''Scissors Cut'' is the fifth solo studio album by

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 ...

released in August 1981 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It was his second album to miss the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' top 40 (charting at 113) and his second album containing no US top 40 singles. The month following its release, Garfunkel would reunite with former partner, Paul Simon, for their famous 1981 '' Concert in Central Park''.

History

In August 1981, Garfunkel released his fifth solo album ''Scissors Cut'' (U.S. No. 113, U.K. No. 51). This album included the

Gallagher & Lyle Gallagher and Lyle were a Scottish musical duo, comprising singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Their style consisted mainly in pop, soft and folk rock oriented songs. Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were signe ...

hit "A Heart in New York" (U.S. No. 61). The UK version contains the track "The Romance" rather than " Bright Eyes". The album was co-produced by

Roy Halee Roy Decker Halee (born 1934) is an American record producer and engineer, best known for working with Simon & Garfunkel, both as a group and for their solo projects. Early life He grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy H ...

, who also co-produced the

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of ...

albums, including '' Bridge over Troubled Water''. Paul Simon makes a brief appearance on "In Cars" performing background vocals. Near the end of the song, Art sings, rather mystically, lines from "

Girl from the North Country "Girl from the North Country" (occasionally known as "Girl ''of'' the North Country") is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in April 1963, and released the following month as the second tra ...

". ("Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine" which itself comes from "Scarborough Fair" - an old English ballad covered by Simon and Garfunkel on the album ''

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme ''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'' is the third studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the ...

'' - a lyric extracted from this song.) The album is dedicated to Laurie Bird and includes a partial photograph of her on the rear cover. Garfunkel was devastated by Bird's death in his New York apartment in June 1979 while he was in Europe filming ''

Bad Timing ''Bad Timing'' is a 1980 British psychological drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel, and Denholm Elliott. The plot focuses on an American woman and a psychology professor living in Vienn ...

''. Garfunkel was quoted at the time, "Laurie was the greatest thing I ever knew in my life, now I've lost it." In 1988, he added, "I took her death terribly and remained moody over it through much of the 80's." He became somewhat of a recluse following the tragedy and wouldn't release another album until 1986's '' The Animals' Christmas'' with

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

Track listing

;Side One #"A Heart in New York" (

Benny Gallagher Bernard Joseph "Benny" Gallagher (born 10 June 1945, in Largs, Ayrshire) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most famous as half of the popular duo Gallagher and Lyle. Career The son of Irish parents, Gallagher attend ...

Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US Country No ...

) – 3:13 #"Scissors Cut" (

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

) – 3:49 #"Up in the World" (

Clifford T. Ward Clifford Thomas Ward (10 February 1944 – 18 December 2001) was an English singer-songwriter, best known for his career as a solo artist. Ward's 1973 album '' Home Thoughts'' remains his best known recording and he had hit singles with "G ...

) – 2:16 #"Hang On In" (

Norman Sallitt Norman Saleet (born Norman Sallitt) is an American songwriter, musician, and actor. He is best known for writing Air Supply's 1981 hit "Here I Am". The song was chosen for the band by record producer Clive Davis. Saleet is from Butler, Pennsylv ...

) – 3:46 #"So Easy to Begin" (

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

) – 2:56 ;Side Two #" Bright Eyes" (

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantia ...

) – 3:55
(Replaced with "The Romance" on U.K./Japan release) #"Can't Turn My Heart Away" (John Jarvis,

Eric Kaz Eric Justin Kaz (born January 21, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. Besides his solo work, Kaz was a member of Blues Magoos for their fourth and fifth albums, ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' and ''Gulf Coast Bound ...

) – 4:22 #"The French Waltz" ( Adam Mitchell) – 2:12 #"In Cars" (Jimmy Webb) – 3:47 #"That's All I've Got to Say (Theme from ''

The Last Unicorn ''The Last Unicorn'' is a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968, by Viking Press in the U.S. and The Bodley Head in the U.K. It follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the w ...

'')" (Jimmy Webb) – 1:54

Charts

Personnel

* Art Garfunkel – vocals * Lisa Garber,

Leah Kunkel Leah Kunkel ( Cohen; born June 15, 1948) is an American singer. Life Leah Cohen was born on June 15, 1948. She is the younger sister of Cass Elliot, best known as a member of the folk rock vocal group the Mamas & the Papas. In 1968, she marri ...

– background vocals * Tommy Vig – vibraphone, background vocals * John Jarvis – piano *

Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944–March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard Sc ...

– flugelhorn, trumpet * David Campbell – strings *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since ...

, Scott Chambers – bass guitar *

Pete Carr Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr (April 22, 1950 – June 27, 2020) was an American guitarist. Carr contributed to successful recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, The Staple Singers, R ...

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Ch ...

, Michael Staton,

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

– guitar * Paul Simon,

Andrew Gold Andrew Maurice Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold played on scores of rec ...

– guitar, background vocals *

Teo Macero Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' '' Bitches Brew'', and ...

– conductor * Roland Harker – lute *

Rick Shlosser Rick Shlosser is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. He has been a member of Van Morrison's band and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He's also been a varied sessions drummer. Discography 1970s * Andy Pratt - ''Records Are Like Life'' (19 ...

, Russ Kunkel,

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, ...

– drums *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of ...

– tenor saxophone * Jeffrey Staton – guitar, background vocals *

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

– percussion * Errol "Crusher" Bennett – congas, percussion *

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17, ...

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthes ...

– synthesizer *

Del Newman Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...

– strings * Jimmy Webb – piano *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...

– keyboards *

Eugene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from the ...

– concertmaster Production *

– producer, engineer * Art Garfunkel – producer * Mike Batt – producer * Terry Rosiello – mixing * Greg Calbi – mastering * John Berg – design * Anthony Loew – artwork

References

{{Authority control Art Garfunkel albums 1981 albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Art Garfunkel Albums produced by Roy Halee Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios