The Paul Simon Song Book
Encyclopedia
The Paul Simon Songbook is the first solo album by Paul Simon
. It was recorded in London
and released in the UK in 1965 and was supposedly deleted in 1979 at Simon's request. It was made available in the US as part of the LP box set Paul Simon: Collected Works (1981). The album was produced by Reginald Warburton and Stanley West as CBS Records
LP
62579; remastered CD Columbia/Legacy 90281.
In 1964, Simon and Art Garfunkel
had released the folk-inspired album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
in the US. While Simon was touring and appearing on radio shows in England in 1965 (sometimes with Garfunkel), he began to receive attention from fans. At the time Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had not yet been released in Britain (and would not be until 1968). Simon's other recordings then available in Britain consisted of three 45 rpm singles released on various labels, two of which were rock 'n' roll-inspired recordings with Garfunkel under the name Tom & Jerry. The other was representative of his experiments in folk, but had been released in 1964 under the pseudonym Paul Kane. He was still under contract to Columbia
, so he could record for their British label, CBS Records, and therefore decided to record a set of tracks for release to his folk audience. The Paul Simon Songbook was the result.
for both his voice and his guitar
, which is why he can be heard stamping his feet to the rhythm on "The Sound of Silence" as well the alternate take of "I Am a Rock".
There is nothing on the album that seems to immediately point to the producers, Warburton and West, having anything major to do with it, musically. It seems that almost nothing is known by the general public of Simon's relationship with either one.
The album was released along with the single "I Am A Rock/Leaves That Are Green", CBS 201797. The latter is the same version as that found on the Songbook, but the version of the A-side is clearly not. On the A-side, one can plainly hear Simon tapping his foot to keep a beat, a feature not heard on the album's kickoff track. It has been speculated http://www.peterclericuzio.info/sgsingles1964to70.html that the version of "I Am a Rock" on the single is actually the alternate take included with the 2004 re-release of the Songbook.
It's possible that Simon's flippant attitude towards the album continued for much of his career, and could give credence to the notion that he eventually requested that it be deleted.
The album cover shows Simon and his then-girlfriend, Kathy Chitty, sitting on "narrow streets of cobblestone" in London, the city Simon had adopted as his home. In the 1970s, the album art was altered: the picture of Simon and Kathy was flipped horizontally, and the red script-like lettering eliminated in favor of an album title in white block print at the top.
" and "A Church is Burning" which were not part of the 1965 LP release.
The lyrics for the anti-war song "The Side Of A Hill" were incorporated into the Simon and Garfunkel
arrangement of "Scarborough Fair" on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Later in 1965 and in early 1966, following the success in the US of "The Sound Of Silence" as a single, Simon & Garfunkel re-recorded several of the songs featured on The Paul Simon Songbook and released them on their albums Sounds Of Silence
and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
unless otherwise indicated.
* Paul Kane was a pseudonym
used by Simon at this time, because of his fondness for the film Citizen Kane
.
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
. It was recorded in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and released in the UK in 1965 and was supposedly deleted in 1979 at Simon's request. It was made available in the US as part of the LP box set Paul Simon: Collected Works (1981). The album was produced by Reginald Warburton and Stanley West as CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
62579; remastered CD Columbia/Legacy 90281.
Album background
The Paul Simon Songbook was recorded while Simon, who had previously worked in the rock 'n' roll genre, was in Europe trying to make a living as a folk singer in the mid-1960s. Simon made several trips to England in 1964 and '65, spending most of his time performing in small clubs and theaters. During 1965 he is known to have played in Paris and Copenhagen, along with London and numerous other locations in the UK.In 1964, Simon and Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
had released the folk-inspired album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut album by folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. On its cover sleeve the album bears the subtitle: "Exciting new sounds in the folk tradition".The album was initially unsuccessful,...
in the US. While Simon was touring and appearing on radio shows in England in 1965 (sometimes with Garfunkel), he began to receive attention from fans. At the time Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had not yet been released in Britain (and would not be until 1968). Simon's other recordings then available in Britain consisted of three 45 rpm singles released on various labels, two of which were rock 'n' roll-inspired recordings with Garfunkel under the name Tom & Jerry. The other was representative of his experiments in folk, but had been released in 1964 under the pseudonym Paul Kane. He was still under contract to Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, so he could record for their British label, CBS Records, and therefore decided to record a set of tracks for release to his folk audience. The Paul Simon Songbook was the result.
Recording and releases
Simon recorded the album over several dates in June 1965. Most of the songs required several takes. He only had one microphoneMicrophone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
for both his voice and his guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, which is why he can be heard stamping his feet to the rhythm on "The Sound of Silence" as well the alternate take of "I Am a Rock".
There is nothing on the album that seems to immediately point to the producers, Warburton and West, having anything major to do with it, musically. It seems that almost nothing is known by the general public of Simon's relationship with either one.
The album was released along with the single "I Am A Rock/Leaves That Are Green", CBS 201797. The latter is the same version as that found on the Songbook, but the version of the A-side is clearly not. On the A-side, one can plainly hear Simon tapping his foot to keep a beat, a feature not heard on the album's kickoff track. It has been speculated http://www.peterclericuzio.info/sgsingles1964to70.html that the version of "I Am a Rock" on the single is actually the alternate take included with the 2004 re-release of the Songbook.
Album cover and notes
The liner notes to the album, found on the back cover, are somewhat bizarre, consisting of a few scripts for skits that Simon wrote, one of which parodies his writing of the songs on the LP itself. At the end, he almost repudiates his efforts, saying that "there are some I would not write today," and saying that they "played a role in the transition" to where he is currently (summer 1965) as a musician. At the end he closes simply by saying of the liner notes, "I won't reread them."It's possible that Simon's flippant attitude towards the album continued for much of his career, and could give credence to the notion that he eventually requested that it be deleted.
The album cover shows Simon and his then-girlfriend, Kathy Chitty, sitting on "narrow streets of cobblestone" in London, the city Simon had adopted as his home. In the 1970s, the album art was altered: the picture of Simon and Kathy was flipped horizontally, and the red script-like lettering eliminated in favor of an album title in white block print at the top.
Subsequent history
The Songbook was released in the US by Columbia very briefly in 1969, but was recalled within a few days when Simon objected. It was rereleased in 2004 by Columbia/Legacy on CD. The quality of the recordings indicate that a copy of the original recordings was used to master these songs since quite a lot of background noise can be heard in all of the songs. The CD features two bonus tracks, alternative versions of "I Am a RockI Am a Rock
"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom...
" and "A Church is Burning" which were not part of the 1965 LP release.
The lyrics for the anti-war song "The Side Of A Hill" were incorporated into the Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
arrangement of "Scarborough Fair" on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Later in 1965 and in early 1966, following the success in the US of "The Sound Of Silence" as a single, Simon & Garfunkel re-recorded several of the songs featured on The Paul Simon Songbook and released them on their albums Sounds Of Silence
Sounds of Silence (album)
Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and 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"...
and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Track listing
All songs written by Paul SimonPaul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
unless otherwise indicated.
- "I Am a RockI Am a Rock"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom...
" - 2:52 - "Leaves That Are Green" - 2:41
- "A Church Is Burning" - 3:38
- "April Come She Will" - 1:55
- "The Sound of Silence" - 3:19
- "A Most Peculiar Man" - 2:26
- "He Was My Brother" (Paul Kane*) - 2:58
- "Kathy's Song" - 3:42
- "The Side of a Hill" (Paul Kane) - 2:28
- "A Simple Desultory PhilippicA Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)"A Simple Desultory Philippic " is a song written by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Originally recorded for Simon's 1965 UK-only debut, The Paul Simon Songbook, it was recorded soon after by Simon and his partner, Art Garfunkel, for the duo's third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...
" - 2:25 - "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" - 2:27
- "PatternsPatterns (song)"Patterns" is a song written by Paul Simon and included on his 1965 album The Paul Simon Songbook, and later recorded by Simon and Garfunkel on their third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...
" - 3:13
CD Bonus tracks (2004)
- "I Am a RockI Am a Rock"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom...
" (Alternate version) - 2:44 - "A Church Is Burning" (Alternate version) - 3:10
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
used by Simon at this time, because of his fondness for the film Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
.
Other recordings
- For earlier recordings of tracks 5 and 7: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut album by folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. On its cover sleeve the album bears the subtitle: "Exciting new sounds in the folk tradition".The album was initially unsuccessful,...
. - For later recordings of tracks 1, 2, 4-6, and 8: Sounds of SilenceSounds of Silence (album)Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and 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"...
. - For later recordings of tracks 10-12: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and ThymeParsley, Sage, Rosemary and ThymeParsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third album by Simon & Garfunkel, released in the United States on October 10, 1966. Its name comes from the second line of the album's first track, "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", an English folk song from the 16th century, paired with a counter-melody and...
.