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Post by B.E. on Sept 2, 2023 14:19:34 GMT
I was going to ask for compilation recommendations, but I see they only released five studio albums!? For some reason, I thought they had a more extensive catalogue. In that case, maybe I should just listen to all their albums? Then I thought there might be interest in that here like we've done with other artists. Just floating the idea...
But if someone has strong feelings about the best compilation, please let me know. One way or another, I'm in the mood to listen to some Simon & Garfunkel today. (I've heard the hits on the radio like everyone else, but I'm not sure I've ever listened to any of their albums in full.)
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Post by lonelysummer on Sept 2, 2023 19:26:56 GMT
I have a S&G comp on cassette; and their original GH album is a very big seller. If you're going to get just one album, though, I would recommend either Bookends or Bridge Over Troubled Water.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 3, 2023 0:02:57 GMT
I was going to ask for compilation recommendations, but I see they only released five studio albums!? For some reason, I thought they had a more extensive catalogue. In that case, maybe I should just listen to all their albums? Then I thought there might be interest in that here like we've done with other artists. Just floating the idea... But if someone has strong feelings about the best compilation, please let me know. One way or another, I'm in the mood to listen to some Simon & Garfunkel today. (I've heard the hits on the radio like everyone else, but I'm not sure I've ever listened to any of their albums in full.) I actually was thinking about a S&G and Paul Simon albums thread at one point, but I think there was pretty mixed interest especially if we got into Simon solo. But maybe for S&G, with so few albums, it could be sustained pretty easily. I'd definitely be up for it.
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Post by jk on Sept 9, 2023 9:24:33 GMT
Sounds good to me.
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Post by B.E. on Sept 9, 2023 14:09:43 GMT
Sounds good to me. I'm still interested in a S&G album thread. Should we just do it right here? Is anyone interested in running it? Kapitan ? Or I could do it. I could post the first album today if you guys would like.
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Post by lonelysummer on Sept 9, 2023 17:06:15 GMT
Sounds good to me. I'm still interested in a S&G album thread. Should we just do it right here? Is anyone interested in running it? Kapitan ? Or I could do it. I could post the first album today if you guys would like. Go for it!
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 9, 2023 18:05:18 GMT
I'm still interested in a S&G album thread. Should we just do it right here? Is anyone interested in running it? Kapitan ? Or I could do it. I could post the first album today if you guys would like. Go for it! Seconded. The Hot 100 #1s is actually taking way more time than I'd have thought, so I'll pass on running it for now. I say go for it! I'll happily participate.
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Post by jk on Sept 9, 2023 21:58:45 GMT
Seconded. The Hot 100 #1s is actually taking way more time than I'd have thought, so I'll pass on running it for now. I say go for it! I'll happily participate. Thirded.
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Post by B.E. on Sept 9, 2023 22:06:49 GMT
Okay, the board has spoken. I’ll post the albums on Sunday mornings, spending a week on each.
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Post by B.E. on Sept 10, 2023 14:30:00 GMT
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Following their early gig as "Tom and Jerry", Columbia Records signed the two in late 1963. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. The cover and the label include the subtitle exciting new sounds in the folk tradition. Recorded in March 1964, the album was released on October 19. The album was initially unsuccessful, so Paul Simon moved to London, England and finished his first solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook. Art Garfunkel continued his studies at Columbia University in his native New York City, before reuniting with Simon in late 1965. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was re-released in January 1966 (to capitalize on their newly found radio success because of the overdubbing of the song "The Sound of Silence" in June 1965, adding electric guitars, bass guitar and a drum kit), and reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200. It was belatedly released in the UK two years later (in 1968) in both mono and stereo formats. The song "He Was My Brother" was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who was their friend and a classmate of Simon at Queens College. Andrew Goodman volunteered in Freedom Summer during 1964 and was abducted and killed in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. “Benedictus" was arranged and adapted from Orlando di Lasso's Missa Octavi toni, a Renaissance setting of the ordinary of the mass. The text, in Latin, is benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini (KJV: Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord ). The song is arranged for two voices with cello and sparse guitar accompaniment. The album's cover photo was shot at the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station in New York City. In several concerts, Art Garfunkel related that during the photo session, several hundred pictures were taken that were unusable due to the "old familiar suggestion" on the wall in the background, which inspired Paul Simon to write the song "A Poem on the Underground Wall" for the duo's later Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album. 12 tracks; 31 minutes 1. You Can Tell the World 2. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream 3. Bleecker Street 4. Sparrow 5. Benedictus 6. The Sound of Silence 7. He Was My Brother 8. Peggy-O 9. Go Tell It on the Mountain 10. The Sun Is Burning 11. The Times They Are A-Changin' 12. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
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Post by B.E. on Sept 10, 2023 14:34:50 GMT
The song "He Was My Brother" was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who was their friend and a classmate of Simon at Queens College. Andrew Goodman volunteered in Freedom Summer during 1964 and was abducted and killed in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. This shocked me when I read it. The 1989 film, Mississippi Burning, starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe, is based on these events. I was picturing the opening scene while listening to this song. What a small world. And what a powerful track.
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Post by lonelysummer on Sept 11, 2023 5:46:37 GMT
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Following their early gig as "Tom and Jerry", Columbia Records signed the two in late 1963. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. The cover and the label include the subtitle exciting new sounds in the folk tradition. Recorded in March 1964, the album was released on October 19. The album was initially unsuccessful, so Paul Simon moved to London, England and finished his first solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook. Art Garfunkel continued his studies at Columbia University in his native New York City, before reuniting with Simon in late 1965. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was re-released in January 1966 (to capitalize on their newly found radio success because of the overdubbing of the song "The Sound of Silence" in June 1965, adding electric guitars, bass guitar and a drum kit), and reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200. It was belatedly released in the UK two years later (in 1968) in both mono and stereo formats. The song "He Was My Brother" was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who was their friend and a classmate of Simon at Queens College. Andrew Goodman volunteered in Freedom Summer during 1964 and was abducted and killed in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. “Benedictus" was arranged and adapted from Orlando di Lasso's Missa Octavi toni, a Renaissance setting of the ordinary of the mass. The text, in Latin, is benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini (KJV: Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord ). The song is arranged for two voices with cello and sparse guitar accompaniment. The album's cover photo was shot at the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station in New York City. In several concerts, Art Garfunkel related that during the photo session, several hundred pictures were taken that were unusable due to the "old familiar suggestion" on the wall in the background, which inspired Paul Simon to write the song "A Poem on the Underground Wall" for the duo's later Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album. 12 tracks; 31 minutes 1. You Can Tell the World 2. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream 3. Bleecker Street 4. Sparrow 5. Benedictus 6. The Sound of Silence 7. He Was My Brother 8. Peggy-O 9. Go Tell It on the Mountain 10. The Sun Is Burning 11. The Times They Are A-Changin' 12. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. I wonder how many S&G fans have actually listened to this album? It's not Sounds of Silence or even Bookends. This is Paul and Art as folk singers, singing a lot of songs written by other writers - yes, even Mr. Zimmerman. It's fascinating in that respect. Kind of like Bob's debut - very few hints of what was to come.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 12, 2023 14:21:06 GMT
I think this one is maybe a little unfairly overlooked. While it’s not Simon and Garfunkel, fully formed out of the gate, it is at the very least a VERY strong performance. It’s the material that’s not quite so exciting.
The material, I think, shows them playing it safe to some degree. There were almost certainly more Simon originals to be had considering what Paul put on his debut solo album in 1965.
Speaking of the material, something that had never occurred to me before until just this morning is this: isn’t it interesting that these two young Jewish men put three explicitly Christian songs on their album, a full quarter of it? “You Can Tell the World” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain” are both gospel-folk tunes, while “Benedictus” is taken from the (Catholic) Latin mass.
I would love to have heard their discussions about those selections. Were they generally secular, just choosing songs they happened to like singing? Were they trying to downplay their Jewishness for a still-antisemitic, overwhelmingly Christian America? I’m just curious, and I’ve never heard it addressed.
While I think the material is largely uninspiring, I think the arrangements and performances are head and shoulders above most of the popular folk of the previous half-decade or so. That goes both for the guitar parts and the vocal parts. Compare to the simplistic, almost rustic Kingston Trio we visited in the Hot 100 thread. Simon and Garfunkel are precise, they use dynamics, they bring more color, light, and shade. You can tell they’re seasoned performers, you can tell they’re good musicians, and you can tell they’re really creative people.
It’s far from their best, but it’s a pretty darn strong debut record—especially if you like two-part harmony singing (as I do).
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Post by jk on Sept 12, 2023 17:37:18 GMT
I wonder how many S&G fans have actually listened to this album? It's not Sounds of Silence or even Bookends. This is Paul and Art as folk singers, singing a lot of songs written by other writers - yes, even Mr. Zimmerman. It's fascinating in that respect. Kind of like Bob's debut - very few hints of what was to come. Exactly. My wife came in with Paul's Songbook album, which she loves, and I came in with their most rock-and-rolly offering, Sounds of Silence, which I love. As a fan of much but certainly not all of their music, solo or as a duet, I'll risk getting banned and give this one a miss! Now Sounds is another matter...
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Sept 13, 2023 0:38:07 GMT
The only song, or specifically recording, on this album that I'm familiar with is "The Sound Of Silence". It's one of my all-time favorite songs. It still gets to me. I especially like hearing it at night. While I like all of the Simon & Garfunkel versions of the song, this version might be my least favorite. Oh, it's good, but I especially like their live versions. The Old Friends: Live On Stage version is my favorite.
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