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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful, simple album!, March 18, 2000
While it is certainly not their "greatest" album, this little gem remains my favorite Simon & Garfunkle album. It has a passionate innocence that belongs very much to its time period of the early 1960's.Only four songs on it were written by Simon, a big difference from their later work where virtually everything was written by him. Many of these songs paint wonderful word pictures: "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" is a very naive but beautiful plea for world peace. "Guns and swords and uniforms were scattered on the ground". "Bleeker Street" is a wonderful bit of poetry about life in Greenwich Village. "The fog rolls in off the East River...I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand on Bleeker Street..." "Sparrow" is an allegory, almost a biblical parable, on Humanity's penchant for abandoning those in need. "Who will love a little sparrow?...'Not I', said the golden wheat, 'I would if I could, but I cannot, I know...'" "Benedictus" is a Latin prayer...no word picture here, but I love Latin chant, and this is an interesting interpretation. "The Sounds of Silence" is surely one of their greatest works and this is the original acoustic version. The best version I feel! "Peggy-O" is an old, traditional folk song, known by a number of names. Joan Baez recorded it as "Fennario" and the Clancy Brothers released it as "The Maid of Fife". It is Irish in origin, but has been modified as it moved from country to country. All three versions I mentioned are somewhat different, but all are clearly the same basic song. "The Sun Is Burning" is a powerful anti-war song, specifically on the threat of nuclear holocaust. The album closes with the title track, a simple story of a man who committed a senseles crime and now must flee, leaving behind the girl he loves. "...I watch as her breasts gently rise, gently fall. For I know with the first light of dawn, I'll be leaving, and tonight will be all I have left to recall..." I strongly recommend this album!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully Folksy but Under-Appreciated Debut, August 17, 2002
First of all, I've got to get this off my shoulders: pay NO attention to the star rating. Looks like I can't get around it, but really, my star ratings don't mean much by themselves-it's all in the review here what I really think. OK, that being said, this album is a must for any Simon and Garfunkel fan. Their first album as S&G, it's unfortunate that this gem is, in my opinion, somewhat underexposed. It's an almost motley array of completely acoustic folk music, but there is enough really strong, beautiful material on here to hold it all together. Let's go over what's on here, shall we?
If you can manage to put all the existing circumstances out of your mind for a moment, "You Can Tell the World" S&G do a stirring, soulful rendition of this folksy, gospel-y, upbeat tune. Forget the overly harsh criticism you may have heard on this song-it's great music, pure and simple. "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" is a somewhat more benign rendition of an old 60s-classic. I got a kick out of the atypical instrumentals on this, but it's not really my favorite sounding song on this album. (Though they do a fine job with it.) "Bleeker Street" is, I believe, the most under-appreciated and wonderful song here. It's very "Paul Simon-ish"-you know immediately who wrote this powerful and understated song. It's just beautiful is all, the harmonies sounding especially great on this song. "Sparrow" is another similarly identifiable song, and I especially love the last verse. It's another powerful and wonderfully simple song by the time you get to the end. "Benedictus" is very well sung, though it perhaps feels somewhat out of place although the album is somewhat eclectic. Anyway, it's interesting to hear them doing this song, but not my personal favorite.
Then we come to "The Sound of Silence." The version on here is absolutely superb. Without the drums and electric guitar that were added into the more familiar version, it has a sound similar to "Bleeker Street" and "Sparrow." I'm thinking that I might prefer this version...Anyway, "He was my brother" is my other favorite song on here (along with "Bleeker Street"...and maybe some others; it changes every time I listen!). It's very folksy, but more up-tempo than some of the previous songs. Aside from the great sound of this song, the lyrics are very heartfelt and harshly moving. (I read that he probably wrote it for a friend who was killed working for civil rights...) The traditional "Peggy-o" is nice enough, but it feels like a somewhat unnecessary addition, a bit fluffy I suppose. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" is another gospel-y, upbeat song, sung soulfully. The lyrics of "The Sun Is Burning" are interesting to listen to, but the sound of the song is less captivating for me. Though it is in keeping with other songs on the album, the sound (until the ending) is very sweet and quiet. But then I suppose that plays up the irony of the song, and it is disturbingly effective at the end in talking about the horrors of warlike violence. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is a great Dylan cover, with nice harmonies and a rigorous sound. Finally, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." is interesting but a bit too sweet sounding for me. I must say that I don't dislike it, I just don't listen to it much. (But look! A Paul Simon song that doesn't really rhyme!) On their next album, "The Sound of Silence," there's a more rock-like re-working of it. ("Somewhere They Can't Find Me")
Hey look I've written another long and overly detailed review! What a surprise! Anyway, this is a great album, particularly if you're already an S&G fan. It's the beginnings of all that Simon-and-Garfunkel-y-ness, it's interesting to hear where they're coming from after you hear their later albums. So forget the harsh criticism of this album as to simple or motley-it's not at all. This is an essential folk recording, various but somehow coherent, subtle but definitely not simplistic. Go back and give it a listen, there's some really really wonderful stuff on here.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dated Yet Timeless, December 27, 1999
Just want to say that with the exception of Peter Paul & Mary's debut, no album better captures the idealism and passion of the Kennedy years. Also as PP&Ms debut serves as a model for all folk trios, this album in its purity is THE prime example for folk duos.* Finally, Bleeker Steet is a song of extraordinary beauty and subtlety and though we don't understand the lyrics to Benedictus- the music speaks for itself. The harmonies are as complex and as gorgeous as anything S&G would do later. I'm sure Simon would be embarrassed about much of this album now, but he shouldn't be. Its dated innocence is a big part of its timeless beauty. PS- Listen to this album's Sounds of Silence on one speaker at a time-one side is entirely Simon and the other Garfunkel---can't do that with the electric version on the 1965 album! *Everly Brothers are not being counted as folk, though they influenced S&G--and are a starting point as well.
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~ Simon & Garfunkel
~ Simon & Garfunkel
~ Simon & Garfunkel
~ Paul Simon
~ Paul Simon
by Simon & Garfunkel 
