When Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for a one-off performance on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park in 1981, the concert drew 500,000, one of the largest audiences ever assembled for a single concert up to that
time in history. The two had reunited sporadically over the years, but the free public concert set up to help the nonprofit Central Park Conservancy brought the city out in force. So on September 19, 1981, Simon and Garfunkel,
backed by an 11-man band that included Pete Carr (guitar), Anthony Jackson (bass), Richard Tee (piano), Rob Mounsey (synthesizers) and Steve Gadd (drums), played a diverse set that filled with classic works as well as selections
from each of their solo catalogs. In 1982, The Concert In Central Park was released as a double album and broadcast on HBO. Long out of print, it has finally come to DVD for the first time as part of a CD/DVD set. It’s also been reissued on 180gram audiophile vinyl LP.
Still relatively young and actively making music, Simon and Garfunkel keep the harmonies intact and timeless on “Mrs. Robinson,” “America” and “Scarborough Fair.” Simon gets in his share of solo numbers like “Me And Julio Down By The School Yard,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “Kodachrome” and “Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover.” Garfunkel rises to the occasion on “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and comes in with just the right touches on “The
Boxer.” With the rest of the Simon and Garfunkel catalog being reissued, The Concert In Central Park is the bow that ties up the duo’s tempestuous partnership with amicable precision.
~ Shawn Perry
