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Simon and Garfunkel: Bookends

Simon and Garfunkel: Bookends

Mobile Fidelity  UDSACD2257

Stereo Hybrid

Pop/Rock


Simon and Garfunkel


A Timeless Reflection on America and Ourselves: Simon & Garfunkel’s Searching Bookends Asks Big Questions, Includes “Mrs. Robinson” and “A Hazy Shade of Winter”

Mastered on MoFi’s Renowned System at the Label’s California Studio: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD Magnifies the Brilliance of the Original Recording Sessions

Concept album, career-making moment, industry-defying creation, years-long pursuit of perfection: Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends adheres to all those descriptions and more, the record at once a defining statement of the late 1960s and salient reflection on relationships, identity, society, and mortality whose enduring relevance attests to its exceptional merit. Ranked by countless sources as one of the greatest records of all time, the 1968 work transcends styles, trends, and generations.

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Comment by Downunderman - April 21, 2025 (1 of 1)

This SACD mastered by Neal Harris, assisted by Shawn R. Britton and an interesting mastering at that, but not an Original Master Recording.

The MoFi vinyl for this was sourced from " 1/4" / 15 IPS analog copy to DSD 256" so I'm supposing this will be the case for the SACD mastering too. It does not particularly sound like it is from an analog tape, given that it is very clean sounding, fortunately though it is not notably thin sounding.

There is an expansive soundstage and a pretty marked separation between the various elements in the mix, so it can sound a bit unnatural at times. The benefit is that you clearly get the detail that was previously a bit obscured.

One quirk is that on track four (Overs) there are a series of four clicks commencing at 1:05. Apparently, these are on the original master tape and have carried through to secondary tape copies as well. One suggestion I have seen is that they are tape bias pops. Whatever their cause MoFi has left them alone for posterity!

Overall, they have done a good job on this one, but there remains a fair bit of love for the Mofi gold CD from 1998, an Original Master Recording (If the cover banner is to be believed) and to the ears of some a more natural sounding listen.