Month: April 2013
Simon & Garfunkel – Sounds of Silence (1966)
“Hello darkness my old friend” is one of the classic lines in folk rock history and it’s the way the sophomore Simon & Garfunkel album, Sounds of Silence, opens. Released in 1966, just over a year after their debut and after Simon spent time in London playing the folk circuit as a solo artist, Sounds of Silence holds up quite well 45+ years after it was initially released.
There are several spots on the album that provide touchstones for recording artists that came much later. Billy Bragg appropriated the opening lines to the catchy “Leaves That Are Green” for his track “A New England” (“I was 21 years old when I wrote this song, I’m 22 now but won’t be for long”), “We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’” has a lot in common with Belle & Sebastian’s “Legal Man” and character sketches such as “Richard Cory“ are reminiscent of mid 90s period blur. Besides the title track, two other classic Simon & Garfunkel songs appear on Sounds of Silence. The wistful “Kathy’s Song” and the utterly defiant “I am a Rock”. Music and book collectors everywhere can rejoice in the “I have my books, and my poetry to protect me” line after a particularly hard break-up.
Sounds of Silence as an album is often overshadowed by what came down the pipeline in the great Bookends and Bridge Over Trouble Water. While a listener would be well served by starting with those albums, eventually you’ll want to discover Sounds of Silence. A strong yet understated album from one folk rock’s best, this is truly where the legend began.
8/10
…time to figure out where it all went wrong…
Rachel Zeffira – The Deserters (2013)
In just the past few years, London based Canadian Rachel Zeffira, has lived quite an extraordinary life. She has been barred from entering the UK (then managed to get back in), formed a band with Faris Badwan from The Horrors (Cat’s Eyes) with whom she sang at the Vatican in 2011, and eventually released an EP and full length album. Following the success of Cat’s Eyes, Zeffira then turned her attention to her solo career by covering My Bloody Valentine’s “To Here Knows When” and working on the songs that would become her debut album.
Self-produced, Zeffira’s classical training shows throughout The Deserters’ 10 songs. The piano led title track creates a timeless, otherworldly feel that is easy to get lost in. Another piano track, “Front Door” feature a solo vocal performance that sounds like it was pulled from the latest MTC production. Marking the halfway point is the cinematic “Break the Spell”. With its sweeping vocals and string section, Zeffira makes a fine effort to be this generation’s Loreena McKennitt.
From here, The Deserters then falls into a softer batch of songs for the second half, including the aforementioned MBV cover and the gothic tinged “Goodbye Divine” with its haunted church organ melody. Towards the end, The Deserters starts to get a bit same-y in both ideas and orchestration. However, there are more than enough flashes of brilliance on her debut to make the listener want to hear more from future Rachel Zeffira projects.
7/10
Review also be found at UMFM.com
The Light Appears 