Released as a companion to
Legacy
's
Complete Album Collection
,
Over the Bridge of Time: A Paul Simon Retrospective (1964-2011)
condenses a five-decade career into 20 tracks. That's hardly enough to contain all the hits, so the compilers have opted for a mini-biography, tracing
Simon
's evolution from
Simon & Garfunkel
to the restless bard of the new millennium. Corners are cut, hits are forgotten -- and not small ones, either; "Mrs. Robinson," "Kodachrome," "Loves Me Like a Rock," "The Obvious Child" are all missing in action -- but
Over the Bridge
doesn't quite feel as if anything is missing because it does paint a nice overall picture of
's career and does have many major songs, including "The Sound of Silence," "The Boxer," "The Only Living Boy in New York," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Still Crazy After All These Years," "Slip Slidin' Away," "Late in the Evening," and "You Can Call Me Al." Other compilations dig deeper and individual albums are necessary, but as a full-career overview, this does its job. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine