Antonio G. Pereira © 2020 Antonio G. Pereira
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If you're a fan of Simon & Garfunkel and followed their career, this Retrospective 'Old Friends' 3CD Box Set https://www.amazon.com/Old-Friends-Simon-Garfunkel/dp/B000002ABF is a collection you'll want to have.
Old Friends, begins with some songs from Simon and Garfunkel's first album (all acoustic), 'Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.', with the original acoustic version of 'The Sound of Silence', {My cousin who originally turned me on to Simon and Garfunkel, once told me that during the time Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. had first been released, Art Garfunkel (who had been tutoring a friend of one of her classmates, in mathematics) came at the request of her class one day, and talked about music; during which time each student could ask a question.} as well as two songs which are distinctly political, as well as socially conscious. 'The Sun Is Burning', an anti-nuclear song by British Folk Musician Ian Campbell, with stark images of Hiroshima. And 'He Was My Brother', a powerful song by Paul Simon about the Freedom Riders, who at the time were registering people to vote, and breaking up blatantly segregated accommodations in Bus Stations and at Lunch Counters in towns and cities all across the southern United States. {A cousin, (a college student then) was one of those Freedom Riders, who had gone south to do something about the segregated conditions that were crippling people's lives, and was registering people to vote. I remember him talking about hearing of a young man named Jesse Jackson and his group who were also Freedom Riders and registering people to vote.} The song was also about a schoolmate in Paul and Arthur's school in Queens, Andrew Goodman, who had been murdered that summer of 1964 in Mississippi, along with James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, for registering people to vote; by racists, who included (when these characters were finally tracked down and arrested later on with unrelenting pressure by Attorney General Robert Kennedy) local members of Law Enforcement, who participated in the murders and tried to cover them up. https://observer1984.blogspot.com/2017/07/just-so-we-dont-forget.html https://observer1984.blogspot.com/2014/08/tomorrow-land-1964-65-worlds-fair-and.html Paul Simon would later compose another additional song, 'A Church Is Burning', for his first solo album, (only released in the U.K. at the time) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paul_Simon_Songbook 'The Paul Simon Songbook'. 'A Church Is Burning', was also about what was going on in the southern United States. He and Garfunkel would continue to perform both 'He Was My Brother' and 'A Church Is Burning' in concert, through 1967. And then there is '7 O'Clock News/Silent Night', which ended their otherwise beautiful and entertaining late 1966 album, 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme', with a good dose of chilling and disturbing reality.
During the period Simon and Garfunkel split up after their first album, Art Garfunkel went to Columbia University studying Architecture, while Paul Simon went to England, where he began performing in Pubs in London; and where he saw and was influenced by a remarkable musician named Davey Graham. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Graham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWeejHJxGjs https://www.terrascope.co.uk/MyBackPages/Davey_Graham_interview.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdHWPt6pHNg
Simon, among many British musicians, including Bert Jansch and John Renbourn (later in The Pentangle) and Jimmy Page (later in The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin), learned to play Graham's innovative instrumental, 'Anji'. This instrumental would later be recorded on Simon and Garfunkel's next album, 'Sounds of Silence, as well as being performed during their concerts. Another important occurrence during Simon's time spent in England, was his meeting with and producing an album for, an American musician named Jackson C. Frank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_C._Frank https://theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/09/jackson-c-frank-tragic-tale-forgotten-60s-legend Simon and Garfunkel would record his song 'Blues Run The Game', for their next album, but the recording was not included on the album. This riveting song is finally included in this Retrospective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gBPFTnvcrM
This brings us to Simon and Garfunkel being reunited for their next album, 'Sounds of Silence'. The producer of Simon and Garfunkel's first album, Tom Wilson, was originally a producer of Jazz Records, and from observing the success of The Byrd's electric recordings of Bob Dylan's and Pete Seeger's recordings respectively 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and 'Turn Turn Turn', Wilson jumped on the band wagon and did the same thing with Simon and Garfunkel's original acoustic recording of 'The Sound of Silence', from their first album. He recorded a backing track for it, using the electric band that was backing Bob Dylan (who was also heading in an electrified direction). This new Folk Rock version of 'The Sound of Silence', was released by Columbia, and the 45 went to number 1 on the charts. Thus Simon and Garfunkel were reunited with a hit song at the top of the music charts, to make their next album, 'Sounds of Silence' with a new electric Folk Rock sound; although in concert, they continued to perform together acoustically.
Tom Wilson, was a very busy producer (during the decade of the 1960s), working with (among others), The Animals, Bob Dylan, The Mothers of Invention, The Velvet Underground, Nico, co-founding The Record Plant recording studio, but ended up (during the 1970s, which is when he also sold out his interest in The Record Plant), being his own worst enemy. Apparently shooting off his mouth, once too often, at the wrong time, saying the wrong things, to the wrong people. The circumstances of the new decade of the 1970s having changed everything. Tom Wilson, out of step, and on the wrong side of history. And worst of all, he got a reputation. This, accompanied by 'Competition' (Blacks previously blocked from entering the field as producers and arrangers, and just as qualified) put paid to his reign. Because of his arrogant behavior, Wilson ended up alienating a lot of Blacks and ultimately was ignored by a lot of Whites; with a couple of 'trophy' girlfriends who (typically) disappeared when the wining and dining dried up. After the constant name dropping (of past successes the decade before) and current projects that never came to fruition, it was only a matter of time. There are a couple of different versions of his demise. There is (for those who are interested in his career) the following website: https://producertomwilson.com https://www.producertomwilson.com/melody_maker_1976
In final analysis, it's interesting to note that had he lived longer, someone like Tom Wilson would have probably flourished in today's right wing polarized climate. He more than likely would have been touted as being one of the 'idealized blacks' routinely served up today, for 'other blacks' to model themselves after.
Simon and Garfunkel were photographed quite often by the very talented photographer Don Hunstein, and some of his photographs are included in the booklet in this Retrospective. As he was Official Staff Photographer at Columbia, Don Hunstein photographed many well known artists as well as album covers for (among others) Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, Thelonious Monk etc.... There is a wonderful book of his photographs https://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Time-Photographs-Don-Hunstein/dp/1608872246 as well as this website: https://www.donhunstein.com
I find it very unfortunate that the Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist and Author David Halberstam's stirring liner notes for 'The Best of Simon and Garfunkel' Collection, weren't also used for this 'Old Friends' Retrospective set. They would have fit perfectly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Halberstam
Simon and Garfunkel's album, 'Sounds of Silence' is represented in the Old Friends Retrospective with (of course) the Folk Rock version of the title song, as well as Simon's beautiful compositions, 'Kathy's Song' and 'April Come She Will' and 'Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall', which ends the first CD.
Now we come to the gorgeous recordings of their album, 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme', 'Scarborough Fair/Canticle', 'Cloudy', 'The Dangling Conversation', 'For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her', and (of course) 'The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)'. Simon and Garfunkel never looked back after this album.
As we move to their next album, 'Bookends', with the songs 'America' and 'A Hazy Shade of Winter', and the songs 'At The Zoo' and 'Save The Life Of My Child' (which incorporated respectively, Phasing and early Moog Synthesizer effects), we also have a few live in concert songs from Simon and Garfunkel's 1967 Philharmonic Hall appearance at Lincoln Center. The five live recordings in this set 'A Poem On The Underground Wall', 'Red Rubber Ball', 'Blessed', 'Anji', and 'A Church Is Burning', are incredible to hear. 'Red Rubber Ball' (only released in this Old Friends Retrospective set), is quite an interesting historical piece. Originally co-composed by Simon with Bruce Woodley of British Folk group 'The Seekers' (who performed the title song for the film 'Georgy Girl'), 'Red Rubber Ball' was a hit single for 'The Cyrkle', who were an American Rock group managed by Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. The Cyrkle appeared as one of the opening acts on The Beatles final American Tour in 1966. https://observer1984.blogspot.com/2013/10/tomorrow-never-knows-beatles-last.html Simon and Garfunkel's acoustic arrangement of 'Red Rubber Ball', at this Philharmonic Hall concert is quite a welcome discovery. The second CD ends with two beautiful Christmas recordings by Paul and Arthur, 'Comfort and Joy' and 'Star Carol'.
The final CD begins with the hit song 'Mrs' Robinson', from the film 'The Graduate' (released on both the film soundtrack and Bookends), and the title song 'Old Friends/Bookends' from the album. Then we have some live recordings from a 1968 concert in Burlington, Vermont, that include 'A Most Peculiar Man' from Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. and a rousing, show stopping 'Bye Bye Love'. And this takes us through the recordings of the final album (and masterpiece) 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. Along with the title song and other wonderful cuts like 'The Boxer', 'So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright', 'El Condor Pasa', 'Cecilia' and 'The Only Living Boy In New York', we also get a gorgeous demo that was recorded during these sessions, named 'Feuilles-O'; with Paul and Arthur singing beautiful harmonies in what sounds like a French/African dialect. Completing the Old Friends Retrospective set, are a pair of in concert Carnegie Hall recordings from their 1969 Tour, 'Hey Schoolgirl/Black Slacks' (this was a song they recorded in the late 1950s as teenagers; calling themselves Tom and Jerry, referring to the cartoon characters), and 'That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine', an old Gene Autry cowboy song. And the third CD ends with their 1975 one-off recording, 'My Little Town'.
'Live From New York City, 1967' https://www.amazon.com/Live-New-York-City-1967/dp/B000069JIN is practically the entire Simon and Garfunkel concert in Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center, with the exception of 'Red Rubber Ball', which is in the Old Friends Box Set. This beautiful concert begins with 'He Was My Brother', sung with conviction by Paul and Arthur, and an audience quietly listening to every word with heartfelt applause at the end. For the next hour, Simon and Garfunkel perform songs from their three (up to that point) albums, 'Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. , 'Sounds of Silence', and 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'. The concert itself, is wonderfully photographed in the accompanying booklet by Don Hunstein. And Anthony DeCurtis' booklet notes are thoughtful and will put a smile on your face. So many emotions come at you when you listen to this performance. Especially if you remember the time period. It's good to be reminded. This is something you'll cherish, treasure and never forget. The pacing is perfect, with Arthur doing most of the verbal exchange with the audience between songs; funny, poignant, witty. Paul changing guitars from 6 to 12 string occasionally. The harmonies just gorgeous, and the guitar picking exquisite; as they continue to move through, 'Leaves That Are Green', 'Sparrow', 'Homeward Bound', 'You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies' (at the time, a new song), 'A Most Peculiar Man', 'The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy'), 'The Dangling Conversation', 'Richard Cory', 'A Hazy Shade of Winter', Benedictus', 'Blessed', 'A Poem On The Underground Wall' (another new song), the song by Davey Graham that strongly influenced Paul Simon's guitar picking, 'Anji', 'I Am A Rock', 'The Sound of Silence' (this is when the audience begins to roar it's appreciation for this performance), 'For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her' (you can feel the love flowing between the audience and the performers growing), 'A Church Is Burning' (the audience explodes at the end with emotional wild applause), and finally 'Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.' (as the audience shouts for more). Suffice to say, you'll want to have this one too!
