1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #71. Simon and Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme (1966)

Simon and Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme (1966)

Label – Columbia
Producer – Bob Johnson
Art Direction – Uncredited
Nationality - USA
Running Time – 28:30

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Scarborough Fair/Canticle
2. Patterns
3. Cloudy
4. Homeward Bound
5. Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
6. 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
7. Dangling Conversation
8. Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall
9. Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert MacNamara'd Into Submission)
10. For Emily Whenever I May Find Her
11. Poem On The Underground Wall
12. 7 O'clock News/Silent Night

Just an absolutely stunning record. A true Simon & Garfunkel masterpiece. It also was the first time that the duo was in total control from the beginning to the end, right down to the mixing. Isn’t it funny how when you leave artists alone to make their music, the results are usually so much better then when executives get involved and tell them how THEY think a record should sound.
It took all of a few weeks to rush together the “Sounds of Silence” album early in 1966 – but with “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” Simon and Garfunkel took their time - about three months (an uncommonly long period in those days) but it gave them freedom to develop and shape the songs the way they wanted them.
The album opens with "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" which is a Paul Simon tune melded with a centuries-old English folk song. The effect mixes a hauntingly beautiful antique melody about love in a peaceful setting, with a message about war and death. Stunning. And Art Garfunkel’s voice is just so silky smooth!
Simon & Garfunkel were never really political but on this record they did bring the war of the times – the Vietnam war – to the subject matter of the record, but it’s the beautiful songs about the simple joys of living, like "Cloudy" and the bouncy "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)," that draw you in.
And oh – but the way, the album also includes the massive hit "Homeward Bound."
"7 O'Clock News/Silent Night," closes the set. It’s a conceptual work that was a comment on the state of the United States in 1966. It containes clips of a news broadcast about the Vietnam War. Based on the fact that the broadcast carries the news of the death of comedian Lenny Bruce that day, it can be dated from August 3, 1966. Looking back it dates the album somewhat, but also reminds you how far we have come since the 1960’s.
“Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” (Its name comes from the second line of the album's first track) peaked on the U.S. charts at #4. Oddly "Homeward Bound" was excluded from the album in the UK. In 2003, the album was ranked number 201 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
It is HIGHLY recommended.


You can purchase the CD here.

ABSOLUTE ROCK BIRTHDAYS FOR FEBRUARY 26
Fats Domino is 81; Paul Cotton from Poco is 66; Jonathan Cain from Journey is 59; Tim Commerford from Audioslave is 41;

ON THIS DATE
1985 At the Grammy's: Best Rock Male Performance - Bruce Springsteen "Dancing In The Dark"
1996 At the 38th Grammy's: Best Hard Rock Performance - Pearl Jam (“Spin The Black Circle”
2008 Buddy Miles dies at the age of 60. He had been the drummer for Jimi Hendrix. He had also performed with Carlos Santana and David Bowie.

CONCERT NEWS
Friday, February 27 ROGER McGUINN Largo Cultural Center Largo
Friday, August 14 DEF LEPPARD, CHEAP TRICK & POISON Ford Ampitheatre Tampa