Garfunkel pays respect to Simon

Garfunkel may have performed many of his famous partner's songs, but he did so his way.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Even though he's performing again with his musical partner Paul Simon, people still ask singer Art Garfunkel what kept them apart for decades.
Maybe it was because they grew tired of each other, Garfunkel said Sunday night during an easygoing solo show in Stambaugh Auditorium. Or maybe it was because he always wanted to call the group Garfunkel & amp; Simon, he joked.
Whatever the reason for their feud, the resolution of it has had an impact on Garfunkel's solo performances. Of the 18 songs he performed here, he wrote only one. Twelve others were Simon and Garfunkel collaborations, and most appear on the duo's greatest-hits CDs. Even fuzzy-haired Garfunkel commented on how many more S & amp;G songs he performs these days, despite having recorded 11 albums of his own.
This was Garfunkel's chance to do things his way. That meant singing in a different key at times, or using his four-man band to change emphasis in songs. The results were refreshing yet respectful to the Simon and Garfunkel legacy.
Opening number
Garfunkel opened with "American Tune," the Simon song that Garfunkel praised last week before performing with the Boston Pops. Because Stambaugh seats 2,300 people, compared with the 20,000-seat arenas Simon & amp; Garfunkel visited on their "Old Friends" tour last fall, it was easier to appreciate the sheer poetry of Simon's lyrics:
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it's all right, it's all right
For we lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the
Road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong.
Garfunkel has that ability, too. The song "Perfect Moment," from his 2002 CD "Everything Waits To Be Noticed," was inspired by a poem in his 1989 collection titled "Still Water":
I met you once before the first time
Cinema 1 or 2, I noticed you
Standing in line, your eyes met mine
And I could not look away
There we were, in a perfect moment
A perfect moment in time
For a moment, you were mine.
All in the voice
Of course, it's Garfunkel's breathy high tenor that makes these songs attractive. Sentimental fare could easily turn sappy with other singers, but Garfunkel's interpretations often add a level of wistfulness that defies parody. His vocal gift didn't fail him as he nailed "I Only Have Eyes For You," a song by the 1950s vocal harmony group The Flamingoes.
Among the evening's highlights were Garfunkel's performances of "Skywriter," which Jimmy Webb wrote for him; "Cecelia," featuring a dynamite solo by drummer Tommy Igoe; "El Condor Pasa," with a dramatic introduction by Igoe and Ted Baker on synthesizer; and, naturally, "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
Garfunkel's concert was the final one of the Monday Musical Club season and his last solo show until September. Simon and Garfunkel will tour again in June and July.
shaulis@vindy.com