Old Friends Live on Stage (2 CD)
One may never be able to go home again, but that hasn't keptPaul SimonandArt Garfunkelfrom trying every other decade or so. This double-disc live set (recorded in December 2003 at the Meadowlands and Madison Square Garden) shows their musical chemistry has transcended the years--and no small amount of acrimony. But while their '80slive reunionwas marked by an aura of celebration, this one floats on an undercurrent of bittersweet resolve. There's no mistaking the elegiac tone of the title track, while stark readings of "Hazy Shade of Winter" and "Sounds of Silence" can't help but evoke the scars of 9/11. A musical circle is completed as theEverly Brothersstep in for a joyous "Bye Bye Love," while elsewhere Simon's musical restlessness inspires a subtly jazzy reworking of "Slip Slidin' Away" and Garfunkel adds his stately grace to his partner's "American Tune." The album concludes with S&G;'s first new studio recording in 30 years, the plaintive, irony-studded plea "Citizen of the Planet."--Jerry McCulleyRecommended Simon & Garfunkel DiscographyBridge over Troubled WaterSounds of SilenceBookendsParsley, Sage, Rosemary, and ThymeWednesday Morning, 3 a.m.The Columbia Studio Recordings