Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Garden party

By DAN AQUILANTE

Last Updated: 4:53 AM, October 30, 2009

Posted: 4:36 AM, October 30, 2009

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At last night's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert, celebrating the Hall's 25th anniversary, the production stuck to the first rule of rock: Too much is just enough.

The first installment of the two-show Madison Square Garden event, which concludes tonight, was an all-star exercise in excess featuring Stevie Wonder, Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills & Nash on a bill headlined by Jersey giant Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band.

Tonight's show, the second installment at the Cathedral of Rock, attempts to up the ante with Metallica, Lou Reed, Aretha Franklin and U2, with super-secret guest Mick Jagger, taking the stage.

To keep the first concert lively and in synch with the Hall's love of getting artists to jam together, the format for the show was to have the lynchpin acts share their stage time with guest artists subtly chronicling the history of rock.

Where that format worked best was when it was in the hands of Springsteen, who personally wrote a healthy chunk of the big book of rock and knows the other chapters by heart.

In his segment, the Boss hosted soul man Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) and John Fogerty, former frontman for Creedence Clearwater Revival.

After a hit-the-deck-running version of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," Springsteen collaborated with Moore on "Hold On (I'm Coming)" and "Soul Man." Moore's chemistry with the Boss earned him an honory membership in the E Street Band.

Bruce and Fogerty also masterfully hooked up on the CCR hits "Fortunate Son" and Proud Mary."

The two took their biggest risk by mounting Roy Orbison's famous "Pretty Woman," but they nailed it with terrific harmonies and even the same growl.

Other harmonies that blossomed in the Garden Thursday belonged to the still stellar voices of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and the three-way vocal mash of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.

On the pretty-scale, hometown icons S&G owned this show. Their version of "Sounds of Silence'' and "The Boxer" gave you goosebumps. Simon's voice and guitar still gives Garfunkel's high tenor the perfect platform.

Solo Simon came on strong with a percolating version of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" from his groundbreaking "Graceland" album. He also was the first artist of the night to unglue the fans from their seats with his quintesential NYC tune -- "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard."

One of the most remarkable qualities of the night was that all egos were checked at the door -- even among the headliners. During Simon's solo set, he was joined by David Crosby and Graham Nash for a cover of George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun."

On their own (along with partner Stephen Stills) CSN delivered rousing versions of ''Woodstock'' and ''Almost Cut My Hair.''

CSN were at the top of their game during their collaboration with Bonnie Raitt for ''Love Has No Pride'' and ''Midnight Rider.'' Both the band and copper-topped Raitt found each other's groove.

CSN were equally tight when Jackson Browne joined them to sing ''The Pretender,'' but CSN featuring James Taylor on "Love the One You're With" was one of the event's most winning combinations in the sold-out house.

Still, with all of the wonderful artistic mixes CSN delivered, Neil Young was among the show's most missed performers.

This was a night that was so star powered that Stevie Wonder had the weakest set. His lineup included "Higher Ground''/"Roxanne," performed with a bearded Sting, "The Thrill is Gone" with BB King and "Tracks of My Tears" with the great Smokey Robinson taking the vocal lead.

His cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind" and his own "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" found Wonder at the top of his game despite the sound problems that marred the start of his set.

If you didn't score a ticket for either this or tonight's show, the pair will be carved into a single four-hour concert special that's set to air on HBO on Sunday, Nov. 29. Expect an unabridged DVD early next year.

Remember how too much is just enough in rock? It's really true.In the final moments of the show Billy Joel joined Bruce and the E Street band for "You may Be Right," "Only the Good Die Young" and "New York State of Mind." Too much was perfect.