Harmonically it is not much richer than Mother and Child Reunion, though its simple Em I-IV-V tonality is leavened by the occasional passing A major chord. An inauspicious start to an album that offers much more.ĭuncan, the second track, is much better.

The most I can say about it is what a friend of mine memorably said when asked to critique some poetry: that it is passes the time painlessly enough. Perhaps its quality is inflated in the eyes of critics because of the pioneering use of reggae ideas. The lyrics don’t rise far beyond the level of platitudes, and the song is harmonically very simple, never moving outside the I-IV-V chords of the key of G beyond a couple of relative minors. Although the lyrics (“strange and mournful day”) hint at the theme of a death in the family, the title was famously inspired by a Chinese dish of chicken and eggs.įor reasons I’ve never really understood, this track is often considered a highlight of the album. Mother and Child Reunion kicks the album off with what is usually described as the first reggae track by a white artist - although truth to tell this is not exactly Bob Marley, and the “reggae” influence is really restricted to a gentle emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar. The first Paul Simon solo album basically demonstrates that Garfunkel had been holding him back artistically. Different from both of these, the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel was wholly asymmetric, with one member going on to greater and better things while the other achieved much less than previously. So here, the sum of the parts was much less than the whole. In contrast, when Roger Waters left Pink Floyd, the remaining members went on to record two albums that shimmer with professionalism but lack heart, while Waters’ solo offerings were fascinating but hard to listen to.

When Peter Gabriel left Genesis, the remaining members continued to produce music that was ( at least at first) as good as they had made with him, and he went on to create some superb solo albums. Although uneven in quality, it set out a stall for what Simon was aiming to achieve, and gave an impression that the shackles were off in the post-Garfunkel era. Its eleven songs included reggae, folk, pop, jazz, blues and songs that don’t really fit any category. His first solo album, self-titled, emerged in 1972. In the event, they turned out to be surprisingly different from the earlier work: musically more complex, varied and ambitious, and offering a rich palette of textures and timbres far more experimental than might have been expected from someone who until then had been thought of primarily as a folk singer. He was always going to continue as a musician, and there was every reason to expect his solo albums to be as good as those he’d recorded with Garfunkel. Paul Simon - the writer of all their songs, the crafter of what are widely recognised as some of the best lyrics in popular music, and (what is less often realised) an outstanding guitarist. Art Garfunkel (left) and Paul Simon (right), pre-breakup.īut everyone knew that the real talent in S&G lay with S., Mr.

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