It’s hard to pick a favorite among Simon & Garfunkel’s five albums — each has is own unique charm. But I could make a strong case for 1968’s Bookends, the duo’s fourth record.
Bookends is half a concept record, with Side One tracing a life from birth to death. Side Two is made up of odds and ends left over from the Graduate soundtrack, including ‘Mrs. Robinson’ and ‘Hazy Shade of Winter.’
I’m envisioning a future project — a list of bands that produced one excellent album but nothing else that crossed my radar.
This is different from a one-hit wonder because the whole album, not just a single song, has to be great. And it can’t be a group that has a few pretty good albums and one amazing one. This one album has to be the only work of theirs you own.
My desert island countdown continues (see Monday’s post for the full explanation).
Desert Island Musical Artists – #1 – Bob Dylan
Dylan was the man when I first became a true music fan, listening to his old LPs on a turntable on the island of my 10th grade bedroom. He’s still the man three decades later.
My desert island countdown continues (see Monday’s post for the full explanation).
Desert Island Musical Artists – #2 – Elvis Costello
Costello would be a strong candidate if I could bring only one musical artist to my desert island, because his discography has spanned so many genres.
Punk, country, rock, pop, folk, classical, easy listening, jazz, funk — he’s a one-man record store. And I could spend many a moonlit night trying to dig out the meanings in his kaleidoscopic lyrics.
My desert island countdown continues (see Monday’s post for the full explanation).
Desert Island Musical Artists – #3 – R.E.M.
As I’ve written many times on this blog, no artist has as powerful an emotional pull on me as R.E.M. Their music transports me to different moments in my life like a sonic time machine.
