The dangling conversation (Simon and Garfunkel) (LP 3778 - 3782)

Simon and Garfunkel  Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1966) *****  

Simon & Garfunkel   Live from New York City, 1967 (CD, Columbia Records, 2002) *** 

Simon & Garfunkel  Bookends (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1968) *****   

Simon and Garfunkel  Bridge Over Troubled Water (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1970) *****   

Simon and Garfunkel  Old Friends: Live on Stage (CD, Columbia Records, 2004) ****   

Genre: Folk rock, pop

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, Kings Recording

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Cecilia (BOTW)

Gear costume: Mrs. Robinson (Bookends), The Boxer (BOTW)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: As I was growing up, I was, of course, aware of their big hits, but I was late coming to the Simon and Garfunkel albums. I'd started with Paul's solo album - There Goes Rhymin' Simon, and worked backwards, beginning with Bridge Over Troubled Water, but then going further into their back catalogue. 

The awkwardly titled Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was their third album. The Sounds of Silence had been successful so Paul returned from London and the duo was reunited.

Now with time (four months) to work on songs, the pair came up with some enduring classics: Homeward Bound; The Dangling Conversation; Scarborough Fair/Canticle; The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy); For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her and 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night.

The Live in New York album documents their early approach (the set was well recorded, in early 1967) - Paul on guitar and both Art and Paul on vocals. This is an excellent concert - warm and relaxed pretty much, as they go through their early hits amongst the material from their first couple of albums.  

Bookends is a carefully realised album. The first side follows a concept - the aging process, while the second has the hits - Mrs. Robinson, and A Hazy Shade of Winter. It all hangs together - showing the serious/art side of their music. 

AllMusic sums it up well: Simon & Garfunkel never overstate; instead they observe, almost journalistically, enormous life and cultural questions in the process of them being asked. In just over 29 minutes, Bookends is stunning in its vision of a bewildered America in search of itself.

What can be said of Bridge Over Troubled Water? An unbelievable collection that serves as testament to the genius of both Simon and Garfunkel. Art's singing on the title song is peerless, and Paul's writing peeks on this album. As a duo they left the best to last as they effortlessly feature a range of styles, from rock, R&B,gospel, jazz, South American music, folk rock and pop. An embarrassment of riches!

The Old Friends Live on Stage double CD set is magic as well. It documents their 2003 tour well and even though Art's voice isn't the pristine instrument it once was, the concert and CD become a fitting reminder of the magic the two old friends could conjure up. Yes, it's an exercise in nostalgia but so what.

Where do they all belong? The notable exception is 1981's Concert in Central Park reunion album - for some reason I never bought it.

There are plethora of Greatest Hits style compilations out there - I have three. They act as a great sampler.

Kodachrome (Paul Simon) (LP 3770 - 3777)

Paul Simon  The Paul Simon Songbook (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1965) ****  

Paul Simon  Paul Simon (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1972) ***** 

Paul Simon  There Goes Rhymin' Simon (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1973) *****  

Paul Simon  Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1974) *****  

Paul Simon  Still Crazy After All These Years (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1975) ***  

Paul Simon  Hearts and Bones (Vinyl, Warner Bros, Records, 1983) ****  

Paul Simon  Graceland (Vinyl and CD, Warner Bros. Records, 1986) ****  

Paul Simon  Rhythm of the Saints (CD, Warner Bros. Records, 1990) *** 

Genre: Folk, folk-rock, pop

Places I remember: Spellbound Wax Company (The Paul Simon Songbook), Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Train in the Distance (Hearts and Bones)

Gear costume: You Can Call Me Al (Graceland); Kodachrome (There Goes Rhymin' Simon); My Little Town (Still Crazy After All These Years)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I know the first thought is for Simon & Garfunkel (they're next), but luckily alphabetically Paul Simon comes first. Luckily, because The Paul Simon Songbook was his debut solo album in 1965 - a year after the first Simon & Garfunkel album (Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.) which I don't own.

The Paul Simon Songbook is just Paul - guitar and vocals recorded in England after he had moved there. He does a couple of songs from Wed. A.M., but mostly he demos/workshops other songs that would appear either on Simon & Garfunkel albums or as part of his later solo albums. I love it. He sounds young and fresh and vital.

Paul Simon was his first solo album after the split with Art Garkunkel. It's an incredible collection of Paul singing warm, funny, observational songs. The big songs were Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard , Mother and Child Runion, and Duncan, but there are no duds on this album. Quality control was on high.

There Goes Rhymin' Simon is another terrific collection of songs and another 5-star masterpiece. That quality control was consistently set on high. Choosing a song or two to represent Paul Simon's solo work is nearly impossible! Every song on this album is a masterpiece.

Live Rhymin' was another superb album. Paul is in fine form throughout.  He is joined by Urubamba for a couple of songs: El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could), Duncan, and The Boxer. All songs benefit from fresh arrangements. He repeats the trick with the Jessy Dixon Singers for the rest of the concert, before ending with a terrific solo version of America.

Cracks starting appearing with Still Crazy After All These Years. There are some great moments (Gone at Last, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and especially My Little Town - his reunion with Art), but there is some weak material as well. 

The jazz pop style thanks to the New York session musicians is all a bit too cozy and I really don't like the smug Have a Good Time. Still, the album was a big commercial hit - topping the charts and winning a clutch of Grammy awards.  

I sat out his next album - One Trick Pony. I came out while I was working at Marbecks Records and I listened to it a bit but the jazz sheen didn't move me at the time. So the next album is his break up album with Carrie Fisher - Hearts and Bones.

This is an extraordinary album and along with There Goes Rhymin' Simon - my two favourite Paul Simon albums. It didn't sell but that just means a lot of people missed out on Paul Simon's most personal collection - the anatomy of a love affair. 

Along the way are some of his most inventive music, thanks to ending his flirtation with jazz pop. Train in the Distance, the title track, and René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War are my personal favourites and the song for John Lennon is the only way he could end this underrated album.

Graceland has developed an aura around it since its release. In my house it's famous for being the record my eldest son, as a toddler (he's now age 40), found in my collection and used as a skateboard. I had to buy a replacement - no big deal, but the story has entered family folklore as a result.

It's a very eclectic mix (like Paul Simon and There Goes Rhymin' Simon) with pop, rock, a cappella, zydeco, and South African styles being used against his poetic imagery. It's a winning combination - with this album he was back big time in commercial terms.

The Rhythm of the Saints was the follow up and it was bound to forever live in Graceland's shadow.

This time Paul turns to Brazilian music for inspiration and texture. It's not as melodic as Graceland (it was a deliberate follow up - so it's hard not to compare them) and therefore less accessible. I can't recall the songs after they have just played which means I don't linger on his lyrics - that are in that same fragmented mode he used on Graceland.

That's it for Paul Simon - next up Simon and Garfunkel.

Where do they all belong? I haven't been lured by the albums post The Rhythm of the Saints. I've heard some of them and I have kind of considered them lesser to his previous work. This might be unfair so I will dip into them via Spotify to see if I've missed anything as good as Hearts and Bones.