The reunited unglimmer twins toured Japan and Europe in the spring/summer of 1982; this was one of three nights in at a huge Tokyo stadium. May 10 has definitely surfaced on bootleg, but I’m not sure about the 12th. All the classics are covered of course, including quite a few of Simon’s solo hits, but you get a sense that the pair is just going through the motions. Indeed, you can detect a degree of awkwardness between Paul and Artie. (For example, at the start of Disc 2 Simon starts to address the audience and says he wants to have a “conversation”; then, after a long pause, he gives up and says he’s at a loss for words, almost as if he caught a glimpse of Garfunkel glaring at him for being such a putz. (Or maybe Garfunkel had left the stage temporarily.)
As one astute S&G fan site summarized this period for the band:
“In 1981, Paul appeared on Art's Scissors-Cut LP, adding vocals to a song called “In Cars.” Shortly afterward, they reunited for the 9/19/81 concert in New York's Central Park. Following that, they announced plans for a world tour and a new album. The tour (1982-83) happened. The album didn't.”
As there is substantial crowd noise – clapping, plus jostling sounds from the taper himself – and the stadium having typically cavernous acoustics, the sound is really only average. Vocals are fairly clear, but still... I suspect only die-hard S&G fans will want to listen to this more than once.
Nice artwork – it’s a takeoff on the official The Concert In Central Park. Although the thought does occur that if you want some good-sounding live S&G, why not simply pick that album up since most of he same songs were performed? -- OSWALD
