Disco de Art Garfunkel: “Some Enchanted Evening”

Sometimes after a particularly difficult day at work all you want to do when you get home is kick back, relax and enjoy some great music. For many years, whenever I have found myself in this mode I would turn to Linda Ronstadt's landmark album "What's New" which she recorded back in the eighties with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Since that time any number of rock n' rollers have tried this idea with varying degrees of success. Most simply don't have the pipes to do justice to tunes from the Great American songbook. Exhibit A would be Rod Stewart. One of my very favorite male vocalists of all time is Art Garfunkel. When I heard that he was about to release an album of this music I was pretty confident that he could pull it off. And I was not disappointed. In the tradition of "What's New", Art Garfunkel's new disc "Some Enchanted Evening" offers a baker's dozen of some of the greatest American pop tunes ever written. It is really a joy to listen to.

It is probably no coincidence that "Some Enchanted Evening" includes a pair of numbers from that "What's New" album. It seems that George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone To Watch Over Me" becomes more popular with each passing year. In 1924, legendary bandleader Paul Whiteman had a #1 hit with the classic Irving Berlin tune "What'll I Do". Art Garfunkel pulls off both of these songs with ease and makes them all his own. The upbeat arrangement of Harold Arlen's "Let's Fall In Love" would remind you quite a bit of Garfunkel's 1988 hit single "So Much In Love". One of my favorite songs on this CD would have to be the great Rogers and Hammerstein favorite "If I Loved You" from the musical "Carousel". The arrangement is superb! Fans of Art Garfunkel know that he really enjoys doo-wop music and that he always seems to include at least one such tune in his albums. "Life Is But A Dream" was a major hit for the Harptones in the mid fifties. Art Garfunkel's updated version features a marvelous bass vocal by none other than the album's producer Richard Perry. Very nice!! I also enjoyed hearing a number of other familiar favorites like Johnny Mercer's "I Remember You", Lerner and Loewe's "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and of course the title track "Some Enchanted Evening". While I certainly enjoyed Garfunkel's rendition of "Some Enchanted Evening" for my money the best version of that tune remains Jay and the Americans 1965 hit single. For me the sleeper on this disc would have to be "I'm Glad There Is You". I had never heard this tune before but I enjoyed it immensely. See if you agree.

From now on, "Some Enchanted Evening" will occupy a spot in my music library right next to "What's New". And while this disc is not quite up to the lofty standards of "What's New" it is nonetheless a solid four star offering that you will certainly enjoy. Highly recommended!

"Some Enchanted Evening" touches me with Art's loving renditions of these songs, most of which I have heard by other artists. Art's vocals embrace the lyrics and wrench deep meaning from them. On the Irving Berlin classic "What'll I Do," his quiet vocals are familiar territory for anyone who has ever tried to mend from a broken heart, "What'll I do with just a photograph to tell my troubles to?" I was not familiar with Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)." Art's version is quintessentially romantic, like a sweet Brazilian embrace, "I who was lost & lonely, believing life was only a bitter tragic joke have found with you the meaning of existence, oh my love." What ambrosia! The Harold Arlen song "Let's Fall in Love" is reinvigorated with Art's breezy vocals hitting the higher register and Maia Sharp's gorgeous sax solo sending the track into the stratosphere. There are many other excellent performances on this delightful CD like the Gershwins' "Someone to Watch Over Me" & the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic that is the title track. This is a mellow mood CD, but done with such exquisite grace that it can't help but put a smile on your face. Enjoy!

Art Garfunkel is back with a new cd of standards. Every artist of a certain age is doing this music now, but Garfunkels approach to these songs is different. I knew most all of these songs, but with his voice and the arrangements it was almost like hearing them for the first time. That's a good thing. I loved this cd. His voice being so familiar from his own classic hits, he gives these songs a mellow "pop" feel. The only thing that could have made this cd better? His early backup singer Leah Kunkel!! They should do a duet cd.

Well, it's Amazon.com's fault for hiring Alanna Nash to review this wonderful Art Garfunkle CD. Yes, she's an expert journalist regarding Elvis Presley, but her viewpoint that this new Garfunkle release is 'sleep-inducing', is just plain wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and so is Ms. Nash. HOWEVER, read the reviews from the real people, that follow, and you'll get a clearer picture of what this selection of songs is really all about.

Yes, the songs have been done countless times by many other celebrity singers, but that doesn't make this collection any less enjoyable. Garfunkle adds his trademark soft glow to these classic American songs, and both the songs and Garfunkle's voice should be considered American Treasures.

Highly recommended. Even to Elvis fans.

I'm not into the whole 'let's redo the great American songbook' thing, but at least Art does it well. I have always loved his voice, so he can do no wrong by me; But his arrangements here are highly listenable in a low key kind of way. Johnny Mathis def. comes to mind here, but this is just a great mellow album to have on when you just want to relax and listen to what is one of the greatest pop/folk vocalists of our time. Plus it seems the selections he made were highly personal; Some I knew, some I didn't...But I enjoyed them all!