As Paul Simon is launching a summer tour on June 1 in St. Petersburg, Florida, Legacy Recordings is looking back to one of the famed troubadour's recent performances from across the pond. The Concert in Hyde Park will arrive from the label on Friday, June 9, in 2CD/DVD or Blu-ray packages, as well as via digital audio and video downloads and streaming.
Simon's July 15, 2012 Hyde Park concert, closing night of the Hard Rock Calling Festival, spanned the entirety of Simon's career through his 2011 album So Beautiful or So What. He welcomed to the stage original Graceland musicians including Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as well as special guests Jimmy Cliff and Jerry Douglas. The troubadour's setlist featured many of his solo classics ("Kodachrome," "Graceland," "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"), a pair of Simon and Garfunkel favorites ("The Boxer" with Douglas, "The Sound of Silence"), plus a mini-set with reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, who performed his original songs "The Harder They Come" and "Many Rivers to Cross", and duetted with his host on "Vietnam" and "Mother and Child Reunion." (Note that Cliff's two originals are only included on the DVD/BD, not the CD.)
To coincide with Legacy's release of The Concert in Hyde Park, a broadcast version will air on PBS during the June 2017 pledge drive. Taking its place alongside such past Simon releases as Live Rhymin' (1974), Paul Simon's Concert in Central Park (1991), and Live in New York City (2012), this set from one of America's most enduring artists and songwriters arrives on June 9. You can pre-order at the links below.
Paul Simon, The Concert in Hyde Park (Legacy Recordings, 2017)
2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
2CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
- Kodachrome
- Gone at Last
- Dazzling Blue
- 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
- The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) *
- Many Rivers to Cross (Jimmy Cliff) *
- Vietnam (with Jimmy Cliff)
- Mother and Child Reunion (with Jimmy Cliff)
- That Was Your Mother
- Hearts and Bones / Mystery Train / Wheels
- Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
- Slip Slidin' Away
- The Obvious Child
- Homeless (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
- Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
- I Know What I Know
- The Boy in the Bubble
- Crazy Love, Vol. II
- Gumboots
- Under African Skies (with Thandiswa Mazwai)
- Graceland
- You Can Call Me Al
- The Sound of Silence
- The Boxer (with Jerry Douglas)
- Late in the Evening
- Still Crazy After All These Years
*appears on DVD only
Shaun says
Nice, although leaving the Jimmy Cliff songs off of the CD really sucks. Is it a consideration of available space, or is it not having to pay Cliff royalties? If it's not a case of Simon being cheap, how about offering a download code for the missing tracks?
Also, while it's nice to see this coming out on DVD/BD, why the HELL hasn't Simon's Central Park show (the 90s one) ever come out on DVD?