The Paul Simon Songbook

An interesting insight into Paul Simon’s early writing recorded in England during the pre Simon & Garfunkel days

I first heard "I am a rock" played on BBC radio back in 1965 on "Thought for the day", and it touched me so much I actually rang the BBC (an expensive 'trunk call' in those days!) to get the name of the LP. Once I had a copy, I found I loved every single track, and it immediately became (and has remained) my all-time favourite album.Paul Simon's beautiful poems were written from the soul and sung from the heart - putting music into poetry, and poetry into music. When I found it had been released on CD, I felt I'd been reunited with something very precious. As a teenager in the 60s it encapsulated my awakening "grown up" feelings of anger, despair, beauty and tenderness - and now 40 years later still proves just as (if not even more) emotive. An absolute gem.

Like many great singer-songwriters early albums - just guitar and vocals performed to let the song and voice take centre stage. Youthful while still imbued with old soul wisdom.

This album was recorded in England between the S&G albums 'Wednesday Morning 3AM' and 'The Sounds of Silence'. Although the majority of songs on it appear in a more polished form on those albums, this album somehow gives a more authentic voice to them: Close you eyes and you can almost imagine yourself in a smoky 1960s folk club. Although several takes were taken, the album is practically live-just Paul, his guitar, and the occasional tapping foot! The album was unavailable for many years, at Paul's request, as he considered it 'not representative of the artists currant style'! (Really Paul? I'm surprised you didn't delete the entire S&G catalogue when you released Graceland!) Thankfully, due to popular demand, it is now available again.

I had this album on vinyl (I think it's in the attic still!), but this was a nostalgic revisit - and well-worth the visit! Funnily enough, I found myself listening for the clicks and scratches that my vinyl version had accumulated, so was doubly pleased to be able to listen to the songs properly again. Not having played the original for some years, I was very aware of the power of some of the early songs ('He was my brother', 'A Church is Burning') and the purity of the lyricism of 'Kathy's Song' (amongst others) was truly a transport of delight. Hope I don't wear this one out!

Essential addition to my Paul Simon collection

I played this during my university years until the vinyl was so worn it sounded like chips were frying in the background. It's the musical equivalent of a road movie and historically encapsulates the late-Kennedy and early-Johnson periods, mainly in the USA but also the UKNowadays an insight not only into the early days of Simon's career (some of which was spent touring towns in Northern England; e.g.Homeward Bound) that have an autobiographical quality to them; but also are a time-watch of the emerging political awareness of the post-war generation; e.g. A Church is Burning).Personally I much prefer the songs on this album rather than sung with Art Garfunkel.

This is possibly the best album ever made, simply because of the fact you're hearing a tormented man singing his own songs prior to them often being watered down or, at worst, ruined later in his career. A man with a guitar and a whole bunch of emotions. The booklet gives some really nice insights into the history of the record.I've been listening to this since I was about 8, on my mum's vinyl copy. I'm now 46 and haven't stopped. It's super, especially for a hearty singalong.