Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
1966
Album Summary
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the re-release of their debut single "The Sound of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio working on instrumentation and production. The album largely consists of acoustic pieces that were mostly written during Paul Simon's period in England the previous year, including some numbers recycled from his debut solo record, The Paul Simon Songbook. The album includes the Garfunkel-led piece "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", as well as "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night", a combination of news reports of the day (the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the death of comedian Lenny Bruce), and the Christmas carol "Silent Night". Many critics have considered it a breakthrough in recording for the duo, and one of their best efforts. "Homeward Bound" had already been a top five hit in numerous countries and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" performed similarly. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Pop Album Chart and was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
WikipediaMy dad passed away when I was four years old. He liked to play the guitar and was a particular fan of '60s folk, S&G being no exception. He had a red book of chords and lyrics written down to remember. Scarborough Fair/Canticle was one of them. I will always cherish the fact that my father's love for music shaped my childhood, and as a result, my whole life. This entire record moves me.
Don't be fooled by the title, there's only vanilla to be found here. Look, it's very obvious that Paul Simon is a talented songwriter (groan-worthy Silent Night juxtaposition aside), but this is like when someone says the original Super Mario Bros. is the best game of all time: give it to someone born well after its release and they may ask why anyone would want to play it, and you either curse them for not appreciating the thing you grew up with, or begrudgingly accept how it might not blow somebody's hair back when what it's putting down has been picked up and run with for so long by so many others. Maybe it holds up better than many of its contemporaries, and a lot of what's there still has meaning today, but it feels like you just trip over lyrics you could draw modern parallels to with any of these Vietnam era rock albums, many of which present their ideas in a more compelling fashion than this. I'll give them credit for one thing, though: their Bob Dylan parody(?) is legitimately funny. Folk rock. Key Tracks: The Dangling Conversation, A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)
Day 4 of 1001 albums you must hear before you die.. And boy do I feel the pressure to deliver on this reaction of an album that I never knew existed, but the legendary duo that is Simon & Garfunkel needs no introduction to most people around the world). Even though I was an eighties baby and don’t know much about the culture and lifestyles of that generation, I absolutely love music from the 60’s!! You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon was my introduction to one half of S&G. I was four years old. The song was all over the radio and the still young yet exploding cable channel, MTV, played the music video of this song on a seemingly endless loop. It wasn’t until I was in my mid to late twenties that I actually realized that these two super average looking guys wrote, sang and produced some of the most beloved, comforting and sweet songs of our time. Their junior release saw them having the freedom of being in creative control for the first time. The Sound Of Silence, a song we all know, gave them prestige and They took advantage and convinced their label to allow them to spend precious money on an eight track recorder. What the label probably didn’t understand is that having 8 tracks instead of 2 or 4 even, could enhance the way people hear music. Stereo music is what 8K video is today. You can actually feel immersed in music when you hear all the different tracks of a song coming from different directions from different channels.. Man, It had to feel futuristic at the time. Even listening today with headphones is a trip. The over dubbing of vocals and instruments set these guys apart from the rest, the same way it did for The Beatles and The Beach Boys. The layered vocals were executed so beautifully. Simons writing and Garfunkel’s singing is a match made in another galaxy. The only song I actually recognized from this particular album is The 59th street bridge song (feeling groovy). The more aggressive and Bob Dylan styled song, A Simple Desultory Phillippic, drops many famous names of the time and I liked it a lot, as it showed off their humorous and tongue in cheek side. 7 o’clock News/Silent Night gave me goose pimples with the sounds of news clips juxtaposed with Silent Night. I can totally see a 15 year old in 1966 locking themselves in a dark room and spinning this record over and over. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme isn’t just a record, it’s an experience.. An emotional one at that. Please share your thoughts and memories!!
S&G have been my dudes since I was a kid, and this album always touches a lot of sights, sounds, and storylines. Loving the spin as usual!
I find it hard to muster any enthusiasm for songs that are so incredibly passive and unchallenging. Simon's songwriting on this whole album is just so soft that they left no impression whatsoever. In short, it's a boring album full of boring songs that frankly don't justify the album's inclusion in this list.
Very anti-war. Also, maybe this is where the trend of mocking Dylan came from? Also, someone REALLY loves Emily.
Always liked Simon & Garfunkel but was still surprised by how much I enjoyed this, given they have other, better regarded albums. Good melodies, good harmonies, good lyrics. More up-tempo stuff than I expected. Traditional folk but still buzzing with creativity. Feelin' Groovy is a childhood favourite of mine. A very pleasant way to spend 28 minutes.
A masterpiece of an album. Paul Simon is one of the greatest American songwriters and this album showcases his lyrical talent brilliantly. Of course, the delivery is sublime. Though their working relationship was fraught, Simon and Garfunkel are two of the most gifted singers and seem to fall in a complex yet natural harmony that still electrifies. Once again, here we have an album that manages to stand out in 1966, a year full of transformative music.
Some of Simon and Garfunkel's best; mellow, catchy, and still bloody good.
Folk music at its purest. Homeward Bound is an awesome song. Silent Night / 7 o’clock news still packs a distinct punch. Some filler in there that doesn’t pop but mostly a decent record.
Paul Simon is definitely a top-of-the-list song writer and Art Garfunkel can harmonize with anyone, I knew the songs but only listened to their albums recently (last 5 years). There is a very nice flow to them.
It's been a few decades since I've heard the title track and in listening to it on headphones it really blew me away in terms of the harmonies and instrumentation, the harpsichord especially. I guess I missed those things on our transistor radio back in the day. The other radio hits bring back memories too, even my mom used to hum Feeling Groovy. The instrumentation and arrangements on the supporting tracks are creative and different enough to shift the mood from song to song. Patterns is a good one.
Scarborough Fair is one of their best songs. Art's signing capabilities boggle the mind. I wasn't aware of the legal issues mentioned in Wiki. Since we started 1001, we've read about royalty avoidance on a number of songs. Scarborough Fair is a traditional song arranged by S & G. For whatever reason they didn't note it was traditional but since it is, they're no royalties to avoid. Much ado about nothing. Homeward Bound Is one of my favourite S & G songs. Memorable opening riffs on acoustic songs are rare; this song has one of the best and most recognizable acoustic opening riffs. Of interest is that the acoustic riff that opens Cloudy is very similar. This shows that a clever opening riff augments, rather than replaces the need for, good verses and chorus. Most of the top shelf in the S & G library are songs that Art sings lead vocals on but Homeward Bound is a notable exception. The Bright Green Pleasure Machine is also a catchy and fun tune. It's sort of like the Beatles style in their Yellow Sub timeline. Feelin' Groovy felt dated when they sang it at Central Park almost 40 years ago. One of them even started laughing when they sang the chorus. It's hard not to sound dated when you say the word "groovy". Nonetheless, it's still a fun song. A Simple Desultory Philippic is immediately recognizable as a Bob Dylan-like song. The song title indicates that Paul is poking fun at Bob and the lyrics confirm this. It's not clear if it's tongue in cheek or if he truly wanted to fire missiles at Bob. One could understand that in those days Paul would feel that he had written some brilliant lyrics but his songs were getting next to no respect while Dylan's borderline nonsensical lyrics resulted in his being treated like royalty. Silent Night with the background news is special. It's a beautiful and peaceful Christmas song with the background news telling the harsh reality of the day. Canadians have Leonard Cohen so we are well acquainted with Jewish brothers singing songs about Christ but when Simon and Garfunkel released this, I expect some listeners must have found this confusing (especially those who didn't know who Allen Ginsberg was). S & G sing it brilliantly.
There are several songs on here that I know and enjoy a bunch. I do find it odd that Simon and Garfunkel took writing credit for Scarborough Fair, a centuries olde English tune. A little bit of respect lost here. Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall is a song I really like that I hadn’t heard before. Same with the offbeat A Simple Desultory Phillipic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d Into Submission) where the music is driven by the distorted guitar and (credit to Wikipedia for pointing it out) Paul Simon puts on a Bob Dylan affect. I hadn’t heard the Silent Night / news reel before either. It is a brilliant juxtaposition of a warm, fuzzy Christmas tune and deeply unsettling 1966 current events. There is quite a bit more anti-war sentiment than I ever remember noticing from Simon and Garfunkel before. This album has a lot of good content, but I like many of the later, more mature versions of the songs better. The bones are here. I appreciate them. But it’s not quite tip top.
Love these guys. A few stone cold classics on this album, some beautiful and effortlessly executed acoustic guitar work, those timeless harmonies, and a brilliant parody of Bob Dylan. And a couple of filler tracks. Perfect ending track though.
This is the album that elevated S & G from just a folk singing duo to something more special. Apart form the timeless classics, Homeward Bound and Scarborough Fair, the songs on rest of the album, though sometimes dated, are interesting and more engaging than I anticipated. Their follow-up albums would become masterpieces, but this is a good place to start.
Another album that, for me, has suffered thanks to the passage of time. Some of these tracks, like Scarborough Fair and For Emily... still sound great. Others are freighted with the dragging earnestness of S&G's execution. We get a lot of Paul Simon on this app, and I think I've realised how little of his material I actually enjoy. Well, there's a cheery ending to the review...
Meh. I can appreciate the talent of this album and do like me some of their stuff.. Has a couple of good cuts but just not my jam. At least it was only 28 minutes long.
I just hate their stupid harmonies etc - actually the last track was quite enjoyable and smart but was still a fucking Christmas carol
I've never listened to this whole album. Not really my thing. But damned if I didn't love it.
The first album in the list I already knew. The title track and Homeward Bound are already extremely popular and well-known Simon and Garfunkel songs, but "Patterns" is an underrated piece. 7 O'clock news hits as hard as it always does whenever I listen to it. Still as good of an album as it always was.
“Yeah, but it's not my fault if Cousin Lezra ends up eating my nut dust and becoming the goofy Paul Simon to my angelic-voiced Art Garfunkel“- Jonah Ryan
"A Simple Desultory Philippic" Sounds very Bob Dylan -- clearly influenced. Also, mentions Phil Spectre--a man who died recently, which makes me realize how recently this album was released. So weird. So many recognizable songs here.
I hate liking this, because I hate Simon and Garfunkel as people. But I get the hype, very different from other music of their time.
Did you know that it used to be Simon and Garfunkel and Spackman? Yes, I was part of a groundbreaking folkrock trio back in the late 50s/early 60s. What a ride it was. We sold out The Emirates Stadium and The Millennium Dome countless times, before the drugs kicked in for me. It was a very exciting, but ultimately dark time in my life. By night it was a hedonistic rainbow of women, money, LSD and hobnobs. By day it was a cold coffin of shame and self-loathing whilst trying to enjoy folk music. Eventually my wild ways got too much for the others and they had to cut all ties with me. As a duo, Simon and Garfunkel went on to have enormous success, and rightly so. But, I always thought I gave the trio the edge which would have sent us into superstardom. I'm not bitter though, I went on to have a successful career as the famous footballer and nail technician you know me as today.
BEST SIMON AND GARFUNKEL ALBUM. ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. PAUL SIMON TOUCHES MY SOUL WITH HIS CLEVER LYRICISM. THE HARMONIES. OMG
I don’t consider myself a big folk music fan, but this album is absolutely fantastic.
What an album. Very trippy melodies. Great lyrical content. Makes you feel like your back in the 60s. Classic Simon and garfunkel.
9/10. This album keeps things short and sweet, which is always refreshing after a metal album.
really good, one thing i love about S&G is that it's versatile music, it's nice to have on in the background but, also super rewarding musically and conceptually when you give it a closer listen. 10
I forget how short this album is. But it stands as an excellent piece of music. I love this album and the calm vibe it presents. It has a darkness that plays in the corner with evening light. They dance and make a beautiful quiet racket that is this album.
Childhood memories abound. One of many albums on rotation in a big old cabinet with turntables and built in speakers.
These boys can do no wrong in my ears. Does not contain my all time favorite S&G tracks, but it is still loaded with hits. Hit just right.
I am more inclined towards basil and cilantro, but still, this was a very good album with beautiful songs. The right kind of gentle, pleasant music. And because I'm feeling groovyyyy I'll give it 5 stars.
Classic album, had not listened to it for quite a while - one of the few albums I could play any time.
Ah, just... pure serenity. I'll get this in a record one day. The whole album was really cute. Listening to the 7 o clock news / silent night was also really touching. My dad dodged the vietnam draft (because he didn't want to cut his hair) and part of me is so grateful as I don't think he would've been the same human today, in fact, I know he wouldn't have been the same human today.
Seriously, every song is good. I could listen to this over and over. Calm and folksy.
Was für ein großartiger Songwriter ist doch Paul Simon. Bin gebiased - geht bei mir einfach ins Herz.
A glatte 5. Jedes Lied eingängig durch wunderschöne Melodien. Bestimmt auch spitzen Texte, aber darauf hör ich nicht so drauf ... der Stille Nacht/ News Mash up is arg
Great lyrics, great melodies, great harmonies. Too many liked songs to mention, but special shoutout to For Emily Wherever I May Find Her, Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall, Homeward Bound, and The 59th Street Bridge Song.
What a surprise. Concise songs that deliver. A send-up of Dylan in A Simple Desultory Philippic which is hilarious. The angst of Patterns against MASS MAN. What fun in 28:48.
Simon & Garfunkel é talvez uma das duplas mais relevantes da música ocidental. A musicalidade e a poesia que eles conseguem expressas no folk rock é quase uma experiência transcendental. Destaque que esse álbum az um paralelo com a cidade de New York e a idade medieval. Sou apaixonado na canção Cloudy, quando eles trazem o verso "My thoughts are scattered and they're cloudy,They have no borders, no boundaries,They echo and they swell,From Tolstoy to Tinker Bell", demosntram que dominar figuras de linguagem e brincar com trocadilhos não é exclusivo das línguas latinas
Wonderful, in turns traditional but modern for the time, acerbic commentary... brilliant.
Patterns* - symbolic worldview at it's basic level _________________________ наша музыка, можно слушать
It is crazy how consistently good each of these tracks are. Short, sweet, varied, little delicious nuggets of folk songs with beautiful vocals. Incredibly enjoyable.
I'm so used to their greatest hits, that it was a bit startling to realize that some of their stuff.....sucked. And so it goes. These guys still created some of my favorite music. Soundtrack of my childhood....yada yada yada..
What an album! It begins with a merging of two glorious songs, which would be enough for some artists. It finishes with a chilling take on Silent Night. In between, it takes us to joy, sadness, longing, love. It's all killer, no filler. The blending of their voices is perfect, then Artie gets his moment on For Emily. If you think that's perfect, find a live version to listen to. He really is that good. What's really amazing is that this wonderful album isn't their best. Bridge Over Troubled Water wins that accolade. That magnificent achievement is then dwarfed by Graceland, IMHO the greatest album of them all.
Mi è piaciuto molto, pensavo fossero più noiosi/sbrodolosi, invece no, son ganzi.
Amazing. Especially fond of "Scarborough Fair / Canticle", "Homeward Bound", "The 59th Street Bridge Song" and "Patterns".
Does a "not-great" Simon & Garfunkel album even exist? In less than 30 minutes, those two manage to pack a vast variety of songs, some faster, some slower, some louder, some quieter, all at a high quality and always with their signature acoustic and harmony-laden sound. What's not to love?
I will always love everything by this group and Paul Simon. 4/5 big songs, great run time, amazing vocal display from both individually and collectively, beautiful arrangement. This folk I adore.
Scarborough Fair/Canticle is such a pretty song, I've always loved the tune and hearing Simon + Garfunkel sing it is beautiful. Absolutely sublime piece of music, and a fantastic start to an album. I love how it shifts suddenly to such a different vibe with Patterns. The drums are mesmerizing, as are the winding voices. What a gorgeous song. Cloudy is such a sweet-sounding song. I really appreciate how different everything feels on this record. Homeward Bound feels so full of love. Literally no idea why this album is getting me as much as it is! I'm having a wonderful *wonderful* time with it. The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine is fantastic. Is it a little on the nose and unsubtle? Perhaps, but I also watch Star Trek and listen to punk. Unsubtle and on the nose are my cup of tea. When I first heard The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), I thought it was a cover. I'm deeply surprised to know that this is the original Feelin' Groovy! The instruments are fantastic on The Dangling Conversation, and I know they're not the focal point of this record, but I really loved them on this song. Another cute little song, Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall. It's very upbeat, like the rest of the album, and I love the harmonizing on it. Don't have much to say about this song sadly. Wow, the opening of A Simple Desultory Philippic is *different*. I love it! It reminds me of Subterranean Homesick Blues, another favorite song. For Emily, Whenever I Find Her is very soft and honestly a little too sappy for me as a love song. No idea why I'm not as into this as I am Robert Smith's sappy love songs, but I'm just not as enamored! A Poem on the Underground Wall's got some really wonderful instruments behind the vocals. I'm a huge fan of the imagery in the lyrics. What a beautiful song. 7 O'Clock News / Silent Night is a great closer to the album, tying in parallel with the opener. What a tour-de-force of an album. Absolutely blew me out of the water.
this album was amazing. i loved every second of it. truly a no skip album. i love simon and garfunkel.
I’ve listened to this long ago, but didn’t remember a lot of the album so it felt a bit new through a lot of it. Really lovely music. Lots of really great songs beyond the monster hits that come from this. I found “A Simple Desultory Philippic…” just a tad odd at first with the Dylan-style delivery, but I enjoyed it and the interesting cultural references throughout. This doesn’t eclipse my favorite Simon & Garfunkel album, but still easily a 5!