Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Studio album by Simon & Garfunkel
Released October 10, 1966
Recorded December 1965 – August 1966
Genre Folk rock
Length 29:14
Label Columbia
Producer Bob Johnston
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Sounds of Silence
(1966)
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
(1966)
The Graduate
(1968)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
BBC (favourable)[2]

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third album by Simon & Garfunkel, released in the United States on October 10, 1966. Its name comes from the second line of the album's first track, "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", an English folk song from the 16th century, paired with a counter-melody and text about a soldier. It peaked on the U.S. charts at #4. The album was produced by Bob Johnston as Columbia Records LP CL 2563 (mono); CS 9363 (stereo); CD CK 9363; Remastered CD CK 66001.

"Homeward Bound" – appearing as the fourth song in the American version – was excluded from the album upon its release in the United Kingdom, since it had already appeared on the UK release of Sounds of Silence.

The album can be seen as having a protest element in it: the closing song, "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" featured a news bulletin recording mixed in with the music. The bulletin reported murders and the calling out of the National Guard in the United States, and contained clips from a news broadcast about the Vietnam War.[3] The bulletin was broadcast on August 3, 1966, the day of comedian Lenny Bruce's death.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 201 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[4]

Contents

Track listing

All songs by Paul Simon except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Traditional, arranged by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:10
    Recorded: July 26, 1966
  2. "Patterns" – 2:42
    Recorded: June 8, 1966
  3. "Cloudy" (Paul Simon, Bruce Woodley) – 2:10
    Recorded: June 10, 1966
  4. "Homeward Bound" – 2:30
    Recorded: December 14, 1965
  5. "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" – 2:44
    Recorded: June 15, 1966
  6. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" – 1:43
    Recorded: August 16, 1966

Side two

  1. "The Dangling Conversation" – 2:37
    Recorded: June 21, 1966
  2. "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" – 2:10
    Recorded: December 22, 1965
  3. "A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" – 2:12
    Recorded: June 13, 1966
  4. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" – 2:04
    Recorded: August 22, 1966
  5. "A Poem on the Underground Wall" – 1:52
    Recorded: June 13, 1966
  6. "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" (Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber) – 2:01
    Recorded: August 22, 1966

Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue)

  1. "Patterns" (Demo) - 2:53
    Recorded: June 7, 1966
  2. "A Poem on the Underground Wall" (Demo) - 1:51
    Recorded: June 12, 1966

Charts

Chart (1966) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 14
UK Album Charts 15
US Album Charts 4

Personnel

See also

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ BBC review
  3. ^ Billig, Michael. Rock 'n' Roll Jews: Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8156-0705-9, ISBN 978-0-8156-0705-2. P. 135
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ "Electric Bass Hits". The Official Carol Kaye Website. http://www.carolkaye.com/www/library/basshits.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
  6. ^ Bennighof, James. The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. ISBN 0-275-99163-6, ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0. P. 21.