Live From New York City, 1967

08/02/2002 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Rob O'Connor

Simon & Garfunkel only recorded five studio albums and left behind so few outtakes that their record company has been permanently frustrated in their search for "new" material to pad out the reissues. A great selling act whose songs are universally known, from its first hit "The Sound Of Silence" through its final act "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel didn't prepare very well for the future. Jimi Hendrix had the courtesy to die with hours of unreleased tapes. These guys don't seem to have much more than a few errant coughs in the can.

Well, this isn't a "lost" album, but it is a "live" one, from a duo whose only official previous foray into these "Double Live Gonzo" waters was 1981's nostalgic reunion The Concert In Central Park. This one was from 1967 at Lincoln Center, when they were still a functioning duo, is rougher than usual, their perfectionism halted by the happenstance of performing live. Nineteen songs in just under an hour, including the obscure "A Church Is Burning," and the b-side "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies." Not a monumental revelation, but a pleasant addition to the catalog.