CD Review: The Ultimate Collection - Paul Simon

A few years ago when reviewing Songwriter a double CD collection of solo Paul Simon songs, I made the observation that the tracks You Can Call Me Al and Me & Julio Down By The SchoolYard were omitted.

Paul Simon - The Ultimate Collection  not only features those tracks but also several greatest hit collaborations cherry-picked from Simon's collaborative partnership with Art Garfunkel.

Hearing solo hits such as Graceland and Boy In The Bubble alongside S&G classics The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water certainly gives a broad overview of Simon's half century career but not the complete story by any means.

If you want several of Simon's solo and collaborative Greatest Hits in one place, this is a good place to start however and a first for attempting to bring both sides of the music legends career together on one album.

• A version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on April 25, 2015.