Wednesday Morning, 3 AM

by

Simon & Garfunkel

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This collection of music is as good as any Simon & Garfunkel album out there (and perhaps better than most).

First of all everything is acoustic. No synthesizers, no electric guitars. There is no sound on this CD that isn't pure and natural. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel harmonize as well as anyone in the last 100 years of professional singing/songwriting.

Speaking of songwriting, the lyrics herein are permeated with smooth poetry and sometimes abstract symbolism which proves to be very puzzling. Even Art Garfunkel himself describes the song, "Bleecker Street" as "highly intellectual, the symbolism extremely challenging." And yet "Bleecker Street" is still one of the sweetest-sounding songs on here.

My personal favorite song on here is "You Can Tell the World". This is a lot more of a Gospel song. It talks about "My Lord" who "talked about the Children of Israel" and "talkin' about a man from Galilee". Near the end they sing, "Now the Jordan River is chilly and wide...I got a home on the other side." And each chorus ends with "He brought joy, joy, joy into my heart."

If your musical interests ever overlap Oldies, Folk, or Christian, then this is a wonderful CD to own and listen to to pieces.

Simon & Garfunkel/ Wednesday Morning, 3 AM: This is very much a Greenwich Village folk album. Despite having "The sounds of silence" (Their first version of the song), this album fell flat and disappeared until after the duo hit the big-time with their subsequent efforts. At the time, however, Simon was so discouraged by the lack of recognition that he almost quit the business. Thankfully, the business did not quit them and they returned with their classic recordings. This is not to say that there are no good tunes here, there are, but this is a less than satisfying effort. The bonus tracks that appear on this most recent CD add little to the albums reputation.