After the commercial failure of the first Simon & Garfunkel album, Wednesday Morning, 3AM, Paul Simon retreated to England to play theatres and folk clubs. It was there with just a microphone and acoustic guitar that Simon recorded the tracks that would form The Paul Simon Songbook. The album combines tracks from the S&G debut and others that would appear on future releases.
Classic tracks that appear is the first recording of the effective young man angst “I Am a Rock”, a version of “The Sound of Silence” where Simon practically spits out the first lines and a beautiful rendition of “Kathy’s Song”. Other highlights include the Billy Bragg inspiration in “Leaves That Are Green” and vocal charm of “April She Will Come”. The unfortunate Dylan parody of “A Simple Desultory Philippic…” is dreadful but is redeemed by the lyrical wordplay of “Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall”
The sound of the album can be brittle and stark at times, a lone performer sitting on a stool with just a white spotlight upon them. There is little warmth or texture but Simon is in fine vocal form singing songs from the heart. This is an essential recording as Paul Simon finds his voice and performs tracks that would become beloved the world over in just a few short years.
8/10
Lead by Tracyanne Campbell, it’s been five years since the last release from Glasgow’s much-loved Camera Obscura. Sadly, two years after recording their last album, Desire Lines, keyboardist Carey Lander past away. After being away for so long, it is an absolute treat that this album came out earlier in 2018 on Merge records. Teaming up with Crybaby’s Danny Coughlan, the duo strikes up what is probably the best band you’d ever hear if you stumbled across them in a random pub on a cold winter’s night.
“Me and my husband/we are doing better/it’s always been just him and me together”. Mitski’s fifth album, Be the Cowboy, is the Japanese/American’s second for Dead Oceans is a dynamic effort. The lyric comes from “Me and My Husband” which like many tracks presents a mature take on love and approaches the topic from one of many different angles. 14 songs appear over 33 concise minutes with songs working like quick snapshots into a particular emotion.
When starting the review for the latest album from New York band Interpol, I was surprised that it was their sixth. Produced by Dave Friedmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, etc), the band will always be stuck on their fourth album in my mind. Turn On the Bright Lights released in 2002 is a perfect distillation of their sound with second album Antics an excellent follow-up. Three more albums followed with varying degrees of success.
In the fall of 1964, folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel released their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3AM. Originally named Tom and Jerry, the Queens NY duo had scored a minor hit in the New York area several years before with “Hey School Girl” before they drifted apart. With the New York folk scene in full swing, the duo regrouped in the early 60s to start performing together again.
