Sounds of Silence

This article is about the album by Simon and Garfunkel. For other uses, see Sounds of Silence (disambiguation).
Sounds of Silence
Studio album by Simon & Garfunkel
Released January 17, 1966
Recorded March 1964
April 1965
June 1965
December 1965
Genre Folk rock[1]
Length 29:09 (U.S.)
31:39 (UK)
Label Columbia
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
(1964)		 Sounds of Silence
(1966)		 Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
(1966)
Singles from Sounds of Silence
  1. "The Sound of Silence"
    Released: September 1965
  2. "Homeward Bound"
    Released: February 1966
  3. "I Am a Rock"
    Released: May 1966

Sounds of Silence is the second studio album by Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence".[2] The song had earlier been released in an acoustic version on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and later on the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate. Without the knowledge of Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel, electric guitars, bass and drums were overdubbed by Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965.[3][4] This new version was released as a single in September 1965, and opens the album.

"Homeward Bound" was released on the album in the UK, placed at the beginning of Side 2 before "Richard Cory". It was also released as part of the box set Simon & Garfunkel Collected Works, on both LP and CD. Many of the songs in the album had been written by Paul Simon while he lived in London during 1965.

"I Am a Rock", "Leaves That Are Green", "April Come She Will", "A Most Peculiar Man", and "Kathy's Song" had appeared on The Paul Simon Songbook, released in August 1965 in England as had another version of the title track. "Richard Cory" was based on a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" was essentially a rewrite of the previous album's "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.", "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" had appeared on the b-side of The Sound of Silence a few months before and "Anji" was a cover of an instrumental piece by guitarist Davey Graham whom Simon had met in England. Hence the only brand new Paul Simon compositions on the album was "Blessed".

The album is also included in its entirety as part of the Simon & Garfunkel box sets Collected Works and The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970). On March 22, 2013, it was announced that the album will be preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry, calling it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

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Track listing

All songs written and composed by Paul Simon, except where noted. 

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s)Recorded Length
1. "The Sound of Silence"   March 10, 1964 (basic track)
June 15, 1965 (overdubs)		 3:08
2. "Leaves That Are Green"   December 13, 1965 2:23
3. "Blessed"   December 21, 1965 3:16
4. "Kathy's Song"   December 21, 1965 3:21
5. "Somewhere They Can't Find Me"   April 5, 1965 2:37
6. "Anji"  Davey GrahamDecember 13, 1965 2:17
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s)Recorded Length
7. "Richard Cory"   December 14, 1965 2:57
8. "A Most Peculiar Man"   December 22, 1965 2:34
9. "April Come She Will"   December 21, 1965 1:51
10. "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'"   April 5, 1965 2:00
11. "I Am a Rock"   December 14, 1965 2:50

Produced by Bob Johnston

Track 12 Produced by Bob Johnston Tracks 13-15 Produced by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel & Roy Halee

Track listing (UK version)

All songs written and composed by Paul Simon, except where noted. 

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s)Recorded Length
1. "The Sound of Silence"   March 10, 1964 (basic track)
June 15, 1965 (overdubs)		 3:08
2. "Leaves That Are Green"   December 13, 1965 2:23
3. "Blessed"   December 21, 1965 3:16
4. "Kathy's Song"   December 21, 1965 3:21
5. "Somewhere They Can't Find Me"   April 5, 1965 2:37
6. "Anji"  Davey GrahamDecember 13, 1965 2:17
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s)Recorded Length
7. "Homeward Bound (UK Versions only)"   December 14, 1965 2:57
8. "Richard Cory"   December 14, 1965 2:57
9. "A Most Peculiar Man"   December 22, 1965 2:34
10. "April Come She Will"   December 21, 1965 1:51
11. "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'"   April 5, 1965 2:00
12. "I Am a Rock"   December 14, 1965 2:50

Notes

Cover

Charts

Chart (1966) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 13
US Album Charts 21
Chart (1970) Peak
position
Spanish Albums Chart[5] 2

Personnel

Sounds of Silence was recorded in December 1965 at CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California. The album was produced by Bob Johnston.

"The Sound of Silence" (electric overdubs) personnel:

"The Sound of Silence" overdubs were recorded at Columbia's "Studio A" at 799 Seventh Avenue near 52nd Street by Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965.[3][4]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ DeBolt, Abbe Allen (2011). Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 604. ISBN 978-0313329449.
  2. ↑ Mastropolo, Frank (March 10, 2015). "51 Years Ago: Simon & Garfunkel Record Their First Classic, 'The Sounds of Silence'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  3. 1 2 Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories – How the Great New York Records Were Made. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. Cf. pp.94–97.
  4. 1 2 Charlesworth, Chris, The Complete Guide to the Music of Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, Omnibus Press 1996. Cf. especially pp.17–18 on Sound of Silence.
  5. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.

External links

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