The Paul Simon Songbook
Occupation
Vocals, Guitar: Paul Simon
The Paul Simon Songbook is the first solo album by American musician Paul Simon. It appeared in 1965, initially only in the UK market. It contains compositions Simons, most of which were later known by Simon & Garfunkel.
Genesis
After the first album of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, at first was not a great commercial success, Paul Simon traveled to England, where he played mostly alone. When the single The Sound of Silence reached surprisingly the first place of the charts, the demand was great for another album. Simon & Garfunkel were already at this time with Columbia Records, which is why Simon was offered at CBS Records, the British branch of the label to release a solo album, for which he finally recorded 12 tracks. Being single was the song I Am a Rock decoupled, accompanied by the Leaves That Are Green B-side. Neither the single nor the album were commercially very successful; I Am a Rock was only later in the version of Simon & Garfunkel an international hit.
2004, a CD version of the original recordings, including two bonus tracks was released.
Title list
All songs composed by Paul Simon - He Was My Brother and The Side of a Hill, however, under the pseudonym " Paul Kane".
The 2004 released CD - re-release contained the two bonus tracks:
Further use
In addition to The Sound of Silence was already He Was My Brother on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM published. Most of the other songs took Simon & Garfunkel again later together on I Am a Rock, Leaves That Are Green, April Come She Will, A Most Peculiar Man and Kathy 's Song for Sounds of Silence and A Simple Desultory Philippic, Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall Patterns and the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme two years later published.
The song The Side of a Hill was later rearranged by Simon & Garfunkel and used as a counterpoint to the English folk song Scarborough Fair, which was the theme song for Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
All songs were recorded with Art Garfunkel's accompaniment, except Kathy 's Song and A Simple Desultory Philippic, which remained Simon's solo songs, as well as April Come She Will, recorded from the Garfunkel a solo version.
A Church Is Burning appeared as a single song on any of the Simon & Garfunkel - studio albums, but it was sung by them at concerts and found so on the live album Live from New York City in 1967.