Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

Infobox Album |
Name = Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Type = compilation
Artist = Simon and Garfunkel


Released = start date|1972|06|14
Recorded = March 1964 – November 1969
Genre = Folk rock
Length = 43:25
Label = Columbia Records
Producer = Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:zefm967o3epf link]
*"Rolling Stone" (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/simonandgarfunkel/albums/album/227146/review/5943029/greatest_hits link]
Last album = "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
(1970)
This album = "Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits"
(1972)
Next album = "The Concert in Central Park"
(1982)

"Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits" is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, released on June 14, 1972 well after the pair broke up.

The album was a unique mix of original studio recordings and four previously unreleased live recordings. The album's minimalist packaging does not date the latter, although some have placed them to a November 1969 concert. In any case, the live settings benefitted the emotional straightforwardness of Paul Simon's lyrics on "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" and "Homeward Bound", while "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" rang with newfound purpose due to the simple purity of Art Garfunkel's vocal.

The remaining ten studio songs comprise eight singles released between 1965 and 1972, "America" being issued as a single several years after its appearance as a track on the "Bookends" album, and two album tracks, "Bookends" and "The Boxer". All but "America" and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" made the Top Ten, with the latter peaking at #11, and "Mrs. Robinson" topped the chart aided by its appearance in Mike Nichols' hit movie "The Graduate". "The Sound of Silence" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" both peaked at #1 as singles in their studio versions, and "The Boxer" peaked as a single at #7 in an edited form.

"Greatest Hits" peaked on the U.S. albums chart at #5. On the UK Album Chart, it was a #2 hit. Regardless of initial placements, the album has proven a long and durable seller, currently being certified for 14 million units sold in the U.S. alone. As such it is easily their best-selling album ever in the U.S., and indeed holds the record in the U.S. for the best-selling album ever by a duo.

Track listing

All songs by Paul Simon unless otherwise noted.

ide one

# "Mrs. Robinson" – 3:51
# "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (live) – 2:25
# "The Boxer" – 5:08
# "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (live) – 1:50
# "The Sound of Silence" – 3:04
# "I Am a Rock" – 2:52
# "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:09

ide two

# "Homeward Bound" (live) – 2:42
# "Bridge over Troubled Water" – 4:51
# "America" – 3:33
# "Kathy's Song" (live) – 3:22
# "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Paul Simon, Jorge Milchberg, Daniel A. Robles) – 3:07
# "Bookends" – 1:19
# "Cecilia" – 2:53

Personnel

For newly released tracks only:
* Paul Simon – acoustic guitar, vocals
* Art Garfunkel – vocals

ee also

* List of best-selling albums in the United States