Upon looking up the Art Garfunkel page on Kurrent Music, I am very surprised at the low approval rating. It may just be that I am a big-time oldie fan, stuck in the sixties and seventies. Or is it that beautiful melodies and the singers that make them appeal the most to me? Well, one of the most beautiful singers to be of the pop genre in the 20th and 21st century is none other than Art Garfunkel. He rose to prominence as the magnificently harmonizing half of Simon and Garfunkel, but my dear friend, he is much more than that!
Yes, his signature song, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” written by Paul Simon is the song that gave other singers a run for their money. It established a bench mark that has not since been replicated.
He has continued to establish himself as a lover of ballads, his most famous being the Mike Batt-penned hit “Bright Eyes,” and Jimmy Webb originals “All I Know” and “Skywriter” an autobiographical account of his somewhat reclusive life during the 1980s. The very album collection that you are looking at above or to the side of this article is a collection of so many of the greatest hits and covers he has done spanning 12 or more albums stretched out over a now 50 year career. Does he know how to pick and sing a good song or what?
From the velvety strains of “Another Lullaby” and the bounciness of “Disney Girls” to the highly passionate and colorfully brilliant “Same Old Tears on a New Background” and the beautiful escape of “99 Miles From L.A”—the whole collection presented here is simply gorgeous. You will not be disappointed.
He is still touring as of this year, recovering and revived after losing his voice five years ago after a foreign show in 2010. Let me tell you, his voice is as strong today as it was back in the 60’s and 70s if maybe just a little more mellow. His eclectic tastes in melodies that are non static and that move around to various places will keep you on the edge of your seat while filling you with sweetness. Sweetness with the timbre of a viola or high cello in his later years, you’re to be enlightened by him.
