Why didn’t Paul Simon like Art Garfunkel’s solo records?
As a partnership, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel created a series of songs that have stood the test of time. In his solo career, Simon also hit great heights, forging a songbook engrained into the fabric of popular culture. However, Garfunkel’s solo offerings failed to become as beloved as his former collaborator’s post-Simon and Garfunkel output.
Although Simon was the chief songwriter in their working relationship, Garfunkel was responsible for the arrangements and harmonies, plus his voice added another dimension to their work. When they parted ways, as long as he teamed up with talented songwriters who knew how best to utilise his artistry, there was no reason why Garfunkel couldn’t establish himself as a star in his own right.
His first album, Angel Clare, was somewhat of a commercial success, charting at five in the United States, but with each solo record released, Garfunkel’s mass appeal declined. In 1986, when Simon topped the charts with Graceland, Garfunkel’s sixth album, The Animals’ Christmas, failed to crack the Billboard 200, signifying a drift in their statuses.
It wasn’t only the general public that didn’t buy into Garfunkel as a solo artist; his former right-hand man also had some choice words to say about his body of work. During an interview with Playboy in 1984, the singer-songwriter explained why he believed Garfunkel’s failings occurred and why the delicate balance swung too far in the wrong direction.
Simon began his analysis diplomatically by saying: “I think Artie made the kind of records that he wanted to make, and that’s a real achievement. The drag of it was that people didn’t buy them in sufficient numbers for him to feel he was successful commercially. But he didn’t have a sense of failure artistically.”
He then delved into his personal opinion, “I myself didn’t like them. I didn’t like the songs. I thought they were’t really as bright as he was. His is much more complex than they were. He was singing songs that just didn’t reflect that. He was more interested in making a sound with his voice that was pleasing. He didn’t concert himself with the words too much, because he felt there wasn’t that much of a choice of great words around. He’s a singer, and he went for the sound in his voice.”
The main issue which irked Simon was Garfunkel’s use of his voice as a vehicle, which he labelled as “stylised” before adding, “I liked the way he sang for Simon and Garfunkel better. In his albums, the proportion of stylisation to conventional singing, which is my favorite, wasn’t to my taste.”
Outside of the mechanism of Simon and Garfunkel, the vocalist could not showcase the best of his musical abilities. While they fought like cat and dog during their time as a duo, Garfunkel needed the brilliance of Simon’s songwriting to be the greatest version of himself as an artist. By the standards of most, he still carved out an impressive solo career, but it pales in comparison to his achievements with Simon.
