pre order expected OCTOBER 2024
Simon Garfunkel - Bookends (Numbered Hybrid SACD)
SACD: CMFSA2257
UPC: 196588551826
Mastered on MoFi’s Renowned System at the Label’s California Studio: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD Magnifies the Brilliance of the Original Recording Sessions
Concept album, career-making moment, industry-defying creation, years-long pursuit of perfection: Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends adheres to all those descriptions and more, the record at once a defining statement of the late 1960s and salient reflection on relationships, identity, society, and mortality whose enduring relevance attests to its exceptional merit. Ranked by countless sources as one of the greatest records of all time, the 1968 work transcends styles, trends, and generations.
A Timeless Reflection on America and Ourselves: Simon & Garfunkel’s Searching Bookends Searches and Asks Big Questions, Includes “Mrs. Robinson” and “A Hazy Shade of Winter”
Concept album, career-making moment, industry-defying creation, years-long pursuit of perfection: Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends adheres to all those descriptions and more, the record at once a defining statement of the late 1960s and salient reflection on relationships, identity, society, and mortality whose enduring relevance attests to its exceptional merit. Ranked by countless sources as one of the greatest records of all time, the 1968 work transcends styles, trends, and generations.
And that’s exactly what Simon, Garfunkel, and producer Roy Halee intended while taking as many as 50 hours to nail a single track. Envisioned from the start by Simon as a way to capture the age’s zeitgeist, and inspired by the broad strokes of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, Bookends pairs its sonic flair — and diverse arrangements that incorporate folk, rock, jazz, pop, and baroque elements — with arresting lyrics that address restlessness, uncertainty, alienation, love, and heritage.
The first half of Bookends traces the cycle of life from beginning to end, with the final words to “Bookends Theme” — a call to “preserve your memories/they’re all that’s left you” — echoing as the overarching and recurring theme of the album. Before the pair lands on that advice, Simon & Garfunkel use irony (“Save the Life of My Child”), metaphor (“America”), suggestion (“Overs”), field recordings (“Voices of Old People”), and descriptive imagery (“Old Friends”) to cover everything from the loss of innocence to institutional hypocrisy and fears of loneliness.
Released amid a tumultuous political and cultural climate, Bookends retains enormous significance and relevance more than five decades later in a 21st century facing many of the same issues. Its central motifs — searching for meaning and identity; dealing with loss and disappointment; negotiating the split between authenticity and ersatz; reconciling with what one sacrifices over a lifetime; confronting life stages that involve sadness, bewilderment, and disappointment — are universal concerns. And the “America” Simon & Garfunkel pursues remains more elusive than ever.
As does our collective want for a lasting hero (“Mrs. Robinson”), tendency toward affectation (“Fakin’ It”), and inclination to wishfully insert ourselves into circumstances rooted in whimsical fantasy (“Punky’s Dilemma”), particularly when we need an escape. Though the songs on the album’s second half were not devised as part of a unified narrative, they speak a related language steeped in disillusionment, anxiety, and doubt. None more so than on the grayscale “A Hazy Shade of Winter.”
“Simply pretend,” Simon sings,” that you can build [hopes] again,” knowing full well he’s not even fooling himself. Like few albums before or since, Bookends exposes the human condition from the inside-out amid an environment that isn’t what it often appears — or what we originally sought.
Track List
Bookends Theme
Save the Life of My Child
America
Overs
Voices of Old People
Old Friends
Bookends Theme
Fakin’ It
Punky’s Dilemma
Mrs. Robinson
A Hazy Shade of Winter
At the Zoo
