The Ultimate Collection (Paul Simon album)

The Ultimate Collection
Greatest hits album by Paul Simon
Released	April 12, 2015
Genre	Pop, rock, folk
Length	67:03
Label	Sony
Producer	Paul Simon
Paul Simon chronology
Over The Bridge Of Time (2013) The Ultimate Collection (2015) Stranger to Stranger (2016)

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]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]

In a review for AllMusic, Timothy Monger wrote: "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" and the collection displays "his range equally as a singer...and a songwriter," concluding that "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]

Chart performance

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 in 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]

Track listing

Standard edition ^[5]

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

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [6] 38 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [7] 9 Scottish Albums (OCC) [8] 1 UK Albums (OCC) [9] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position UK Albums (OCC) [10] 27 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Platinum 300,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Sinclair, Paul (February 21, 2015). "Paul Simon / Ultimate Collection". superdeluxeedition. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
2. "'Over the Bridge of Time: A Paul Simon Retrospective (1964-2011)' to be Released October 15". September 24, 2013.
3. Monger, Timothy. Paul Simon – The Ultimate Collection: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
4. Jones, Alan (April 20, 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Paul Simon scores 6th No.1 with 15,487 sales" . Music Week . Intent Media. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
5. "iTunes – Music – The Ultimate Collection by Paul Simon". iTunes Store (GB).
6. "Australiancharts.com – Paul Simon – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
7. "Charts.nz – Paul Simon – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
8. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
9. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
10. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2015". Official Charts Company . Retrieved January 7, 2016.
11. "British album certifications – Paul Simon – The Ultimate Collection". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved March 1, 2021.