Paul Simon

After Simon & Garfunkel's debut failed to break through, Paul moved to the U.K. and released this solo album to even less fanfare. Then "Sounds of Silence" became a surprise smash in the U.S. and Simon returned home and gave Artie a call. Since S&G went on to re-cut all but one of these songs, this fine just-a-man-and-his-guitar LP was hidden under a tea cozy until 2004.

After Simon and Garfunkel's first album, 1964's Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m., stiffed, a
bummed-out Paul Simon packed up and moved to London. There he might have remained,
playing coffeehouses, if Wednesday Morning producer Tom Wilson hadn't come up with
the clever idea of doctoring the album's "Sounds of Silence" with Byrds-style folk-rock
instrumentation. The single hit Number One in late 1965, luring Simon back to Ne... More >

There's Paul Simon, and then there's Simon & Garfunkel. You don't have to love either. But you have to admit that the constraints of angelic harmony undercut the quirks of Simon's songwriting. Unfortunately, so does the folkie voice-and-strum of this UK-only 1965 collector's item, cut for the fan base Simon developed in London before S&G broke. The duo recorded most of these songs in the '60s, and recorded them better. Significantly, the three they skipped are all protest material: the outspoken "A Church Is Burning," a testy early version of "A Simple Desultory Philippic," and the genuinely rare antiwar sermon "The Side of a Hill." But Simon also suppressed the album for another reason: his true solo debut, 1972's Paul Simon, is about 10 times better. (Grade - **)