The Paul Simon Songbook
It is about time I made my first music post. I recently purchased the newly released “Paul Simon Songbook” album. This album was recorded in 1965 and is being released for the first time in the United States. I found it very interesting that Paul Simon was one of the main reasons that this album’s release was delayed so long. I am not sure why, because this is such an interesting album to a serious Paul Simon fan. Except for the track “On the Side of a Hill,” all of these songs were released on Simon and Garfunkel albums. After a less than spectacular response to “Wednesday Morning, 3Am,” Paul and Art took some time apart. Paul started making a name for himself in London, and recorded this album just as “The Sound of Silence” started catching on in the United States.
This album is just Paul and his guitar playing stripped down versions of future hits. You can really appreciate Paul’s musicianship, and the songs don’t really suffer without Art’s masterful harmonies. What I found really interesting was the liner notes that were written by Paul back in 65. His words are poetic and insightful, but very vulnerable and self-conscious. He is unaware of the pop stardom that is so close around the corner.
From a design standpoint, it is interesting that the photo on the cover is a mirror image of the original record (the wedding ring is on Paul’s wrong hand). The girl on the cover is Kathy from “Kathy’s Song” apparently. There is an interesting photo on the inside sleave of a set list, or something. The paper is aged and worn, and is an interesting artifact that accompanies this gem of a record. If you are new to Paul Simon, I am not sure this is the place to start, but if you are already a fan, you can’t go wrong with this album.
