Music Review: Simon and Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

 This album was declared by Rolling Stone to be the 202nd  best of all time.  It begins with Scarborough Fair, which is of course a classic with the harmony of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.  I also really enjoy the concluding song, 7 O'clock News/Silent Night.  The feel of this song is very much like O Holy Night with the piano playing an arpeggiated counter melody with the duo singing Silent Night.  Then they put news excerpts over the top of this, with the Viet Nam War, and murder and death.  It is very effective.  Other popular songs are Homeward Bound and 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy).  

Music review: Simon and Garfunkel: Sounds of Silence

This album was originally released in 1966.  It has been rereleased on CD with a few bonus tracks.  The two most familiar songs are :Sound of Silence" and "I Am a Rock."  "Sound of Silence" is a song I learned to sing in the Junior High Choir, and I enjoy singing along with this C.D.   Simon and Garfunkel make a delightful sound with their harmonies and melodies.  Simon usually plays the guitar.  The original album was sandwiched by the two songs mentioned.  "I Am a Rock" would have been the last song before the bonus material was added.  I don't know if this song is an expression of their status as singers, but they talk of being isolated from others.  Other songs of note are  "Leaves That Are Green" is a song about the passage of time, and the lose of love, comparing this to the leaves which are green and then turn brown and crumble away.  This album includes a couple bass oriented songs, including an instrumental entitled "Anji."  "April She Will Come" is a recitation of the months.  This song has a beautiful sound with just guitar and vocal.  

Simon and Garfunkel: **^Songs of America

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqEAXCge-vQ

This is a documentary presentation put together andby Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in 1969, giving them a platform to express their ideas and political view of what was going on around them.  This was a very troubled time in our history.  It had been a few years since President Kennedy had been assassinated, and more recently had seen the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, as well as the shooting of George McGovern.  As a result, Simon and Garfunkel decided to respond to what they were seeing in the news.  This documentary is the result.  As they started working on it, it was going to be sponsored by AT&T.  However, as they previewed the documentary they decided to back out as it was too political, and too one sided. In the end it was sponsored by a toothpaste company with a statement at the end indicating they thought these two young men deserved a platform because of their success in music. 
This documentary presents views of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King,Cesar Chavez and Bobby Kennedy, to the music "Bridge Over Troubled Water."  It showed life pictures of their stories, and except for Cesar Chavez, showed their funeral trains.
Bridge over Troubled water is very well done.  The first two verses are presented with Art Garfunkel and piano.  On the third verse Paul Simon and an orchestra join.  Having the orchestra carry the piano notes at the end is very effective and very moving. 
Paul Simon talks about his feelings with regards to Woodstock.  They then sing "Scarborough Fair" as their depiction of the mood of Woodstock.  The visual overlaps scenes of the Vietnam War.  Art Garfunkel shares his feelings of war.