Paul Simon met Art Garfunkel in the halls of Queens, New York’s P.S. 164 in the sixth grade, with both young men cast in a school production of Alice in Wonderland. They soon bonded over a mutual love of music, and by 1956, Simon and Garfunkel were performing locally as “Tom and Jerry,” modeling themselves on the Everly Brothers, with whom they would later collaborate. Though he and Simon briefly split in the early 1960s, they reunited for 1964’s Wednesday Morning 3 AM, a low-key collection of folk songs, including a number of originals penned by the precociously talented Simon. It was lost in the shuffle of the British Invasion, however, and Simon retreated to England while Garfunkel resumed his studies. When Columbia Records decided to reissue Wednesday Morning’s “The Sound of Silence” with electric overdubs in September 1965, Simon and Garfunkel were presented with ample reason to reform: the song was climbing its way to No. 1, hitting that coveted spot on New Year’s Day, 1966. Their second album, Sounds of Silence, was recorded in December 1965 during that heady time when “Silence” was making waves in the music industry. The rest is history. Though 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water remains the final Simon & Garfunkel studio album to date, the subsequent decades have been marked by numerous reunions. As long as both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are performing, chances are another reunion will eventually take place. For now and always, though, their legacy exists in the small but vital catalogue they’ve left behind.
On November 24, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will issue Simon & Garfunkel’s The Complete Albums Collection, a 12-CD Box set containing:
- All five of Simon & Garfunkel’s stereo studio albums released between 1964 and 1970, newly remastered from first-generation analog sources;
- First-time remasters of The Graduate soundtrack and 1981’s The Concert in Central Park;
- 1972’s Greatest Hits album (which contained some unique performances unavailable elsewhere); and
- Live concert albums from 1967, 1969 and 2004, as first released in 2002, 2008 and 2004, respectively.
Hit the jump for more details on this new collection including pre-order links!
Each of the discs in Simon & Garfunkel’s Complete Albums Collection comes in its own mini-LP facsimile sleeve, replicating the original artwork. The box also includes a book of new liner notes penned by historian Bud Scoppa. Each album is presented in its original configuration only; hence, the bonus material included on Legacy’s 2001 box set The Columbia Studio Recordings 1964-1970 (and available on the individual album reissues) is absent here.
The Complete Albums Collection, with some of the richest music ever introduced into the tapestry of American popular song, arrives on November 24 from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. This one-stop shopping introduction to the Simon & Garfunkel catalogue can be pre-ordered below!
Simon & Garfunkel, The Complete Albums Collection (Columbia/Legacy, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Disc 1: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (Columbia CS 9049, 1964)
Disc 2: Sounds of Silence (Columbia CS 9269, 1965)
Disc 3: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (Columbia CS 9363, 1966)
Disc 4: The Graduate: Original Sound Track Recording (Columbia Masterworks OS 3180, 1967)
Disc 5: Bookends (Columbia KCS 9529, 1968)
Disc 6: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Columbia KCS 9914, 1970)
Disc 7: Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits (Columbia KC 31350, 1972)
Disc 8: The Concert in Central Park (Warner Bros. 2BSK-3654, 1982)
Disc 9: Live from New York City 1967 (Columbia/Legacy CK 61513, 2002)
Discs 10-11: Old Friends Live on Stage (Warner Bros. 48967, 2004)
Disc 12: Live 1969 (Columbia/Legacy 88697 41306-2, 2008)
"Les Cousins: The Soundtrack to Soho's Legendary Folk and Blues Club" Features Paul Simon, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Al Stewart
The Weekend Stream: June 18, 2023
Release Round-Up: Week of May 19
Wonderful collection, expect to see this as a "go to" Holiday gift this coming season. My only regret (there are ALWAYS regrets in the reissue world) is that the mono versions of Discs 1-5 were not made available. Or a disc of 45 single versions...many were different mixes. I know, I know...Paul would rather eat week old bagels then let those mono tracks see the light of day again. Oh well, still a great collection that harkens back to my youth (and will for quite a few others). Happy Holidays!
The mono versions of albums 1 thru 5 would have been great but I'm sure those will be on the NEXT box set in a few years along with the missing rarities from the 2001 box! 😉
I saw an online conversation about the Simon & Garfunkel mono recordings on a discussion board somewhere. Someone commented that most or all of the mono master tapes had been destroyed in a fire. I don't know if that's true, but it would explain the situation. Still, the multi-tracks exist (the albums were all remixed a few years ago), so the mono mixes could be reconstructed, using vinyl pressings as a guide - or they could even do needle-drops if the vinyl is sufficiently pristine.
Destroyed? That's... interesting. I've always heard that it's because Paul Simon keeps vetoing the releases of the mono versions (even though THAT in of itself is also a rumor which I don't know where it originated from). Do you mind sharing a link to that forum if you can still remember it?
Would love to see the "Tiger Beat" photo stills used on the Sounds of Silence cover, too.....but that's just crazy talk.
I'll stick with the 2001 Legacy box set. It has all of the unreleased tracks and the mini album covers are much cooler looking than the ones in this new set because they don't have the white borders. There's no way they could improve on the fidelity of the 2001 set. Re-remasters never sound as good. Nice that they've finally remastered "The Graduate" soundtrack though. Hopefully it will be available on it's own at some point.
I gotta agree on the mini-sleeves. They now look dorky with the white borders. Yep, the 2001 set is great. I remember at the time I got it the 2001 liner notes were fantastic and really captured the era of the releases. Good set!
Excluding remastering, is there any previously unissued material? I didn't notice any. And for the price, why wouldn't the bonus material from the 2001 box be made available? I guess they're saving that for yet another release to garner even more money.
Thanks.
Absolutely none, that's why they were fools to leave out the rare bonus tracks from the 2001 box. They would sell a lot more sets had they included them.
I think $85 for this set is kind of outrageous.
Wow! Incredible! Amazing!? No.....just totally pointless and a rip off!
I'd really like to have The Graduate soundtrack and The Concert From Central Park. Otherwise, this set is largely redundant for me.
Coming in 2017: new remasters of all of the S&G records - better than ever. Deluxe edition includes actual original vinyl copies selected from the best used copies for $2,000.
Kevin--
Surely you jest!?!?