1. Simon And GarfunkelThe Simon And Garfunkel Collection
Someone got my dad this Simon And Garfunkel tape, and because that would have been the only tape he owned, that went on in his car. He just continuously played it. I was really little, and I’ve thought about it ever since. I don’t even know if he used to listen to it. I’m convinced it wasn’t something he ever actually concentrated on, just a sort of function to him that he thought he had to do. It’s still one of my favourite albums of all time though. I’m sure a lot of your readers are going to hate this, but apart from Bookends, which is a fantastic album, I think Simon And Garfunkel are sort of a greatest hits band, in the same way you don’t need a Mamas & The Papas album or a Turtles album. You’re good with the greatest hits.
I’m not talking about the 1972 Greatest Hits, it’s got to be The Collection which came out in 1981 when they weren’t talking to each other, and so the front cover features lookalikes in silhouette – these two blokes on a beach that aren’t actually them. And I just love every song; the production, the ideas. There are songs that are really interesting in terms of the decisions they made, like ‘The Sound Of Silence’ where a 60s pop band is sort of bolted on and it’s not in time – it’s slightly late. For the album that I’ve just done there’s a song [‘Silver Rings’] that’s completely influenced by that, where I’ve tried to bolt on some 12-string Byrds guitar.
