Description
Art Garfunkel Lefty 1988
Art Garfunkel‘s first regular studio album in nearly seven years was a pleasant enough exercise that did nothing to arrest his commercial or artistic decline. The idea of covering “I Have a Love” from West Side Story was a good one, the obligatory ’50s cover, “So Much in Love,” was well performed, and “Love Is the Only Chain” was a good piece of material, even if better performed by authors Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy (who joined Garfunkel on this recording). The version of “When a Man Loves a Woman,” so far away from Percy Sledge‘s emotional original, served to illustrate Garfunkel‘s detached approach to his material. But much of the album consisted of second-rate songs, frequently written by Stephen Bishop.
The liner notes of the album contain a brief prose text Garfunkel had written in memory of his partner Laurie Bird who had committed suicide in 1979. The album marked a new beginning in Garfunkel’s professional life after becoming somewhat of a recluse following the tragedy.
Tracking List:
- “This Is the Moment” (David Foster, Cynthia Weil, Linda Jenner, Ray Parker, Jr.) – 4:31
- “I Have a Love” (Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein) – 4:28
- “So Much in Love” (George Williams, Bill Jackson, Roy Straigis) – 2:24
- “Slow Breakup” (Stephen Bishop) – 3:46
- “Love Is the Only Chain” (Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Pat Bunch) – 4:07
- “When a Man Loves a Woman” (Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright) – 4:30
- “I Wonder Why” (Bill Lovelady, Marita Phillips, Peter Skellern) – 3:22
- “King of Tonga” (Bishop) – 3:27
- “If Love Takes You Away” (Bishop) – 3:47
- “The Promise” (Nick Holmes) – 3:57
Musicians
- Art Garfunkel – vocals
- Clif Magness – vocals (on ‘This is the Moment’)
- Hugh McCracken – guitar
- Joe Osborn, Eddie Gómez – bass guitar
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Jeremy Steig – flute
- Nicky Hopkins – keyboards
- Stephen Bishop – omnichord, backing vocals
- Michael Brecker – saxophone
- Del Newman – strings, brass, woodwind
- Robert Sabino – synthesizer
- Kenny Rankin – backing vocals
- Leah Kunkel – backing vocals
- Mary Ann Kennedy – backing vocals
- Pam Rose – backing vocals
Video: Art Garfunkel “Slow Breakup” 1988
