Simon's kind of a jerk, so this good stuff got overlooked

Review Score: (8/10)
This is the album that was originally supposed to be a Simon and Garfunkle album. The beloved duo regrouped in the early 80s for a show in Central Park, and then this album. Only, after it was done, Simon decided he wanted it to be a solo album and erased all of Garfunkel's vocals. That's the story that got out, anyway, and the bad publicity that went with it, in my mind, sunk the album, because who would want to be associated with such a brutal hosing. S & G may seem like a nostalgia act today, but people loved them; imagine if Paul and John got together, recorded an album, and then Paul erased John's contributions and put it out as a solo album. That's what happened here.

Too bad, too, because this is a worthy album, the final expression of Simon's initial, pre-Third World, solo style. Lots of electric piano, understated and tasteful percussion, lovely vocal arrangements, and insightful, confessional lyrics somewhere between Robert Lowell and Woody Allen. "Rene and Georgette Magritte" is one of the major highlights, surreal and intriguing, blending Dada with Doowop. I also love "Train in the Distance" and the title song. Very worth getting!

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