Garfunkel and Garfunkel – Father and Son Review

Where there may be plenty of musical offspring trying to carve their way through genre or stage, few are working with their established senior. Garfunkel and Garfunkel give one half of the Simon and Garfunkel duo a chance to work again, his first album since Some Enchanted Evening in 2007. Where Art Garfunkel may not have the presence or legacy name induced by his former musical partner or those in the genre who can skim covers out like stones across a lake, he does have name value. Hence, Garfunkel and Garfunkel, a rather sweet and light project from the duo which tries to be nothing more than its title would note. Father and Son. That is all. Two creatives working together for the purpose of it, with no desire to do much else.  

Twelve cover tracks from the booming voice of Garfunkel and the pairing of Garfunkel Jr are difficult to get up in arms about. Father and Son feels like a homebrew, a warm gift from their living room to yours. Where the songs may overstep their mark instrumentally, orchestral arrangements better suited to film scores than familial fun, the likes of Blue Moon are exceptional fun. Those string sections and the impossible promise of rapturous joys overwhelm the fragile Garfunkel Sr. voice, however, he and Garfunkel Jr still stand out enough to mark these covers as unique. They are following the well-trodden path of how these standard ballads should sound. Even then those string sections will suck you in, yank at your heartstrings and likely bring a tear or two to the eye of those who have some deeper connection with Garfunkel — one last hurrah for a man who has evaded the studio for almost two decades.  

His return, more to support his son than demonstrate his continued vocal journey, is admirable. Father and Son is an easy-listening album with little wrong with it. Vincent certainly stands out. Yet for all of these songs, instrumental arrangements overwhelm the real heart of it, a chance to hear what Garfunkel and Garfunkel can do. Blackbird is another casualty of this – yet it still develops a charming set of short and sweet covers. Father and Son does well to keep up with the joys of cover work from legendary artists, though it struggles under the smothering constant, overworked instrumental sections. Some of these covers lose their beauty through a too-literal understanding of their message or concept, leaving the focus solely on what Garfunkel and Garfunkel can bring to the table with their vocal mix.  

There is enough to get by, and for those clamouring for another piece from Garfunkel Sr. then this will whet the appetite. Art Garfunkel has been out of the public eye for a time and the likes of I Won’t Let You Down sound like he is content with these moments of calm. He certainly sounds well and the experience of working with his son is a fun one, though musically lacklustre at times. Time and Again and Once in a While are deflated covers while Garfunkel Jr. pushes his voice into octaves not quite suitable for the cover at hand. Still, it is the balance needed for the wizened voice that, in recent years, turned to songwriting. Where there is no original work here there is a light buzz to Father and Son which will work for those dedicated to hearing Garfunkel, whatever he does. An easy release, a nice time to be had with the moments that work.