Customer Reviews

Paul Simon Songbook

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The arrival of this album on compact disc (at last!) is a true delight for die-hard Paul Simon fans, and should provide a real delight of discovery for more casual listeners. A bit of history, first: This was the product of one of several pauses in the Simon and Garfunkel partnership. The two enjoyed a hit record in the 1950s as Tom and Jerry, but went their separate ways for a while before coming together to record "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." Although the album was billed as featuring "exciting new sounds in the folk tradition," it didn't create much excitement, vanishing almost without a trace.

So it was back to college for Art, and off to England for Paul, where he played in small underground clubs. A BBC announcer championed Simon's work, prompting public requests to buy recordings of his music. In May of 1965, Simon went into Columbia's studios in London with his acoustic guitar to record the tracks that made up this album. Some are repeated from "Wednesday Morning 3 A.M."; others would later find their way onto the second and third Simon and Garfunkel releases. According to one biography, the entire album was recorded in an hour, with Simon doing only one take of each song. (However, the liner notes on this release contradict that, indicating, for instance, the version of "Leaves That Are Green" that appears is take 11.)

The production bill for this simple venture reportedly totaled $300. (And yes, that's Kathy, of "Kathy's Song" fame, with him on the cover.) While the recordings from these 1965 sessions may lack the signature Garfunkel harmonies and the American studio polish, they offer a unique look at these masterpieces in their purest essence: just a man, his guitar, and the deepest feelings of his soul.

This might have been the birth of Simon's career as a solo recording artist. But back in the states, Tom Wilson, producer of "Wednesday Morning 3 A.M." was preparing to add electric guitar, bass and drums to one of the cuts from that album...a song that was also included on the "Songbook." It was "Sounds of Silence." And the rest, as they say, is history.

The "Songbook" has only been available in the U.S. as a vinyl import until now, except for its inclusion in a briefly-available boxed set of Simon's solo works. This long-overdue, but highly welcome release will help to fill a gap in many collections and provide an opportunity for fresh appreciation for these timeless songs.--William C. Hall

I too had heard about the existence of these masters and, although I love and respect Paul Simon's body of work, did not think enough of it to check it out right away. Well ... I'm certainly sorry I waited as long as I have.
Listening to this CD will give you the kind of insight into an artist that you may only get from his or her private notebooks, a sense of looking at notes that may still change but were important enough to be written down when they were, a diary of a young man who must express the outrage or tenderness he's found in the world around him.
You don't have to be a completist or be writing a PhD dissertation on Simon, to own this CD. I'd argue that if you've never heard Simon & Garfunkel you may still be thanking your stars for having discovered the treasures that are included here.
This is not to say that the latter versions with Art Garfunkel are to be forgotten, of course, but that these takes ought to be listened to as the roots of the glorious recordings they created together. Actually, I'd go as far as to say that many of their classics would not be have been such without Artie's breathtaking voice.
This album is full of gems, played with a minimum of instrumentation and without any kind of pretentiousness. "I Am A Rock" sounds angrier and reveals an edge to the words I did not ever get from the famous duo's versions; "A Most Peculiar Man" and "Kathy's Song" are bound to thaw your heart; and "A Church Is Burning" or "A Simple Desultory Philippic" although naive, somewhat the sentimental fury of a young man, will move you with their honesty.
These are not outtakes, the often incomplete, unrealized stuff that gets added to reissued classic albums, that clearly proves why it was buried in vaults for a long time. This is an early album, a set of songs that was meant to be heard, by one of the most important singer-songwriters in popular music. Astute and tender, at times naive but not asleep to the times he witnessed as a young artist.

There is a purity and an innocent optimism to this early Paul Simon solo album that--in many ways--surpasses the later work Simon has released, whether alone or with Art Garfunkel. Accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, a very young and still unknown Paul Simon offers up pasionate and tender versions of twelve songs that later became Simon and Garfunkel classics, often with subtle differences in lyrics. The never-again-released rarity "The Side Of A Hill" may sound a trifle naive nowadays, but--in an edited form--it went on to become the "Canticle" counter melody for "Scarborough Fair!" And yes, that is Kathy with Paul on the cover, kneeling on the damp London cobblestones. Perhaps because of its unadorned simplicity, this album--which I actually wore out several times on vinyl--has become my favorite album ever--by anyone--period. Even if you do not come to treasure it as I have, you will find it well worth a listen. It offers a glimpse of a budding genius on the verge of greatness, a sweetly unguarded moment, a harbinger of things to come.

Every serious Paul Simon fan has probably heard OF this album, but for years most of us (Americans at least) never got the chance to hear it. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.

I don't think I would go as far as some other reviewers have in suggesting these recordings are better than the Simon and Garfunkel versions of the same songs, but it's definitely an interesting change hearing them in a more stripped down and intimate style. And that said, some of these renditions are better than the more famous ones. "A Church Is Burning," with its by-turns angry and joyous lyrics, is a perfect match for the low-fi style found here. "Kathy's Song" and "Patterns" (admittedly two of my all time favorite Simon songs to begin with) also sound great with just a guitar for a change, and "I Am A Rock" manages to sound even more angst-ridden here than elsewhere.

On the other hand, this album's "Sounds of Silence" is a bit weaker than the more famous version (he hits a couple of wrong notes, and more than most of his songs, this one really is best performed as a duet). But for the most part, even the more familiar titles sound great in these early renditions. There are also a couple of songs not to be found elsewhere: "The Side of A Hill" sounds a lot like an outtake from the first S&G album, and has arguably held up better than quite a few of the songs found there. Also, this album's "A Simple Desultory Philippic" is very different lyrically from the more famous version (some of the people he slams in the later recording weren't famous yet, after all).

All in all, whether you're in search of buried treasure or just curious about the heretofore-rare title, it's well worth picking up.

Paul Simon fought with Columbia Records for years to keep this from being released, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. Recorded in London in 1965, after the release of Simon & Garfunkel's debut, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.," but before the duo hit the big time with "Sounds of Silence," this album is not much more than a demo recording of the music Paul was playing in London's underground folk clubs in '64-'65.

It's nothing but Paul and his acoustic guitar, but the inherent power of the songs, which would go on to form the basis for Simon & Garfunkel's second and third albums, is more than evident. "I Am A Rock," "Kathy's Song," "Patterns," and others are all done fantastically. Of particular interest is "The Side Of A Hill," which Simon & Garfunkel fans will recognize as the counter-melody of the hit song "Scarborough Fair/Canticle."

The sound quality could be improved--several tracks reveal the hiss of the souce tapes--but there's little else to complain about. To have an album that's been out of print for nearly 30 years returned to us is a gift.

As a teenaged Paul Simon fan, I can't say I waited decades for this to come out . . . but when I heard of its coming release, I counted down the days to it eagerly. And I LOVE this album.

Although a fan of S&G, it is nice to hear Paul Simon singing then-unknown S&G songs WITHOUT Garfunkel high-pitched choir boy voice. I find that Paul's gentle voice paired with his guitar brings these songs to life in the best way possible. The lyrics are poetic and raw, and you can tell he means every word, although the self-conscious liner notes from the original 1965 release (included on this album!) make comments from Paul himself like "I know the songs I write today will not be mine tomorrow" and says that of songs, "I don't believe in them as I once did." Well, Paul, I DO believe in them, and they are stunning!

Best tracks? I'm not an expert, but I love "Kathy's Song", "Most Peculiar Man" "Leaves That Are Green" and "The Sound Of Silence" best. I listen to all the tracks, but I'm not that fond of "Patterns". But it's still my favourite album.

And trust me, to all those S&G and Paul Simon Solo fans out there, you haven't truly heard "The Sound Of Silence" until you hear the version of it on this album. It is more meaningful for me, and perhaps for you, to hear the song in such a raw form which allows the lyrics to take centre stage, without electric guitars and drums.

Well done. Thanks Paul, for giving it to your fans at last!

...for the stripped down "Leaves that are Green" alone. This is the way I heard the song first, on the Paul Simon 1964/1993 box set, and it took me a long time before I could even stand to sit through the high-energy version on Sounds of Silence... this version is simple and beautiful, the way the song should be.

The hard core Simonite is most likely familiar with "Songbook". The casual fan may still need to get aquainted. I am thrilled that this historic piece is finally on C.D. I bought a vinyl import over 30 years ago, and still have it. The solo performance is so pure and passionate. It's too bad this isn't the way these songs were made popular. Paul Simon could and would have made it on his own as a great writer without the production, as Dylan did. He sure didn't need a back-up singer as his eventual solo career proves. For all fans this is a must have album. Buy it now! If it wasn't already, it will quickly become one of your favorite Paul Simon works.

The music on this disc was recorded in 1965 shortly after the first Simon and Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning Three am. Almost all the songs appear on later Simon and Garfunkel albums but here it's simply Paul Simon and his guitar. The sound is clear and the arrangements are fresh and interesting. I enjoyed this record alot more than "Wednesday Morning" because it's full of orginal songs rather than folk standards. It's also interesting to hear Paul Simon on his own during his formative writing period. It's a great buy especially if you've heard the Simon and Garfunkel original albums. Oh, the liner notes were written by Paul himself at the time and reveal a young artist quite humble and shy about sharing his songs with the world.

As with other reviewers, I have waited decades for this album to become available. I passed up opportunities for search services to get the LP, because I figured I would have to pay a premium for it. Now I have it on pristine CD, and it was well worth the wait. In a stripped down arrangement (just guitar and Paul's voice), you hear some of the best Simon and Garfunkel tunes before the songs themselves became famous. The engineering is a little flat, but remember that CDs were not made in those days. On the other hand, it is just refreshing to hear the songs unadulterated by backing musicians, just pure poetry and music. Maybe a little more reverb would have helped, but really there is nothing to complain about. The album surprised me--it is much better than I had expected. Definitely worth getting.