tracks on LP: The Sounds Of Silence | Leaves That Are Green | Blessed | Kathy’s Song | Somewhere They Can’t Find Me | Anji | Homeward Bound | Richard Cory | A Most Peculiar Man | April Come She Will | We’ve Got A Groovy Thing Goin’ | I Am A Rock
Record label: CBS 32020
Released: 03/81 (re-issue)
Purchased: 05/02/83
Sounds of Silence is the second studio album by the American folk rock duo 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 Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel, electric guitars, bass and drums were overdubbed under the direction of Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson 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, with a unique, dry mix not found elsewhere, placed at the beginning of Side 2 before “Richard Cory”. It was later released in the US on the following album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. 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.
Solo acoustic versions of “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 the poem “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Somewhere They Can’t Find Me” was essentially a rewrite of the previous album’s “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.”, “We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’” had appeared on the b-side of “The Sound of Silence” a few months before and “Anji” was a cover of an instrumental piece by guitarist Davey Graham whom Simon had met in England. Hence the only brand new Paul Simon composition on the album was “Blessed”.
The album cover photo features the duo on a trail looking back towards the camera. It was shot by Guy Webster at Franklin Canyon Park in Los Angeles, California. The secondary school scarves they are wearing were from The Campion School, Hornchurch, UK. This school was attended by the boys of the Brentwood family, where Simon lodged during his time in the UK. The back of the LP has candid shots of the duo and quotes a few lyrics from each song.(Wikipedia)
Leave a Reply