The Ultimate Collection | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | April 12, 2015 | |||
Genre | Pop, rock, folk | |||
Length | 67:03 | |||
Label | Sony | |||
Producer | Paul Simon | |||
Paul Simon chronology | ||||
|
The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits album by American folk singer Paul Simon. The album debuted at number one the UK Albums Chart and the Scottish Albums Chart, giving Simon his first UK chart topper since 1990. It was incorrectly marketed as the first album to include a selection of Simon & Garfunkel's best-known songs as well as the biggest hits of Simon's own solo career with the first compilation to do that being 2013's Over The Bridge Of Time: A Paul Simon Retrospective (1964-2011) [1] [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | link |
Timothy Monger gave the album a 4/5 review and said: "Though billed as a Paul Simon anthology, Sony's 19-song Ultimate Collection features nearly as much Simon & Garfunkel material as it does his solo work. Ranging from the duo's early-'60s breakthrough folk hit "The Sound of Silence" to Simon's 1990 percussive, Latin-flavored single "The Obvious Child," this set is focused largely on the more titanic tracks of his career. Displaying his range equally as a singer ("Still Crazy After All These Years") and a songwriter (the Art Garfunkel-led masterpiece "Bridge Over Troubled Water"), it's difficult to choose highlights, as almost all of these songs are career highlights and many are widely recognized as iconic classics of pop music. While it would be nice to see some representation of Simon's excellent solo releases of the late '90s and early 21st century, it's tough to argue with the selections offered here." [3]
The Ultimate Collection debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on April 19, 2015 after selling 15,487 copies in its first week, marking Simon's sixth UK chart-topper and his first for 25 years. [4] It also made Simon, at 73 years, six months and seven days old, the second oldest male soloist ever to have a number one album, trailing only Bob Dylan who was two months and nine days older when his album, Shadows in the Night , topped the chart two months earlier. [4] However, the album's sales were the lowest for a UK number-one album since Rihanna's album Talk That Talk returned to number one in August 2012 on sales of 9,578. [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "You Can Call Me Al" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon | 4:41 |
2. | "Graceland" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon | 4:50 |
3. | "Mrs. Robinson" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee | 4:00 |
4. | "The Boxer" | Paul Simon | Roy Halee, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel | 5:08 |
5. | "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" | Paul Simon, Joseph Shabalala | Paul Simon | 5:50 |
6. | "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Phil Ramone | 3:38 |
7. | "Cecilia" | Paul Simon | Roy Halee, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel | 2:56 |
8. | "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" | Paul Simon | Roy Halee, Paul Simon | 2:44 |
9. | "The Boy in the Bubble" | Paul Simon, Forere Motloheloa | Paul Simon | 4:01 |
10. | "The Only Living Boy in New York" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee | 3:58 |
11. | "Mother and Child Reunion" | Paul Simon | Roy Halee, Paul Simon | 3:06 |
12. | "Late in the Evening" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Phil Ramone | 4:03 |
13. | "Father and Daughter" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon | 4:12 |
14. | "The Obvious Child" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon | 4:11 |
15. | "Slip Slidin' Away" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Phil Ramone | 4:46 |
16. | "America" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee | 3:35 |
17. | "The Sound of Silence" | Paul Simon | Roy Halee, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel | 3:06 |
18. | "Still Crazy After All These Years" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon, Phil Ramone | 3:26 |
19. | "Bridge over Troubled Water" | Paul Simon | Roy Halee, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel | 4:52 |
Total length: | 77:15 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications
|
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number ones: "The Sound of Silence" (1965) and the two Record of the Year Grammy winners "Mrs. Robinson" (1968) and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970). Other hits include "The Boxer" (1969), "Cecilia" (1970) and the four 1966 releases "Homeward Bound", "I Am a Rock", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" and "A Hazy Shade of Winter", as well as the 1968 album track "America".
Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, which was released on June 14, 1972, two years after Simon & Garfunkel had parted ways.
Arthur Ira Garfunkel is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainted with Simon through an elementary school play, a production of Alice in Wonderland, and sought a partnership. Their combined presence in music began in the 1950s, and throughout the 1960s the duo of Simon & Garfunkel achieved great chart success with tracks such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "Scarborough Fair", "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water". The latter song's title also served as the name of Simon & Garfunkel's final album in 1970. Simon & Garfunkel split for personal reasons, but the pair have occasionally reunited in the years since. Both men experienced success in solo careers in the years following the duo's breakup.
"The Sound of Silence" is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. The duo's studio audition of the song led to a record deal with Columbia Records, and the original acoustic version was recorded in March 1964 at Columbia's 7th Avenue Recording Studios in New York City for their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., released that October to disappointing sales. An overdubbed electric remix was released the following year and went to number one on the Billboard singles chart.
"Bridge over Troubled Water" is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in January 1970 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). It was written by Paul Simon and produced by Simon, Art Garfunkel and Roy Halee.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released worldwide on 26 October 1981. The album consisted of Queen's biggest hits since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye", up to their 1980 hit "Flash". There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful. In 1992, the US version of the album Classic Queen was released following the band's rekindled popularity in the nation.
Life thru a Lens is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, it is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the poppier tone of the music Take That employed. The album's working name was The Show-Off Must Go On.
Graffiti Bridge is the twelfth studio album by American recording artist Prince and is the soundtrack album to the 1990 film of the same name. It was released on August 20, 1990, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records.
Simon & Garfunkel, an American singer-songwriter duo, has released five studio albums, fifteen compilation albums, four live albums, one extended play, twenty-six singles, one soundtrack, and four box sets since 1964. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first formed a duo in 1957 as Tom & Jerry, before separating and later reforming as Simon & Garfunkel.
The Essential Simon & Garfunkel is the second 2-CD compilation album of greatest hits by Simon & Garfunkel, released by Columbia Records on October 14, 2003.
"Cecilia" is a song by American musical duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was released in April 1970 as the third single from the duo's fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Written by Paul Simon, the song's origins lie in a late-night party, in which the duo and friends began banging on a piano bench. They recorded the sound with a tape recorder, employing reverb and matching the rhythm created by the machine. Simon later wrote the song's guitar line and lyrics on the subject of an untrustworthy lover.
"El Cóndor Pasa" is an orchestral musical piece from the zarzuela El Cóndor Pasa by the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles, written in 1913 and based on traditional Andean music, specifically folk music from Peru.
The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits collection by Whitney Houston, released on October 29, 2007. In Brazil, the album was released as Whitney Houston – The Best So Far. In 2011, it was reissued as All Time Best - Reclam Musik Edition in Germany and Switzerland.
Fate for Breakfast is the fourth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel, released in March 1979 on Columbia Records.
Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter who is possibly best known as a member of the folk-duo Simon & Garfunkel with Art Garfunkel. He has released studio albums, live albums, compilation albums and singles. His music career has spanned over 60 years. He started recording music in the 1950s and his most recent album, Seven Psalms, was released on May 19, 2023.
Bridge over Troubled Water is the fifth and final studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Following the duo's soundtrack for The Graduate, Art Garfunkel took an acting role in the film Catch-22, while Paul Simon worked on the songs, writing all tracks except Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's "Bye Bye Love".
The Simon and Garfunkel Collection: 17 of Their All-Time Greatest Recordings is the second compilation album of greatest hits by Simon & Garfunkel, first issued in November 1981, 2 months after performing at the landmark The Concert in Central Park.
The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel is the fourth compilation album of greatest hits by the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in UK & Europe in 1991.
The Ultimate Collection is the second greatest hits album by English band Sade, released on 29 April 2011 by RCA Records. The album includes several singles from the band's career, including "Your Love Is King", "Smooth Operator", "By Your Side", "No Ordinary Love" and "Soldier of Love". It also contains four previously unreleased tracks—a cover of Thin Lizzy's 1974 song "Still in Love with You", a remix of "The Moon and the Sky" featuring Jay-Z, and the songs "I Would Never Have Guessed" and "Love Is Found". The band promoted the album with their first concert tour in 10 years, Sade Live. In March 2014, the album was re-released as The Essential Sade under the Sony Legacy umbrella.
The Ultimate Collection is a compilation album released in 2010 by American singer Barbra Streisand.