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Really Classic Album Review: Sounds of Silence

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Artist(s): Simon & Garfunkel
Full Title: Sounds of Silence
Year: 1966
Label: Columbia/ CBS
Tracks:

1) Sounds of Silence- 9
2) Leaves That Are Green- 8
3) Blessed- 7/8
4) Kathy’s Song- 9
5) Somewhere They Can’t Find Me- 8
6) Anji (instrumental)- 7
7) Richard Cory- 8
8) A Most Peculiar Man-9
9) April Come She Will- 10
10) We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’- 8
11) I Am a Rock-9

Comments:
Simon & Garfunkel kick off this ditty with an impassioned, classic, Folk Rock anthem in the title track. The song showcases the duo’s great talent for harmonious vocals, soft, emotional, pop ballads; a far, far cry from their Tiger Beaty teen idol counterparts. A focal point, I often feel is necessary to make- that S & G were not just another wimpy, sensative, Teeny Bopper group, a category/genre that they are sometimes cast aside to. “Leaves That Are Green,” is a nice, catchy number, not too adventerous, but sound. “Blessed,” at least for my money, doesn’t quite cut as deep; it’s an ok tune, but not on par with other tracks. Enter “Kathy’s Song,” a rather soft spoken ballad, that is extremely direct, musically and lyrically. It’s as if Simon is singing soley for Kathy. The tune utilizes the “less is more” logic: it’s simply Simon and his Gee Tar singing his poetry, without any major choruses or instrumental changes. It really gives the ballad a distinct quality and overall feel. Clearly, the band had a knack for writing poetic numbers with deep themes behind them. Later on in the album, we hear two back to back character studies of two very different (or very similar?) suicide victims. The first being “Richard Cory” (based on the Edwin Arlington Robinson poem of the same name, we read in Brennan’s class, if y’all recall :) a fast paced tale about a extremely successful businessman, who seems to have it all and then one night decides to “put a bullet through his head.” This unexpected suicide is contrasted by the next track, “A Most Peculiar Man,” a slow, softer, song about a lonely man, who “lived all alone, within a house, within a room, within himself.” This fucking guy leaves on the gas in his car and thus takes his own life, much to no one’s chagrin. The two studies brilliantly stand in stark contrast to one another. They are followed up by the gentle, folky, “April Come She Will,” the LP’s strongest track, in my humble opinion. It’s so peaceful and almost Summerlike- reminding me of kicking back, relaxing, and thinking about “life.” And ok, also the fact that the months idenitfied include the Summer season! Another reason why I adore this lesser known S & G track is the fact that it was featured in the classic film, The Graduate (1967) as was the title track, the much, much more famous song. For some reason, April stands out to me more and instantly brings back images of the film and the scene it’s featured in. April, her only crime? Brevity… 1:53 is too short! This LP closes with another Folk Rock anthem in “I Am a Rock,” a highly catchy and memorable ditty that contains just about everything that made the pair loveable to begin with. Overall, this is a solid listen, but comparably weaker than most of their efforts. It feels more like a bunch of decent songs, rather than a whole album. With that being said, if you like 60s Folk Rock, poetic lyrics, songs with stories, a shit load of harmony in your vocals, etc. then you will probably dig this, and naturally if you are a fan of Simon and Garfunkel, then by all means, check this out.

Grade: B+

Mark Sultan, Quotes, rant

Sultan On Korea/KKBBQ

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I [Glen] will admit that I’ve been posting a lot of hearsay on what has happened in far off nations concerning Mark Sultan, King Khan, the break-up and tour dates. Mark has read some of the comments and wanted to set the record straight on what has happened. His frustration towards what has been posted is understandable.

Mark wrote to me:
I have tried posting on your comment board, but nothing is registering. I knew it was me solo in Korea. You know how I knew? Cuz I played by myself. Please quit with the conjecture. That promoter was super nice and apologetic and is now trying to earn street cred by siding with the popular guy, even though khan destroyed his friend’s place, etc… I remained calm thru everything and soldiered on to finish this. The day before Seoul, the promoter did a mailout claiming khan would also be in Seoul and perhaps we would play together. I told him we were enemies and that all khan needed was rest and to see his family. I show up at thr venue and who jumps out of a cab but the promoter and khan – guitar in hand. Sorry, but that is underhanded. Speaking of overly sensitive, this two-faced asshole promoter – who I treated with kindness throughout – was tearing up like a baby and shaking like a leaf. Everyone may have preconceived notions about me, but I SWEAR that all I did in Korea and after Australia in general, was to finish the tour and help folks not lose their asses completely by playing free, etc… Enough Internet bullshit. You wanna know something? Ask me. I was trying to get the promoter to bring my suitcase to the club all day, cuz his place was 45 mins from the club (and khan was staying there) and my set was slated for like 1 or 2 am and I had to leave for airport at 6am and STILL needed to pack everything post-show. He told me it was impossible and he was busy, etc yet he still managed to bring khan to the show. I don’t know what else to say. You guys will talk shit no matter what, and I admittedly built this persona, so I shall lay in it.

The following was posted on The King Khan & BBQ Show Facebook page by Mark:
Now, when me and Khan first strated the band, we were hesitant to name it ‘The King Khan & BBQ Show’, as the Shrines already had existed for a bit (and were doing great) but also cuz the potential for bandname misspellings etc… were gonna happen (and did): King Kahn & The BBQ, . I guess we made an error thinking people could differentiate the two bands. KKBBQ was started with the goal to play the roles of yin and yang and maximize the energy of that. I would be the quiet grump, Khan the active showman. For a while, we hit our stride and were a perfect symbiosis. When Khan started getting tons of attention, I admit, I was miffed. I thought: “What about my songs, my voice, my MUSIIC?”… But I realized early that that was OKAY. Khan was destined to be that star type guy and I was destined to be someone more serious about the musical side and less recognizable. That was the ONLY time I felt overshadowed. I have understood that Khan is the face of the band for years – i am NOT naive. But I loved the music so much, that it didnt matter. That’s where people like Sean come in. They ask for ‘us’ to play, but would rather the Shrines (and rightly so, they RULE), but are troo cheap to get that band OR just figure “I want Khan”, and have no knowledge that this band even exists. Fair enough. We are under the radar and don’t appeal to everyone. But then, do the right thing and brting what you really want or don’t AT ALL. Because it is very frustrating for BOTH of us. When a promoter like Sean writes a bunch about the Shrines for our press, it is worrysome. And when Khan bails and I am to play alone in Seoul and the guy writes ‘and maybe Khan will sign some autographs’, it just sucks. Personal taste is one thing, but bias in promotion, where you are affecting peoples opinions and tastes… It’s irresponsible. Same goes with playing in a far away land, invited as KKBBQ specifically to play for Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, and then being promoted as either Khan’s show or ‘too bad it ain’t the Shrines’ type journalism… it sucks. Touring is stressful and long – especially from Europe to Australia and Asia. So if you don’t know who WE are as a BAND (THAT is the most important thing to me) and don’t give a fuck who I am and, in fact, wish it was another band, that is not sensitivity on my part, but frustration that we came so far to be put in that situation. That i am meaningless to pop-culture tastemnakers is fine, but don’t devalue me. I know Khan is a ‘star’, and he is great at it. But like moist ‘stars’, they are fragile at times. And if you feed into that side of him, the schism between our yin and yang grows massive, and makes things like Sydney happen (once again, i was FRUSTRATED that such an important show went to shit). Essentially, i will write and play my music forever, through many forms of obscurity, without some folks’ backing, cuz that is what i do. Now you go do YOUR job and understand what you are bringing and stop and think a bit before you treat people like shit. BTW – all was fine in China. i have no idea why they feel that way. Oh well.