Angel Clare

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Garfunkel (he was billed without his first name here) had a lot riding on his debut solo album, and Angel Clare, named after a character in Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles, lived up to the heightened expectations for the man who had sung Bridge Over Troubled Water and other Simon & Garfunkel favorites. Garfunkel took no chances, issuing as the first single Jimmy Webb's All I Know, which was arranged in a similar style to Bridge and made the Top Ten. Elsewhere on the record, Garfunkel took a more spirited approach, notably on a version of Van Morrison's I Shall Sing that was reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel's Cecilia and made the Top 40. Certainly, there was enough firepower on the record, which featured guitarists Jerry Garcia and J.J. Cale. But much of it was filled with stately, orchestra-laden ballads, sung by Garfunkel in his naive, breathy tenor. If Simon & Garfunkel had been the thinking man's Everly Brothers, Garfunkel alone turned out to be the thinking man's Johnny Mathis. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide