Bookends: Simon and Garfunkel Reissue “The Concert in Central Park” On CD/DVD, Collect Studio Albums on Vinyl

Simon and Garfunkel - Concert in Central ParkLegacy Recordings is seeing that the only sound isn’t silence with the release this summer of two new projects from Simon and Garfunkel.   In less than a month, on August 7, the label will issue Simon & Garfunkel – The Complete Columbia Albums Collection, a six-album, newly-remastered set featuring each one of the duo’s studio albums plus Greatest Hits, all pressed on 180-gram vinyl.  The box will be joined by a new, remastered CD/DVD reissue of The Concert in Central Park, as well as a 12-inch, 180-gram audiophile vinyl pressing of the album.

The Complete Columbia Albums Collection follows the similarly-titled The Complete Albums Collection which was released by Legacy on CD late last year.  Whereas the CD edition included the soundtrack to The Graduate as well as four live releases (including Concert in Central Park), the vinyl box has Simon and Garfunkel’s core Columbia repertoire only, from 1964’s Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. through 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, plus 1972’s Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits.  The set boasts a 20-page booklet and photo poster, and everything is housed in a sturdy, library-style box.

The double-album The Concert in Central Park, originally released on Warner Bros. Records, preserved the legendary free evening held on September 19, 1981 at Central Park’s Great Lawn.  Playing for roughly half a million attendees, Paul and Art were joined by an 11-person ensemble including notable Pete Carr (guitar), Anthony Jackson (bass), Richard Tee (piano), Rob Mounsey (synthesizers) and Steve Gadd (drums).   The set list comprised the expected Simon and Garfunkel favorites, beginning with the opening “Mrs. Robinson,” as well as selections from Paul’s solo catalogue (“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “American Tune,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “Late in the Evening,” “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”) and Art’s (“A Heart in New York”).  The album excised the performance of Simon’s “The Late Great Johnny Ace” interrupted by a likely inebriated spectator, and a reprise of “Late in the Evening.”  Upon its original release, The Concert in Central Park became a Top 10 album and has since been certified multi-platinum.  PBS will be airing the concert film this August.

The vinyl Complete Columbia Albums Collection as well as the CD/DVD combo package and vinyl LP remaster of The Concert in Central Park arrive from Legacy Recordings on August 7.  You can pre-order below!

Simon and Garfunkel - Complete Columbia Vinyl Box

Simon and Garfunkel, The Complete Columbia Albums Collection Vinyl Box Set (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Box Set includes:

  1. Wednesday Morning, 3.A.M. (originally released October 19, 1964, Columbia Records)
  2. Sounds Of Silence (originally released January 17, 1966, Columbia Records)
  3. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (originally released October 10, 1966, Columbia Records)
  4. Bookends (originally released April 3, 1968, Columbia Records)
  5. Bridge Over Troubled Water (originally released January 26, 1970, Columbia Records)
  6. Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits (originally released June 14, 1972, Columbia Records)

Simon and Garfunkel, The Concert for Central Park (Legacy)

CD/DVD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
180-Gram Vinyl LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

  1. Mrs. Robinson
  2. Homeward Bound
  3. America
  4. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
  5. Scarborough Fair
  6. April Come She Will
  7. Wake Up Little Susie
  8. Still Crazy After All These Years
  9. American Tune
  10. Late in the Evening
  11. Slip Slidin’ Away
  12. A Heart in New York
  13. The Late Great Johnny Ace (DVD Only)
  14. Kodachrome/Maybellene
  15. Bridge Over Troubled Water
  16. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
  17. The Boxer
  18. Old Friends/Bookends Theme
  19. The 59th Street Bridge Song
  20. The Sound of Silence
  21. Late in the Evening (Reprise) (DVD Only)
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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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5 thoughts on “Bookends: Simon and Garfunkel Reissue “The Concert in Central Park” On CD/DVD, Collect Studio Albums on Vinyl”

  1. I’ve always wondered why other than A Heart In New York, no solo hits by Art were included in the set list for the Concert In Central Park. All I Know and I Only Have Eyes For You would have been nice. Paul’s solo career was well represented. I am looking forward to these releases.

  2. I’m not sure what “newly-remastered” means here. Newly remastered with respect to last year’s newly remastered CD box? Newly remasterd from analogue? It’s getting a bit tiresome to figure out what is really going on with these first-on-CD-then-on-vinyl reissues, beside the obvious goal of squeezing every penny from the fans…

  3. Besides, the “remastered” Concert in Central park CD/DVD seems to confirm my impression upon listening to the CD Box and reading its credits, that is the Concert had NOT been remastered for the CD Box… Jeez…

  4. Hmm… Still no Johnny Ace or Late reprise on the CD (I realize that’s to keep it to a aingle disc). And there’s nothing new to add to the DVD.

    Not really sure what the remastering will add to the CD. The one I’ve had for ages sounds just fine to me. No need to replace anything here.

    Glad to see the site’s back up though!

  5. So will the Central Park CD include all the dialogue that was cut from the 2-LP version? And why can’t they include the two missing songs on CD that alwas have been part of the DVD/VHS? I guess it will come ut as an “ultimate edition 40 anniversary” in 2021…

    By the way, Art re-recorded most of his vocals in the studio for the Central Park Concert, since he was dissatisfied with his performance. So he had to mime to the film footage.

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