Wednesday, 1 November 2017
730 Goodbye Art Garfunkel* - A Hazy Shade of Winter / Seven O Clock News-Silent Night
( * as part of Simon and Garfunkel )
Chart entered : 7 December 1991
Chart peak : 30
Art makes his exit significantly earlier than his erstwhile partner. Simon and Garfunkel hit their peak in 1970 with a transatlantic number one in "Bridge Over Troubled Water" but ironically it marked the end of their creative partnership, the two going their separate ways after recording the album of the same name. Art was in no hurry to begin a solo career in music and continued to pursue an acting career as well as teaching mathematics to please his fiance. His first solo album "Angel Clare" in 1973 yielded three US Hits but none in the UK then his second "Breakaway" featured a UK number one with "I Only Have Eyes For You". Subsequent singles failed until he scored another number one with the million-selling "Bright Eyes" in 1979. Beset by personal tragedy, his eighties output was sporadic and less successful apart from "The Concert In Central Park" a recording of his reunion concert with Simon in 1982.
This single came out as a trailer for a fourth Simon and Garfunkel compilation "The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel". " A Hazy Shade of Winter" was released as a standalone single ( though later included on 1968's "Bookends" ) and wasn't a hit here though it reached 17 in the US. It's one of a number of Paul Simon songs about getting older with the subject of the song being instructed to note the passage of time while they mull over possible choices. It's one of their heavier tracks, the rock beat conveying the necessary sense of urgency and Simon coming up with an acoustic guitar riff begging for amplification . That was picked up on by The Bangles in their hard rocking version in 1988. "Seven O Clock News / Silent Night" was originally a track on their 1966 album "Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme" and juxtaposes a rendition of the Christmas Carol with a simulated radio bulletin based on the actual events of a day in March 1966 referencing MLK, civil rights, Vietnam and the death of Lenny Bruce. The music gradually fades and the news becomes more prominent. Such mash-ups are ten a penny now but it was a novel idea at the time.
A re-release of "The Boxer" made number 75 a couple of months later. The album made number eight. At the time, Art was preoccupied with walking across America and the arrival of his son James the year before and took no advantage of the resurgence of interest in their music. He took the odd acting role but didn't return to music until 1996 with a concert at Ellis Island to celebrate the end of his American trek. The ensuing live album "Across America" reached number 35 in the UK.
The following year he released his first studio LP for nine years with "Songs From A Parent To A Child". As with all his previous solo albums, the songs are covers but specially chosen to express his love for James. There are some yucky moments ; James's own version of "Good Luck Charm" is strictly for those missing Little Jimmy Osmond. However. Art's still-glorious voice and ear for a sensitive arrangement turn songs like Marc Cohn's "The Things We've Handed Down" and Marty Chapin Carpenter's "Dreamland " into moments of transcendental beauty. It won a Grammy for Best Children's Album but only charted in Germany.
Art's next one came five years later. "Everything Waits To Be Noticed" was a collaboration with country singer-songwriters Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock and marked his long-delayed debut as a writer with six of the tracks developed from his poetry. It was recorded in Nashville and some of it is fairly insipid country-flavoured pop but at its best - "The Kid", "Perfect Moment ", "How Did You Know " - when that voice has a good lyric and sad melody to wrap itself around, it's magical.
The album didn't chart and since then Art's played it pretty safe. In 2003-04 he reunited with Simon for a world tour. In 2007 he took the standards route and released an album "Some Enchanted Evening" doing Gershwin and Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers. It's his last album to date and was a modest hit in the UK. He was due to tour with Simon again in 2010 but this had to be cancelled as he was having problems with vocal cord paresis. He was able to resume low key touring in 2014. In 2015 he completed a walk across Europe, finishing in Istanbul. He is now 75.
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