Simon and Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park

What started as a suggestion for Paul Simon to play a concert in New York's Central Park blossomed, on September 19, 1981, as a full-blown Simon and Garfunkel reunion after an 11-year hiatus, and now proves a priceless snapshot of two of America's greatest folk-rock performers. (It's also the rightful bookend to Simon and Garfunkel's acoustic Live from New York City, 1967.) Performed with a who's-who of East Coast session aces before a record-setting crowd of half a million fans, The Concert in Central Park finds its stars just shy of their 40th birthdays and very much in their primes, their voices sweet and pure and their playing relaxed, perfectly in tune and in synch. The show features a mix of S&G and solo Simon tunes, including all the songs that appear on the CD, with the addition of a reprise of "Late in the Evening" and the first live performance of Simon's "The Late Great Johnny Ace." This is classic material from start to finish, 87 minutes of unmitigated beauty. --Michael Mikesell