'Simon & Garfunkel Live 1969'

At the end of 1969, I was barely 18 and deep in the throes of trying to first find my place in the world, and then figure out how to get there. I shared with the rest of my generation a collective case of the heebie-jeebies about the Vietnam war, civil rights, and the constant assaults by the Nixon administration on what we had been taught were inalienable rights like free speech and the right to peacefully assemble in public. We sought out kindred spirits. We looked for music that reflected what we were thinking and feeling. We listened intently to Simon and Garfunkel. We shopped for cambric shirts.

Listening to Simon & Garfunkel Live 1969 there is no hint that the two are increasingly unable to get along, and that in a few short weeks, they will break up after 13 years, five albums, a dozen hit singles and three GRAMMYs. To the contrary, they sound relaxed and comfortable, their vocal harmony finely tuned, at the top of their game. Simon's lyrics were never more poignant, his underrated guitar artistry never more apparent.

Their October-November tour that year consisted of songs from their three most recent albums, as well as from Bridge Over Troubled Waters, which would be released in a few weeks and would become their most successful studio recording. It would also be their last.

Not being privy to the course of future events, however, Columbia Records undertook to record six of the performances at the end of the 1969 tour, with the idea that a live album would be a good followup to Bridge.

Thus, Simon & Garfunkel Live 1969 is extremely significant, not only in the context of the country's history, but in the history of the artists who recorded it. There wouldn't be another concert tour until 13 years later, following the phenomenal success of a free concert in Central Park in 1981 that drew a crowd of over half a million and subsequently became an HBO special, a live album, and a home video.

Originally scheduled for release in 2008 (apparently Columbia felt it would more promotable as a 40th anniversary product in 2009) the album was recorded and mixed with great skill. The technical quality far exceeds what you would expect from recordings of live performances way back in 1969. The set list contains a good cross section of tracks from Sounds of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends and Bridge Over Troubled Waters, including nearly all of the songs that truly defined Simon & Garfunkel.

Even though they continue to perform together (fairly consistently if not too frequently) today, there are memories preserved here that can't be duplicated. If you were coming of age in '69, or would like a good sense of what it was like, by all means add this album to your collection.

Album release: April 14, 2009 - Columbia Legacy