The Paul Simon Songbook, by Paul Simon: early versions of some of Simon and Garfunkel's biggest hits
Performed by their author, alone, with just a guitar and occasional percussion from a tapping foot, many of the songs on this 1965 album sound like demos
The Paul Simon Songbook
Paul Simon
CBS
American audiences first became aware of Paul Simon through his partnership with Art Garfunkel and their breakthrough hit, .
That tune had appeared in acoustic form on the 1964 Columbia album , but only became a hit in 1965 after producer Tom Wilson overdubbed a rock track onto the original recording. sold modestly: by the time the single started climbing the charts in the US, Simon was living in England, performing solo in folk clubs there and in Europe, and building a following entirely his own.
His album with Garfunkel had not been released in Britain and, to have something to promote, Simon arranged to re-record two of his songs from those sessions, and a further 10 previously unreleased, for Columbia's British label CBS.
The result was , early versions of songs which later became the most popular in the duo's repertoire, performed by their author, alone, with just a guitar and occasional percussion from a tapping foot. Simon had mixed feelings about the collection, blocking its release in the US for several years. The 12 songs plus two alternate takes are now available on CD.
