Released - January 1966
Genre - Folk Rock
Producer - Bob Johnston
Selected Personnel - Paul Simon (Vocals/Guitar); Art Garfunkel (Vocals); Fred Carter Jr (Guitar); Larry Knechtel (Keyboards); Joe South (Guitar); Hal Blaine (Drums)
Standout Track - The Sound of Silence
Simon & Garfunkel must be one of the most thinly disguised solo artists of all time. This isn't to say that Art Garfunkel's contributions to the duo's output is in any way insignificant or unnecessary, merely that it is curious to have a musical act so strongly defined as a double act when one half of the duo contributed, relatively speaking, so little. Indeed, it says a lot for just how crucial Garfunkel's small contributions were considered that he is still perceived as such a key element of what made this iconic musical pairing work. In brief, Garfunkel's contributions amount essentially to the contribution of vocal harmonies - Paul Simon usually sings the lead melody, with the number of songs on which Garfunkel took the lead countable on one's fingers. All the music was composed by Simon, with several of the songs already having been recorded and released as solo songs, only to be rerecorded under the "Simon & Garfunkel" moniker - in fact, arguably the most affecting song on the whole record, the wonderful "Kathy's Song," doesn't feature any musical input from Garfunkel whatsoever. His other contribution, and perhaps this is where his influence can most keenly be felt, was in having some input into exactly which of Simon's numerous compositions would end up being used on their records. As such, the finished records that we have from this partnership are in a very significant way shaped by a collaboration of minds, but in truth it's Simon who takes centre-stage for the majority of their music.
Sounds of Silence is by no means the greatest thing the duo ever produced, but it's a wholly beguiling and charming precursor of the greatness that was to come, and contains a couple of their best songs. In many ways, it was a rushed affair and there's a lack of refinement or polish or care in the finished product - this isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself, as it puts a refreshing focus on the simplicity of Simon's music itself; on the sparse arrangements and the lovely harmonies. But it's a far cry from the more complex arrangements and mature tunes of, say, 1970's Bridge Over Troubled Water. Sounds of Silence was the album that injected an unexpected momentum into the duo's career after they split in 1965, with Paul Simon heading to the UK to try and break into the London folk scene. In their absence, their producer Tom Wilson suddenly became aware of an increasing demand for their song "The Sound of Silence" from their previous album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Hoping to capitalise on this attention, Wilson overdubbed the acoustic song with a full band part recorded by Bob Dylan's backing band, inadvertently introducing the acoustic folk act to the still developing folk rock movement, and the rapturous response this new version received prompted Simon and Garfunkel to return to the studio. As such, Sounds of Silence is largely an opportunity to capitalise on the success of its almost-title track, and rushes a lot of older compositions into new folk rock arrangements to try and equal its success.
As mentioned, it's not wholly successful - none of the songs quite come up to the standard of "The Sound of Silence" itself, particularly not the songs that attempt to ape the same folk rock sound, such as the rather clumsy and messy "Blessed." The duo would do better in the folk rock genre later, but only as a result of spending time and care working on their sound. Much more successful here are the songs that play truer to the band's acoustic folk roots, such as the gorgeous "April Come She Will", the beautifully melancholy "Kathy's Song," or the lovely "Leaves That Are Green," one of those songs that seems to effortlessly sum up the carefree breeziness of the 1960s folk scene without even trying. "I Am a Rock" is the album's other classic, but beyond these songs the album struggles to become truly memorable or captivating. Its other big misstep is in its inclusion of both "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" and "Anji," the latter being a rather plodding instrumental guitar piece by British folk musician Davey Graham, the former being an equally uninspiring song built over exactly the same guitar part. Neither is particularly convincing on its own, but to have one follow after the other seems bizarre.
It's by far the least accomplished of their three classic albums, but it still contains a few tracks that are among the finest examples of 1960s folk music out there, and it heralds the true arrival of a musical act that would go on to become arguably the greatest purveyors of folk rock that America ever produced (Britain had Cat Stevens, so we win the folk rock battle overall. I really mean that).
Track Listing:
All songs are written by Paul Simon, except where noted.
1. The Sound Of Silence
2. Leaves That Are Green
3. Blessed
4. Kathy's Song
5. Somewhere They Can't Find Me
6. Anji (Davey Graham)
7. Richard Cory
8. A Most Peculiar Man
9. April Come She Will
10. We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'
11. I Am A Rock
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