of them.
MAYBE they’ve ironed things out. But more likely, they just need the money badly enough to try to overlook their animosity. And if that’s the case, where’s the nostalgic, “feel-good” value in watching a show put on by two guys who seem to loathe each other?
I’d rather stay home and listen to their greatest hits CD than watch them going through the motions and pretending to be civil to each other.
Because Simon wrote songs at such a glacial speed, Garfunkel started a secondary career as an actor, during the downtimes between albums. At the same time, friction was building between the two. It basically boiled down to, “Yeah, you have a great voice. An attribute you were born with. I’m the one who writes all the flippin’ songs!” — “So get off the cross and write more than one song a month!” — “What do you know; you never even tried to write a song!”
The final rift was when the schedule for one of Garfunkel’s films conflicted with the start date for a recording session (that had been put off a few times, which was why Garfunkel felt free to accept the film role). S told G to go ahead and do the movie, then come in and spend a few days recording the vocals. G, feeling that he could, and had, made more worthwhile contributions than that, told him, “Forget it. Just record your songs solo.”
My guess is that they don’t mind performing together every so often; they were, and still are, just glad to be rid of the pressure of composing and recording together. (Their discomfort at the Grammys could have had an external cause, like wondering if their performance would be disrupted the way Dylan’s was. Although that was on MTV, wasn’t it?..)
I think it’s great that they are having a reunion tour. I definitely plan on going if they come to Cincinnati. They have beautiful musical chemistry and I love their music.
Earlier this year I paid $300 for the thrill of sitting in the 4th row (thankyouverymuch) to see Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh play live in their “Farewell I” tour (great name, btw). Their live show was incredible and I’d pay to see them again.
And don’t tell anyone, but I’d give my left arm to see Journey reunited with Steve Perry for one last tour. Got to see them live back in my youth ('84?) but I was poor and had to sit up in the nosebleed section. Now that I have an actual job, I would pay big bucks to see them live, up close. I might even be compelled to throw my granny undies on stage.
It’s not for fans, but for fan’s money. Why else do we have Two Dog Night(Negron not allowed),the Eagles-at least one suing to get in, & “Doors” w/Densmore suing to get back. They all realized this is where the $$$ is now.
Tickets at the MGM Grand for the November concert are $250, $175, $75…the “cheap” $75 seats sold out in a megasecond. I guess I won’t be going. A little pricey for my budget.
That said, I saw them together in 1980 (or thereabouts) in the Waldbuene in Berlin.
They were great! Yes, it is just two guys singing…no big dance numbers or any big production…but it was truly great to hear them.
A quick story/question.
I heard that Sounds Of Silence was released on a small label and the song died, but one guy liked it and took the little record to a university in Florida. He played the song on the university local radio station and it became a big hit there. The label noticed a large amount of sales from that university and re-released the song, and the rest is history. Anybody know if this story is correct, or is it a music, urban myth?
Apparently, enough people disagree with the OP that the tickets are selling like proverbial hotcakes. We got tickets to the opening show, which sold out in 12 minutes according to the local news. I can’t wait. I have loved S & G since I was a kid.
I’m going too!
My lil’ sister bought a pair of tickets for the two of us as a gift for my birthday last week. I am so excited. I’ve loved S & G since I “discovered” them, hidden among my dad’s old LPs when I was 12 or so. Sounds of Silence was playing as my first son was born, and I can’t wait to hear it LIVE. I’m not old enough to have caught any of their earlier shows, so I’m really glad they’re doing this.
I go see them Oct. 20 in Cleveland at the Gund. Whoo Hoo!
DMark- well someone heard & liked Sounds of Silence-but it was changed before it was a hit. It 1st had acoustic guitar(s) only-the electric & drums were added & the rest is history.
