If you're expecting "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or "The Sounds of Silence", look elsewhere. This shows that great singer-songwriters aren't made overnight and that even the best are prone to "borrow" from others.
The first name that will come to mind is the Everly Brothers. Another is Dion.
But there's little that Paul and Art should be ashamed of here even though they used different names at the time. It sounds like innocent fun, representative of the music of the late 50s-early 60s, before Dylan and the Beatles.
The amazing thing is that in 1962 he was doing a song like "The Lone Teen Ranger" with cheesy sound effects and 2 years later he and Garfunkel came out with "Wednesday Morning, 3AM" which disappeared altogether and broke them up once again.. at least until "The Sounds of Silence".
But they couldn't have been too embarrassed by it. Frank Zappa wrote in his book that Simon and Garfunkel opened for the Mothers (as a reentry into doing live music again). As a gag, they came out as Tom and Jerry and sang "Hey Schoolgirl", and then Zappa had them come back out as Simon and Garfunkel, upsetting the hipsters. When they did their 2003 reunion tour, they also did "Hey Schoolgirl" as part of their set.
Due to legal reasons, this is by far not the complete collection of Simon and Garfunkel pre "Wed. Morning" but it does show them as a competent duo even back then. Unlike Tom Waits' "The Early Years", Bruce Springsteen's "Before the Fame" and the infinite amount of Steely Dan's demos, most of the songs had previously been released and commercially available, although hard to find if not scarse.
The sound quality is pretty decent, and sounds like they were able to find the master tapes.
This collection includes "Hey Schoolgirl," which was released in November 1957 and reached #54 on Billboard's Hot 100. At the time, the song was attributed to Tom and Jerry. The tune sounds exactly like the Everly Brothers, as does its B-side, "Dancin' Wild." In fact, all of the songs have a fifties sound, and were released as singles under pseudonyms. Some standouts are the doo-wop ballad "Beat Love" by Artie Garr (Art Garfunkel), and the Coasters-style novelty song "The Lone Teen Ranger" by Jerry Landis (Paul Simon). For Simon and Garfunkel fans who thought their recordings began with folk-rock albums in the sixties, this CD proves that their musical roots indeed stretched back to the fifties. It's also a treat to listen to! The back of the CD only includes the song titles. Below is a list of the artist's name given for each record and the year of release.
1. "Dream Alone" - released by Artie Garr (1959)
2. "Beat Love" - released by Artie Garr (1959)
3. "Beat Love" (with harmony) - released by Artie Garr (1959)
4. "I Love You (Oh Yes I Do)" - released by Art Garfunkel *
5. "Just A Boy" - released by Jerry Landis (1960)
6. "Play Me A Sad Song" - released by Jerry Landis (1961)
7. "It Means A Lot To Them" - released by Jerry Landis (1961)
8. "Flame" - released by Jerry Landis (1963)
9. "Shy" - released by Jerry Landis (1960)
10. "A Soldier & A Song (Light Your Way)" - by Art Garfunkel *
11. "The Lone Teen Ranger" - released by Jerry Landis (1962)
12. "Hey Schoolgirl" - released by Tom and Jerry (1957)
13. "Our Song" - released by Tom and Jerry (1958)
14. "That's My Story" - released by Tom and Jerry (1957)
15. "Teenage Fool" - released by True Taylor (1958)
16. "Tia-Juana Blues" - released by Tom and Jerry (1958)
17. "Dancin' Wild" - released by Tom and Jerry (1957)
18. "Don't Say Goodbye" - released by Tom and Jerry (1958)
19. "Two Teenagers" - released by Tom and Jerry (1958)
20. "True or False" - released by True Taylor (1958)
21. "Simon Says" - released by Tom and Jerry (1958)
* These two songs, attributed to Art Garfunkel, are NOT on the CD that I purchased. When looking up those songs, I found some interesting information. "It should be noted, too, that some of this material is of questionable origin. "I Love You (Oh Yes I Do)" and "A Soldier & A Song (Light Your Way)," neither of which seem to have been released before, don't sound like Art Garfunkel, though he is credited as the singer." I listened to a sound sample of each song, and neither song sounds anything like Art Garfunkel. I'll stick with the 19-song version of the collection that I have.
Before Simon And Garfunkel. These are recordings that Paul and Art had cut on their own.Track after rare track of the beginnings of true legends. The sound is amazing! Boy , am I glad I snatched this up when it first came out, as it is the best pre-S & G available.
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