Fav. Tracks: Simon and Garfunkel – Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits – Bridge over Troubled Water.

Continuing with the “greatest hits” theme this album is an excellent collection of the music of these two brilliant artists.  There is not much that hasn’t already been said about their music, their musical style and their writing ability, so I will limit my review to comments about my memory of this track.

This version is live, and a little drowned out by the applause at the beginning, but is still a wonderful performance.  The piano and gentle rendering of the opening tune make this an all-time classic ballad.  When I first heard it I was a student and the occasion was something of a romantic moment with a young girl from Liverpool.  It was a wonderful background song for the moment until a bookshelf fell on top of us!  That killed the moment, but the song remained in my memory and I always associate it with that earlier moment.

I should add that the way the beat changes and the song builds to a crescendo is so inspiring.

Fav. Tracks: Santana – Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits – Evil Ways.

This vinyl album belongs to my wife and contains most of the tracks that I also have on original albums, which makes it a good example of Santana’s early music.  I fell in love with the upbeat sound and fast percussion after I went to see them on stage at Newcastle City Hall back in the early 70s.

This track is a classic of the genre that I like so much – the drum roll beginning is excellent and is quickly followed by lyrics that are both catchy and easy to sing along with.  The organ music that arrives later is also an example of the total sound of Santana.  I loved to play this track during parties as a background sound as it gets people swaying and singing.