The Paul Simon Songbook

The Paul Simon Songbook is the first solo studio album by Paul Simon. It was recorded in London and released in the UK in 1965 and was supposedly deleted in 1969 at Simon's request. It was made available in the U.S. as part of the LP box set Paul Simon: Collected Works (1981). The album was produced by Reginald Warburton and Stanley West as CBS Records LP 62579; remastered CD Columbia/Legacy 90281.

Background

The Paul Simon Songbook was recorded in Europe. Simon made several trips to England in 1964 and '65, performing in small clubs and theaters. During 1965 he played in Paris and Copenhagen, along with London and other locations in the UK. In 1964, Simon and Art Garfunkel had released the folk-inspired album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. in the US. While Simon was touring and appearing on radio shows in England in 1965 (sometimes with Garfunkel), he began to receive attention from fans. At the time Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had not yet been released in Britain (and would not be until 1968). Simon's other recordings then available in Britain consisted of three 45 rpm singles released on various labels, two of which were rock 'n' roll-inspired recordings with Garfunkel under the name Tom & Jerry. The other was representative of his experiments in folk, but had been released in 1964 under the pseudonym Paul Kane. He was still under contract to Columbia, so he could record for their British label, CBS Records, and therefore decided to record a set of tracks for release to his folk audience. The Paul Simon Songbook was the result.

Recording and releases

Simon recorded the album over several dates in June 1965. Most of the songs required several takes. He only had one microphone for both his voice and his guitar.

The album was released along with the single "I Am a Rock/Leaves That Are Green", CBS 201797.

Artwork and notes

Simon's 1965 liner notes to the album comment of the songs that "there are some I would not write today," but that they "played a role in the transition" to his position as a musician at that time.

The album cover shows Simon and his then-girlfriend, Kathy Chitty, sitting on "narrow streets of cobblestone" in London, the city Simon had adopted as his home. In the 1970s, the album art was altered: the picture of Simon and Kathy was flipped horizontally, and the red script-like lettering eliminated in favor of an album title in white block print at the top.

Subsequent history

The Songbook was released in the U.S. by Columbia very briefly in 1969, but was recalled within a few days when Simon objected. It was re-released in 1981 on Columbia LP in the "Collected Works" boxed set, and in 2004 by Columbia/Legacy on CD. The CD features two bonus tracks, alternative versions of "I Am a Rock" and "A Church is Burning" which were not part of the 1965 LP release.

The lyrics for the anti-war song "The Side of a Hill" were incorporated into the Simon & Garfunkel arrangement of "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Later in 1965 and in early 1966, following the success in the U.S. of "The Sound of Silence" as a single, Simon & Garfunkel re-recorded several of the songs featured on The Paul Simon Songbook and released them on their albums Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
Blender	May 2004
Music Box	April 2004
Rolling Stone	link

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Simon unless otherwise indicated.

"I Am a Rock" - 2:52
"Leaves That Are Green" - 2:41
"A Church Is Burning" - 3:38
"April Come She Will" - 1:55
"The Sound of Silence" - 3:19
"A Most Peculiar Man" - 2:26
"He Was My Brother" (Paul Kane*) - 2:58
"Kathy's Song" - 3:42
"The Side of a Hill" (Kane) - 2:28
"A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" - 2:25
"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" - 2:27
"Patterns" - 3:13

CD bonus tracks (2004)

"I Am a Rock" (alternate version) - 2:44
"A Church Is Burning" (alternate version) - 3:10

* Paul Kane was a pseudonym used by Simon at this time, because of his fondness for the film Citizen Kane.

Other recordings

For earlier recordings of tracks 5 and 7: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M..
For later recordings of tracks 1, 2, 4-6, and 8: Sounds of Silence.
For later recordings of tracks 10-12: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Bibliography

Patrick Humphries, Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years (New York: Doubleday, 1989). ISBN 0-385-24908-X.

External links

Paul Simon

Discography Songs

Studio albums	The Paul Simon Songbook Paul Simon There Goes Rhymin' Simon Still Crazy After All These Years One-Trick Pony Hearts and Bones Graceland The Rhythm of the Saints Songs from The Capeman You're the One Surprise So Beautiful or So What Stranger to Stranger

Live albums	Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' Paul Simon's Concert in the Park, August 15, 1991

Compilations	Greatest Hits, Etc. Negotiations and Love Songs The Paul Simon Anthology Paul Simon 1964/1993 Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar Recorded as Jerry Landis The Essential Paul Simon This Better Be Good The Ultimate Collection

Film and theater	One-Trick Pony The Capeman

Tours	Never Ending Tour 1999 On Stage Together Tour

Related articles	Simon & Garfunkel Columbia Records Warner Bros. Records Saturday Night Live Edie Brickell

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