Wednesday, December 03, 2003

We May or May Not Regret the Following Errors

In Monday’s Globe, a review of the Simon & Garfunkel concert appeared, meaning the reviewer J.D. Considine had to write and file the review Sunday night, before 11pm or so. (There is a great scene in the documentary Don’t Look Back of a reporter in a phone booth dictating a Bob Dylan concert review to his editor, including punctuation.) Given that even in the best of situations, fact-checking at newspapers is lean, a late-night addition only increases the chances for error. Considine reported that:

In that sense, the best part of this reunion isn't hearing the two reanimate such hits as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Mrs. Robinson or The 57th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)…

It is the 59th Street Bridge Song.

On the other hand, hearing the magic these two can conjure from just their voices and a single acoustic guitar — as on Kathy's Tune and an unexpected Leaves Turn to Brown…

Actually, the tune titles are Leaves that Are Green and Kathy's Song.

Despite the time pressures, Considine did get a number of things correct:

Mr. Garfunkel's tone may have been intact, but he had to fight for a few of those high notes, and Mr. Simon's vocals were sometimes overly stylized.

More annoying, the duo seemed uncomfortable with the general brevity of their back catalog, and padded out a number of tunes with slick, soft-jazz noodling (provided by the ace backing band, not S&G themselves, thankfully).

Considine also mentioned how great it was to hear "Mr. Garfunkel add his voice to a few tunes from Mr. Simon's solo career."

Considine also offered an incorrect opinion:

To the press, Simon and Garfunkel have been cagey about whether or not this reunion tour will be followed by a return to the studio. Given the razzle-dazzle clutter of some of the tour arrangements — a theremin solo in The Boxer? — it may be better if things ended here.

The theremin solo was cool. End of discussion.