Disco de Simon & Garfunkel: “Sounds of Silence [HDCD]”

Simon and Garfunkel's first "folk rock" album from early 1966 is an essential purchase. This does not mean that the duo didn't improve considerably during the rest of the sixties. Still, the moody excitement is here, starting with the classic hit rocked-up version of "Sounds of Silence" and the catchy "I Am a Rock." Simon's guitar playing is excellent throughout, as are Garfunkel's evocative tenor harmonies. True, some of the lyrics on this album seem immature and self-conscious compared to Simon's later work; often they are depressing and lonely. But darnit, these are some *good songs* - "Kathy's Song" and "April Come She Will" remain achingly poignant after all these years, and the hurried tempo and bright harpsichord of "Leaves That Are Green" drive home its message of youth and loss memorably. "Blues Run the Game" is a superb lost classic that had been added as a bonus track. (You will also find this track on the box set "Old Friends.") The other bonus tracks on this CD version are from a later time (1970), and mostly consist of sloppy run-throughs of folk standards. They are none too memorable, but the album itself is.

This album is absolutely beautiful. I don't understand how anyone can't see that. Between the poetic lyrics and the flowing melodies, this is a work of musical masterpiece. I highly recommend finding a copy on vinyl- it just makes it all the more enjoyable.

Though many people (including the artists, I believe) decry the overdubbing of electric instruments on this LP (especially the title track), I think it makes this one of S&G's most listenable albums.

The title track, previously issued as an acoustic folk number on their debut album, gains tremendsouly from the dubbing, both artistically and commercially. Note that the original acoustic version disappeared with nary a trace, while the electrified reworking topped the pop charts and launced S&Gs careers. The electric overdubbing adds a sting to the bitterness not achieved by the acoustic rendition.

Though Simon may have refined his talent on subsequent albums, his every-man poetics were well in place on songs like "Blessed," "April Come She Will," and a rewrite of Edward Robinson's "Richard Cory." The angry young man of "Sounds of Silence" can also be heard on the closing number, "I Am a Rock." Perhaps the only real misstep is the poorly aging "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'."

Simon's melodies are as haunting as his lyrics, and the duo's harmonies blended sweet and bitter, linking backward to the folk tradition and forward to the rage of the times.

Next to a greatest hits album, this has to be the best offering Simon and Garfunkel ever gave the world of music? Forty years old and it still stands strong!

I love great harmonies (Don and Phil of The Everly Brothers, John and Paul of The Beatles, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, Teresa and Mark of The Echoes, etc.) but S&G take the cake here!

Like Dylan's "Freewheeling" album, Simon and Garfunkel's second album beats its predecessor effortlessly for the beauty and strength of the original material. The instrumentation is perfect and the songs are songs for all times--not just the 1960's!

My favorite release by my favorite New York group.

If you are going to criticize Simon for bad poetry at least do so in good prose. Inchoate splendor? Resplendent performances? Be careful with your tools: they are precision instruments, not butcher's cutlery.

"Silence like a cancer grows" is an excellent line. It's good because it is FITTINGLY archaic. The evocation of the Romantic spirit had a powerful effect on an entire generation, and it is still relevant in today's environment of increasing censorship and belated pseudo-sophistication--so aptly embodied by our oh-so worldly music critic.