Track Listing

1. I Am A Rock
2. Leaves That Are Green
3. A Church Is Burning
4. April Come She Will
5. The Sound Of Silence
6. A Most Peculiar Man
7. He Was My Brother
8. Kathy's Song
9. The Side Of A Hill
10. A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)
11. Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall
12. Patterns
13. I Am A Rock (alternate version)
14. A Church Is Burning (alternate version)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6565 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-22
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Poet and a one man band
You could describe this album as "S&G without Garfunkel" or "Paul Simon unplugged before he was famous" (leaving aside the early "Tom and Jerry" incarnation).

If you want to hear more S&G material than you can find on the interminable re-packages of greatest hits, you could buy one of their studio albums (or, for a very fair price, "Collection", which gives you all of them). This album is a lesser-known alternative.

It was recorded in London in 1965, during the hiatus between the initial failure of "Wednesday morning 3 am" and the re-vamping of "Sound of Silence" which took S&G to stardom.

All the songs are better known as S&G recordings, apart from "A church is burning" and "The side of a hill", though the lyrics of the latter were later incorporated into "Scarborough Fair".

The album was recorded in three short sessions, and it shows. The recording quality is reasonable, except where voice or guitar suddenly go off-mike. Simon's vocals and guitar are not as polished as they were for the S&G versions of these songs. All this is not surprising, as the album was probably done on a shoestring; much more care could be invested in S&G recordings after the success of "Sound of Silence". It remains a fascinating insight into Paul Simon's music before the onset of fame. It is in mono, but none the worse for that.

This album was off-catalogue for decades, so it is worth buying while you have the chance.

A Classic
This album completely sums up everything Paul Simon has ever done as a solo artist. Whether you're listening for the first time or re-living a memory, this album is a must have for any music collection.

A valuable and enjoyable document
Recorded in England following the failure of the first Simon and Garfunkel album, TPSSB is the sound of voice and solo guitar recorded in mono on a single mike. All things considered it sounds pretty good. All but one of the songs ('The Side of a Hill' which, if songs had feelings, would probably be feeling somewhat rejected) would go on to be re-recorded with Art Garfunkel in far more opulent circumstances. So, what are these early, solo versions like? Quite good, as it happens. At times you miss Art beautiful tones, but Paul was always a good singer in his own right. The tone is perhaps a bit more naive and sentimental than the later versions, but they hold their own. They are not as good as the duo versions, those harmonies were crucial to the success of the S&G records, but they make a worthwhile and enjoyable addition to the Paul Simon catalogue...