Up Til Now

Garfunkel's single-CD album, Up 'Til Now, is a very peculiar compilation. It doesn't include any of his six Top 40 hits as a solo artist; in fact, it only includes two songs from his previous solo albums. It does include "The Breakup," and 1964's original all-acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence" before a folk-rock rhythm section was added to turn it into a hit. It also includes his theme song for the CBS-TV series "Brooklyn Bridge" and his lovely version of Hoagy Carmichael & Frank Loesser's "Two Sleepy People" for the soundtrack album of A League of Their Own. It's strictly MOR, but Garfunkel lends this much-maligned genre an elegance largely missing from the work of such MOR stars as Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Harry Connick Jr., and Liza Minnelli. Those other singers strain to oversell their modest material, while Garfunkel has the good grace to understate his vocals and allow the frothy sentiments to float atop his purring melodies. And that makes all the difference. --Geoffrey Himes