Simon & Garfunkel ‎– Sounds Of Silence

So different than the stereo counterpart! Wonderful. Almost another record...

The cover of my copy is noticeably shorter, top to bottom than standard LP cover...approx. 1/4 inch. Are all copies like this?

Is there an entry for CL 2469 with a "Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits" back cover? I've dug through all of them, I think, but haven't found it.

First US Mono release with white "360 Sound Mono" text is this entry: https://www.discogs.com/Simon-Garfunkel-Sounds-Of-Silence/release/6423688
Here is the second press as album title is written in green and there's also an extract of the song titles.

mistakes in the tracklist: check picture of B side to make sure.
A6 is Angie, not Anji
"Homeward Bound" is not on this LP
B1 is Richard Cory and other tracklist numbers on B side have to be changed accordingly
Sorry I can't do the changes myself...

A-Side title # 6 is wrong - it should be: Angie.

Personnel - Glen Campbell is in the session, also had some of the same musicians on his albums.

Paul Simon – lead vocals, guitar
Art Garfunkel – lead vocals
Fred Carter, Jr., Glen Campbell, Joe South – guitar
Larry Knechtel – keyboards
Joe Osborn – bass guitar
Hal Blaine – drums
Sounds of Silence was recorded in December 1965 at CBS Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California.

"The Sound of Silence" electric overdubs personnel

Al Gorgoni, Vinnie Bell – guitar
Joe Mack – bass guitar
Bobby Gregg – drums
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

Presumably for timing purposes on this 8-track, "I Am A Rock" has been severely edited. The second and third (of four) verses ("I've built walls"; "Don't talk of love") have been removed entirely, making this a very short song! At least the edit is well-executed.

"...Hype sticker refers to the motion picture "The Graduate"..."
Which would make this 'undated' release a 1967 one then, assuming that hype stickers refer to the current rather than yesteryear...

Vocally driven and laced with wonderful harmonies, this folk rock album set the world on its ear, tossed in several surprises, and for a moment back in 1966, gave the singular Bob Dylan a run for his money. With the strengths of Simon & Garfunkel always relying on their emotional vocal melodies and considered lyrics it was a sincere shame that the quality of audio equipment was so lacking during the day, yet I tell you true, the album grabbed the planet and didn’t let go.

With the album revolving around fear, death, disintegrating relationships and of course isolation, the duo manage to excel at a sense of warmth and passion through an honest from the heart presentation that actually felt real, almost nurturing in a cathartic sort of way. And it’s that honesty that carried through on all of the best songs Simon & Garfunkel ever wrote, songs that stood in stark juxtaposition to the carefree beat happy pop numbers that were filling the airways … signaling that a monument wave that we could not see coming, was going to sweep the nation.

Simon & Garfunkel more than any other artists of the day embodied the notion of the anti-hero. Consider “I Am A Rock,” a song that though sounding cheerful, belays just the opposite, about a man who’s refusal or inability to become part of society condemn him to a life of loneness. Of course “Sound Of Silence” will remain a haunting classic forever, where these two minstrels ride at mid tempo, almost religiously acknowledging the alienation so many were feeling during those times, yet personifying no way out, no salvation, nothing but more of the same … almost enticingly so, as if this were the emotion that would warm and carry us through a dark winter that had settled over America.

Nevertheless, Sounds Of Silence is hardly a gloomy introspective toil into tragic emotional depths, for each number such as “Kathy’s Song,” a plaintive ballad, there’s a counterpoint that enables the listener to catch their breath, pick up the pace, and feel a bit lighter hearted with “We’ve Gotta A Groovy Thing Goin’”. All of the guitar work on the album is simple yet emotive, with fingerpicking that in multiple designs switches though a litany of chord changes that seem to resonate from within the listener. With Paul Simon’s vocals sound effortless and without the need for complexity … though the truth is they are far from easy, as he spins out his lyrics so that they essentially wrap around and cradle the listener.

The most beautiful thing about the album is its balance, and the ability to give the listener just what they need, nearly cinematically, at just the right moment, making this a nearly perfect album of substance, texture and emotional gratification.

*** The fun facts: Photographer Guy Webster, who’s photographed album covers for everyone from The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys to Nancy Sinatra, said that he took Simon & Garfunkel, two guys who weren’t beautiful, into the woods [the exact spot is lost to history], and walked them up and down a dirt road until the wind tousled their hair just right, and made them iconic.

Review by Jenell Kesler