Simon & Garfunkel

[trotsky assortment]

I thought about bumping the old Paul Simon thread for this, but then I thought I'd start a new one since there are possibly going to be a few more people with an opinion and maybe someone may be able to explain a few things along the way.

The other day, I bought the Simon and Garfunkel complete box.  I always liked Paul's solo stuff, but was never greatly fussed by the S&G stuff I'd previously heard.  'Bridge Over Troubled Water' was played a lot in my house when I was a kid.  I didn't like it.  I liked my dad's Led Zeppelin LPs, which would probably account for my dislike of the folky-pop from the 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' album.  Up until now, that was the only Simon & Garfunkel I was really familiar with, aside from a handful of other tracks (obviously).

The box set was being practically given away, so I figured the time had come to give them a fair hearing.  Over the past two days, I've listened to all five albums in chronological order.  It's fascinating to hear how Paul Simon grew over the four/five years as a songwriter.

'Wednesday Morning 5AM', I found a little patchy; maybe due to not featuring much original material.  Were the inclusion of so many familiar folk songs on that album Simon's choice, or did the record company push in that direction?

I may have more to write later when I'm more familiar with them, but upon first complete listen the next two albums - 'The Sounds of Silence' and 'Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme' - are near perfect records.  Hauntingly beautiful albums I can see myself returning to throughout the next year and probably beyond.

What's the deal with 'Bookends'?  There's something odd going on there.  Aside from the obvious stuff which I knew was okay, the album seems patched together with oddities - from that ugly keyboard sound on the chaotic 'Save The Life of My Child' to the two minutes of old people's voices on, er, 'Voices of Old People'.  One of the comments on Amazon points out that the first half of the album feels like a suite, even though it sort of isn't.  Not really getting it, to be honest.  I put it's odd qualities down to it being 1968 and pop music elsewhere had become rather more experimental and Paul possibly wanting to branch out.

As for 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', I no longer feel the way I did about it as a kid.  It's far from the boring record I always thought it was.  I do feel it's somewhat over-rated though.  For the perfect moments like the title track, 'The Only Living Boy In New York' and 'The Boxer', there's stuff that's not quite right.  I really don't like the clunkiness of 'Why Don't You Write Me' and 'El Condor Pasa' leaves me cold.  The cover of 'Bye Bye Love' feels like obvious filler.  The whole album (despite being one of the best selling albums of all time and the album S&G are best loved for) feels like a patchwork quilt.  Was it a swansong put together out of new songs and leftovers, or was it intended as a 'complete' album?

[CaledonianGonzo]

For me, they could quite easily be mentioned in the 'Inconsistent Artists' thread.  For every moment of spine-tingling loveliness in their catalogue there exists an equal and opposite moment of clunky drivel.  Generally I prefer the former (quiet, folky, inspired by Kathy Chitty) to the latter (ill-advisedly funky, overly-Dylanesque, inspired by insincere giraffes).

[23 Daves]

I own most of the Simon and Garfunkel albums purely because they tend to turn up in second hand record stores (and charity shops) on vinyl very cheaply.  They're respected artists, but still sold their work in such quantities that Oxfam will think nothing of pricing up a mint copy of "Sounds of Silence" for a quid.  At that price it's all well worth owning, but I do agree they're a patchy pair.  The electric version of "Sounds of Silence" is one of my favourite singles of all time, a rare example of a record company overdub which actually improves the original composition.  The frantic rush of the guitar work, the almost panicked guitar lines, combined with those lyrics... it's just amazing.

There again, there's complete crap like "Cecilia", which I'd be perfectly happy never to hear again in my life.  And some of the instrumentation on other tracks does err worryingly towards the cliched side of things.  I've no doubt it sounded original at the time, but "El Condor Pasa" sounds like bad restaurant muzak to me these days. 

I also agree that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is nothing like a classic album, despite its impressive global sales, but I'm going to have to hold myself back a bit here.  They (or perhaps Paul Simon rather than "they") did create some flashes of brilliance in their catalogue, more than most songwriters and musicians have a wet dream about writing.  In a fair world there's numerous other more consistent acts who would perhaps have out-sold them, but sadly it was ever thus.

[trotsky assortment]

Do you have 'Bookends', 23Daves?  If so, do you have any idea why it's loved so much?  There's no way it's anywhere near as lovely as the two albums before it.

[23 Daves]

Do you have 'Bookends', 23Daves?  If so, do you have any idea why it's loved so much?  There's no way it's anywhere near as lovely as the two albums before it.

I'm afraid that's one I don't own, so I can't really comment.  I've just checked the tracklisting, though, and what I've heard of it already doesn't fill me with great hope for its contents.  But I should probably hold back until I've actually heard the damn thing from start to finish, I suppose.

[trotsky assortment]

I know he was never much of a songwriter, but it's worrying that Art's big contribution to 'Bookends' is a collage of voices recorded at (presumably) an old folks' home.

Overall, I'd say it was likely the weak album in the bunch (despite 'WM5AM' and 'Bridge' both being patchy), but even then it contains a couple of really beautiful Paul Simon compositions. 

This has inspired me to go back and listen to those early Paul Simon albums properly.  It's about time I did.

[Marty McFly]

ah, Simon and Garfunkel. one of the earliest things I can remember hearing - my dad had a greatest hits on cassette (for the car), LP and then CD that was always on. they always seemed to be 'there' in my youth.. in Wayne's World 2, in Harry Hill's show, in that Hale and Pace parody ("colder than a witch's titty"), being spoofed on the Simpsons as 'The Sound Of Grandpa'. for all those reasons I love 'em.

I've got an unofficial release of Bookends that includes the mono LP mix (very hard to get hold of on vinyl), the tracklisting again in demo and alternate versions, and again in live recordings. very thorough and although the mono mix is a bit murky it's well worth a listen. the album does have its share of good songs but, as you say about most S+G - certainly patchy. but when they were on, they were really on, weren't they?

incidentally, I love El Condor Pasa!

I bought the complete box set off amazon for my dad for Christmas for £12.99. more than worth it at that price.

[Pseudopath]

I also agree that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is nothing like a classic album, despite its impressive global sales

I reckon most people bought it just so they could do this...

[Emma Raducanu]

I would say I'm possibly one of their biggest fans. My parents had their music on cassette in the car when I was a child and by the age of six I probably knew all the words to their songs. Whenever I hear their music, I'm filled with nostalgia and a friendly tear rolls down my face. Bleecker Street haunts me wherever I go. Richard Cory reminds me of going on a bike ride and my friend's sister flying over her handle bars. Sound of silence takes me back to days of hiking and the egg sandwiches I ate on a rock. I cannot objectively rate their music, because everything I've heard of theirs is like a little pearl of joy to me. Whenever I'm bored in a railway station, S&G cheer me up. whenever I'm feeling cold and lonely, they are at my side and whenever I wash my hair, they are in the shower with me.

[GoochDogHigh5s]

Bookends is a strange album.

Not sure where he/they were trying to go with it.

The strangest song has to be Punky's Dilemma

I get the feeling that Simon was pretending that he was on acid or something

And includes the name Mary Jane

Wish I was a Kellogg's Cornflake
Floatin' in my bowl takin' movies,
Relaxin' awhile, livin' in style,
Talkin' to a raisin who 'casion'ly plays L.A.,
Casually glancing at his toupee.

Wish I was an English muffin
'Bout to make the most out of a toaster.

I'd ease myself down,
Comin' up brown.

I prefer boysenberry
More than any ordinary jam.
I'm a "Citizens for Boysenberry Jam" fan.

Ah, South California.

If I become a first lieutenant
Would you put my photo on your piano?
To Maryjane--
Best wishes, Martin.
(Old Roger draft-dodger
Leavin' by the basement door),
Everybody knows what he's
Tippy-toeing down there for

[confettiinmyhair]

A bit like with The Who, it took a film soundtrack for them to make sense to me. The Graduate Soundtrack then led me investigate their other records, I think the visual aspect helped me connect better with their material, putting my own experiences and meaning towards certain other songs like Old Friends, Keep the Customer Satisfied and The Boxer which subsequently became important to me.

[Don_Preston]

I too got the Collection for Christmas, and am getting through that. As patchy as an album it is, "Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m" is certainly one of their best songs. I'll get back to you after I've heard Bookends

[non capisco]

What, for the novice who's only heard 'You Can Call Me Al', 'Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard' and '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover', is the best Paul Simon solo album?

[lipsink]

Do you have 'Bookends', 23Daves?  If so, do you have any idea why it's loved so much?  There's no way it's anywhere near as lovely as the two albums before it.

It's kind of  become the critic's favourite instead of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' in the same way that 'Revolver' replaced 'Sgt Pepper'.

I used to think Bookends was the best one too cos it really has no weak actual 'songs' on it. The sound collage stuff doesn't last too long anyway and the albums before have 1 or 2 songs I don't like: (A Simple Desultory Philippic and The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine). So maybe it's because it holds together better as an 'album'.

[Ambient Sheep]

My early musical experience was limited to just two albums played seemingly on constant loop by my older brother in the bedroom next door.  Sounds of Silence was one of them, consequently, like DolphinFace, I know it backwards and it still remains a firm favourite with me, although I'm peeved that the CD version reverts to the "Homeward Bound"-less tracklisting; to me the album seems incomplete without it.

Personal digression: I sometimes wonder how much listening to tracks like "Richard Cory" and "A Most Peculiar Man" as a small child shaped my personality.  While my compatriots in the playground would be singing popular tunes of the day such as "Sugar Baby Love" or "Blockbuster", I'd be singing stuff like "He turned on the gas, and he went to sleep, with the windows closed, so he'd never wake up, to his silent world, and his tiny room..." - it's a wonder I'm not weirder than I am, really.

_{^{OK, so I liked singing the pop songs as well, but even so...}}


Anyway, the only other albums I've heard of theirs are The Graduate soundtrack, Bridge Over Troubled Water and the Greatest Hits LP.

The Graduate is fairly inconsequential, but did introduce me to the transcendent "Scarborough Fair", for which I'm eternally grateful.

Bridge Over Troubled Water (the album, not the song) is vastly overrated in my opinion, for the same reasons that've already been said here by others.  Sounds of Silence pisses over at least half of it.

It sounds as if I really MUST investigate Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme, an album that, if I'm honest, I'd forgotten even existed.  Although I note that the version of "Scarborough Fair" on it is half the length it is on The Graduate.  But if nothing else, it means I'll get "Homeward Bound" back on CD.


P.S.  I also play a mean version of Anji on the guitar.

[alan nagsworth]

Anyone who doesn't like 'El Condor Pasa' should be shackled to a wall and beaten with a wooden flute. It's bloody magical. It sends me places. I love those simple hippie lyrics.

[trotsky assortment]

Did the early version of 'Hearts and Bones' (different title) featuring Art Garfunkel's vocals ever do the rounds as a bootleg?