Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme (1966)

Simon & Garfunkel are an American singer-songwriter duo, consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

"The Sound Of Silence" had given Simon & Garfunkel their breakthrough with a #1 hit on New Years Day 1966. It was followed by a very successful folk-rock album. Their next single was another brilliant Paul Simon original, "Homeward Bound", which got to #5 in the US and also broke them into the UK Top 10. "I Am A Rock" from the Sounds Of Silence album then got to #3, completing a trilogy of perfect hit singles. The next single, "The Dangling Conversation", was not as successful (but still managed to chart at #25!).

Their next album refined the folk-rock style of the Sounds Of Silence album, being arguably a more consistent record. Simon & Garfunkel had truly found their voice. Three of the songs had previously appeared as solo numbers of the obscure Paul Simon Songbook album. It also features both the "Homeward Bound" and "The Dangling Conversation" singles. The best-remembered song on the album was the opening track from which it took its title, an arrangement of the English folk ballad "Scarborough Fair" set in counterpoint with "Canticle", an early Paul Simon composition.

The album was a success, and charted at #4.

Sounds Of Silence (1965) <|> Bookends (1968)
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Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds Of Silence (1966)

Simon & Garfunkel are an American singer-songwriter duo, consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

After their debut album's lack of success in 1964, Simon & Garfunkel split. However they soon got back together again, after a decision made on their behalf by their producer Tom Wilson. In 1965 The Byrds had introduced the potential of folk-rock, with their electrified Bob Dylan covers, and Wilson decided to leap onto the bandwagon whilst the duo were apart. He took one of their songs, "The Sound Of Silence", and overdubbed the original recording with electric guitar, bass and drums. The new electric version was released as a single, apparently without the knowledge of Simon & Garfunkel, and went on to become a massive hit. It got to #1 on New Years Day, 1966.
With sudden fame and chart success, they quickly re-united and recorded a second album. Sounds Of Silence experimented with the idea of folk-rock, mixing their folk roots with various rock and pop sounds and instrumentation. The result was a very diverse record, full of interesting sounds and ideas. The tunes themselves proved Paul Simon to be a first-class songwriter. Many of them actually had already appeared in solo form on his obscure 1965 UK-only album The Paul Simon Songbook. Also included was his version of the Davy Graham instrumental "Anji", proving him also to be a very talented guitarist.
A second single from the album, "I Am A Rock", also became a Top 10 hit (#3). In between the two singles was "Homeward Bound" (which reached #2), but that song wasn't included on the album.
Simon & Garfunkel were now big stars.

Wednesday Morning, 3 AM (1964) <|> Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)
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Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3AM (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel are an American singer-songwriter duo, consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

Both Simon and Garfunkel grew up in New York, and met at elementary school. In the late 50s they performed as Tom & Jerry, owing a lot to the Everly Brothers, and scored a minor hit with their own composition “Hey, Schoolgirl.” After high school they both went to separate colleges, but met up again in the early 60s as part of New York’s Greenwich Village folk scene. Now calling themselves Simon & Garfunkel, they were signed to Columbia Records and recorded a fantastic folk-based album in 1964.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. introduced them as American folk music’s sweetest voices. From the start it was obvious that both of them were incredible singers, but it was their close harmony singing where the magic truly happened, and which earned them their signature sound. The material on this first album is heavily folk-based - alongside three traditional adaptations are covers of songs by other folk singer-songwriters, including Ed McCurdy’s anti-war classic “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream”, Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “You Can Tell The World” by Bob Gibson and Bob Camp (i.e. Hamilton Camp). But it was the five fantastic Paul Simon originals that plainly showed where the song writing potential lay. Simon’s song writing and the duo’s harmonizing were the ingredients for great things to come.
Unfortunately, the album flopped, probably because the times WERE a-changin’ and the Beatles were conquering America. Its lack of sales meant they actually broke up for a while, and Paul Simon moved to England (where he recorded his first solo album). But a certain decision from their producer Tom Wilson would soon re-unite them with chart-topping success as folk-rock took off.

|> Sounds Of Silence (1966)

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