Simon & Garfunkel – Sounds Of Silence
(CBS Records 32020 STEREO)
Matrix No’s: A6/B4 – UK Pressing
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– a little wear to edges
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s and became counterculture icons of the decade’s social revolution, alongside artists such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan. Their biggest hits—including “The Sound of Silence” (1964), “Mrs. Robinson” (1968), “Bridge over Troubled Water” (1969), and “The Boxer” (1969)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide. Their often rocky relationship led to artistic disagreements, which resulted in their breakup in 1970. Their final studio record, Bridge over Troubled Water (released in January of that year), was their most successful, becoming one of the world’s best-selling albums. Since their split in 1970 they have reunited several times, most famously in 1981 for the “The Concert in Central Park”, which attracted more than 500,000 people, the seventh-largest concert attendance in history.
The duo met as children in Queens, New York, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize together and began writing original material. By 1957, under the name Tom & Jerry, the teenagers had their first minor success with “Hey Schoolgirl”, a song imitating their idols The Everly Brothers. Afterwards, the duo went their separate ways, with Simon making unsuccessful solo records. In 1963, aware of a growing public interest in folk music, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their début, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., sold poorly, and they once again disbanded; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In June 1965, their song “The Sound of Silence” was overdubbed, adding electric guitar and a drumkit to the original 1964 recording. This later version became a major U.S. AM radio hit in 1965, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Simon & Garfunkel reunited, releasing their second studio album Sounds of Silence and touring colleges nationwide. On their third release, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), the duo assumed more creative control. Their music was featured in the 1967 film The Graduate, giving them further exposure. Bookends (1968), their next album, topped the Billboard 200 chart and included the number-one single “Mrs. Robinson” from the film. After their 1970 breakup following the release of Bridge over Troubled Water, they both continued recording, Simon releasing a number of highly acclaimed albums, including 1986’s Graceland. Garfunkel also briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in two Mike Nichols films, Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge, and in Nicolas Roeg’s 1980 Bad Timing, as well as releasing some solo hits such as “All I Know”.
Simon & Garfunkel were described by critic Richie Unterberger as “the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s” and one of the most popular artists from the decade in general. They won 10 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Their Bridge over Troubled Water album was nominated at the 1977 Brit Awards for Best International Album and is ranked at number 51 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album’s title is a slight modification of the title of the duo’s first major hit, “The Sound of Silence,” which originally was released as “The Sounds of Silence”. The song had earlier been released in an acoustic version on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and later on the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate. Without the knowledge of Simon and Garfunkel, electric instruments and drums were overdubbed by Bob Dylan’s studio band on June 15, 1965. This new version was released as a single in September 1965, and opens the album.
“Homeward Bound” was released on the album in the UK, placed at the beginning of Side 2 before “Richard Cory”. It was also released as part of the box set Simon & Garfunkel Collected Works, on both LP and CD. Many of the songs in the album had been written by Paul Simon while he lived in London during 1965.
“I Am a Rock,” “Leaves That Are Green,” “April Come She Will,” “A Most Peculiar Man,” and “Kathy’s Song” had appeared on The Paul Simon Songbook, released in August 1965 in England as had another version of the title track. “Richard Cory” was based on a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Somewhere They Can’t Find Me” was essentially a rewrite of the previous album’s “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” and “Anji” was an instrumental piece that Simon had picked up, presumably in London, from guitarist Davey Graham. Hence the only brand new Paul Simon compositions on the album were “Blessed” and “We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin'”.
The album is also included in its entirety as part of the Simon & Garfunkel box sets Collected Works and The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970).
Track listing
All songs were written by Paul Simon, except where noted.
Side one
- “The Sound of Silence” – 3:08
Recorded March 10, 1964, and June 15, 1965 - “Leaves That Are Green” – 2:23
Recorded December 13, 1965 - “Blessed” – 3:16
Recorded December 21, 1965 - “Kathy’s Song” – 3:21
Recorded December 21, 1965 - “Somewhere They Can’t Find Me” – 2:37
Recorded April 5, 1965 - “Anji” (Davey Graham) – 2:17
Recorded December 13, 1965
Side two
- “Richard Cory” – 2:57
Recorded December 14, 1965 - “A Most Peculiar Man” – 2:34
Recorded December 22, 1965 - “April Come She Will” – 1:51
Recorded December 21, 1965 - “We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin'” – 2:00
Recorded April 5, 1965 - “I Am a Rock” – 2:50
Recorded December 14, 1965
Personnel
- Paul Simon: lead vocals, guitar
- Art Garfunkel: lead vocals
- Fred Carter, Jr.: guitar
- Larry Knechtel: keyboards
- Joe South: guitar
- Hal Blaine: drums
Sounds of Silence was recorded in December 1965 at CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California. The album was produced by Bob Johnston.
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