Fort Frances: The only living boy in New York (Simon and Garfunkel cover, 2012)

"It’s been a year since we first introduced you to Fort Frances, this week the boys out of Chicago have put up a cover of Simon And Garfunkel‘s “The Only Living Boy In New York,” one of the greatest songs ever written, as part of their …As Told By cover series. Fort Frances strips back the picking from the original and give the song much more of a rhythm feel which caught my attention from the very beginning. The soft whispering-secrets way of delivery that defined some of the more important songs S&G ever did together are now replaced by David McMillan‘s straight-forward forced, rather than released, vocals which give the song a much more folk-pop vibration, this change is the defining characteristic which the listener’s enjoyment will teeter upon. If you dig the change then there is a good chance you’ll love this version. My heart will always be with the original yet there is a necessary place for covers like this allowing an entire demographic of hip anti-mainstream peers to grasp the music which helped create their entire post-modernistic attitudes. It worries me how much credit goes to The Stooges without ever considering what S&G were doing a few short years earlier, both are monumental to our current iconoclastic sub-societal mindsets yet the fact that one was able to do it with only an acoustic-guitar and some incredible lyrics blows my mind. “The Only Living Boy In New York” was the first song I ever heard from Simon And Garfunkel, I’m glad that Fort Frances with their low-key vibe and constant lyric vigil chose to record this cover" (listenbeforeyoubuy.net)