How Great Art Thou

A great number of people think of Art Garfunkel as the "other guy" in Simon and Garfunkel, relegating him to the realm of an Oates or a Messina. But to do this is to deny the talent of an important artist who has made singular contributions to the world of music and film for more than four decades. His vocal and songwriting skills were as essential to the success of Simon and Garfunkel as lemons are to the success of lemonade. When the duo split up in 1970, Art went on to do solo albums and soundtrack work that still hold their own musically. His most underrated post-Simon work, however, is his time on the silver screen. He appeared in two of the '70s most influential films, Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge, and one of the most disturbing movies of the era, Nicolas Roeg's warped 1980 film, Bad Timing. But it is Garfunkel's voice that has secured him a permanent place in popular music's Hall of Awesome. Even the most hard-core Pantera fan still gets a little weepy when the plaintive strains of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" come wafting through the FM radio speakers like the warm embrace of an old friend. Get hugged by the man himself Sunday at the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie, 1001 Performance Place. Go to ticketmaster.com for details.
Sun., Jan. 13, 2008