A Hazy Shade of Winter song as "one of [Simon and Garfunkel's] best songs, and certainly one of the toughest and more rock-oriented". In 1987, the Bangles were approached to record a song for the soundtrack of the film "Less Than Zero". They chose to record a cover of "A Hazy Shade of Winter", which they had been performing live since at least as far back as March 1983. Their cover, simply titled "Hazy Shade of Winter", was a harder-edged rock song that removed most of the bridge section. The record, like the rest of the soundtrack album, was produced by Rick Rubin. After a
A Hazy Shade of Winter on an album until 1968's "Bookends". "A Hazy Shade of Winter" follows a more rock-tinged sound, with a fairly straightforward verse-refrain structure. The song dates back to Simon's days in England in 1965; it follows a hopeless poet, with "manuscripts of unpublished rhyme", unsure of his achievements in life. The lyrics recall the transition from fall to winter, as suggested by the repetition of the final chorus of the song: Author and disc jockey Pete Fornatale considered the lyrics evocative of, and standing in contrast with, those of John Phillips' "California Dreamin'". Decades later, Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger described the