“Bookends” at 50

"To this day I swear it's no ordinary cold!"

 

"At the Zoo" is cringe worthy.

I usually skip "Old Friends" and "Voices of Old People."

That said, it's still my fave S&G album, but I don't think it needs any big deluxe treatment. Unless they would like to append a techno mix of "Mrs. Robinson." Call it "Robinson '18" and then have Fat Boy Slim do a remix of that which outsells everything.

 

It is but I can't sit through it. Would prefer the same message put across via music. I do like Revolution 9 though but rarely listen to it.

 

How terribly strange to be "50".

 

Interesting interview from Rolling Stone with Paul Simon on Bookends. At the end, you can see him mention that side 2 of Bookends ("The Dangling Conversation," "Hazy Shade of Winter," "At the Zoo" and "Fakin' It) was a lean period for Simon and Garfunkel, and his disdain for the original mono mix of "Fakin' It", stating that it was "slower and it's sloppier", which I think many of us would disagree. I wonder if he feels that way about all the mono mixes...

Thanks to kevinfree for the original post: Paul Simon quotes on his opinion of "Bookends" (including mono "Fakin' It") *

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Q) When you come to "Bookends," you're making full use of the studio.

A) That album had the most use of the studio, I'd say, of all the Simon and Garfunkel records.

Q) Where do you rate it among all the albums that Simon and Garfunkel did?

A) Right below "Bridge." I rate each album as better than the last one. That's how I see it. In "Bookends" we started taking much more time with the singing. I remember, in "Bookends," we were into punching in.

Q) You weren't in "Parsley, Sage"?

A) Well, we might have repaired a line or something like that, but the concept in "Parsley, Sage" wasn't to get each line perfect, and it was in "Bookends."

Q) Sometimes that turns into a compulsive thing.

A) To a degree, that would happen to Simon and Garfunkel. They'd get too perfect, which could be disturbing. A part of Roy and Artie's thing more than mine. Because I always liked more sloppiness than they did. They got to the point where it had to be just right. Sometimes it worked. Like, "Mrs. Robinson" was punched in a lot, and it worked really good. "Bookends" was recorded sort of half and half. "Bookends" is really the one side.

Q) And the other was made up of the most recent singles.

A) With the exception of "Mrs. Robinson," which was recorded at the same time as the songs on the "Bookends" side. Those other songs were for me, the dry patch of Simon and Garfunkel, which was from "The Dangling Conversation." I think the next was "Hazy Shade of Winter," "At the Zoo" and "Fakin' It"--those four.... They didn't mean a lot. They weren't well recorded. They just didn't have it. Then, "The Graduate" happened as we were working on "Bookends."

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Q) You mentioned before, referring to the second side of "Bookends" that the lean period for Simon and Garfunkel was . . .

A) "The Dangling Conversation," "Hazy Shade of Winter," "At the Zoo" and "Fakin' It."

Q) You didn't like any?

A) "Fakin' It" was interesting. Autobiographically, it was interesting. But we never really got it on the records.

Q) I'm surprised because I like "Fakin' It" so much.

A) That's because you are thinking of "Fakin' It" on the album. And "Fakin' It" on the album is vastly improved over "Fakin' It" as a single. For one thing, I think it's speeded up. For two, it was re-mixed and greatly improved in stereo. It was a jumble; it was a record that was jumbled sloppy. When you hear the original mono, it's slower and it's sloppier. It was improved on the LP, but by then it was already poisoned in my mind.

 

Ahhh . . What about Art Garfunkel?

 

I suppose we can blame The Graduate for this album's final state; the first half fragments of a concept album, the second compiling singles from the previous year or so.

Still, Parsley, this and Bridge are quite a good run of albums (although Parsley may lose a few points for recycling songs from The Paul Simon Song Book).

 

Bookends
45rpm2LP planned?
Bookends

 

Here ya go! The S&G version is the best, but this is a good example of "the right thing at the right time." Bowie is ON that bus with Kathy!

 

You said it.

 

Also The Sounds Of Silence which is a very good album. Wednesday Morning 3 am is the only one I never really liked.

The Simon interview is interesting. All of those "dry patch" songs are great IMO. "The Dangling Conversation" is one of their very best. Were all of the singles remixed or whatever or just "Fakin' It"? Perhaps they should have re-recorded the older songs?

 

Better than "70".

 

Bookends captures the chaos of the late 1960's. I find it to be an eerie listening experience. Article shared.

 

Hmmm..I guess it's a case of semantics. If I remember correctly, the songs on Side 2 on the mono pressing feature the mixes found on the 45's, except for "Fakin' It."

I don't know if stereo mixes were done for those songs when they were recorded and released as singles that weren't used and newer stereo mixes were prepared for "Bookends." So I'm not sure if you can say the stereo version of Side 2 was "remixed" or not. (Again, "Fakin It" excepted.)

 

Their best LP, yes better than Bridge...
Mono preferably.

 

Bowie’s version is great. I love the original version too, but I actually think the YES cover is the best version.

 

Exactly my take. 'Revolution 9' brings The White Album to climax ('Good Night' is the post-coital cigarette). 'Voices Of Old People' is Margaret Thatcher popping up in your brain for no reason, right at the moment that your companion's underwear comes off.

 

own it as well...it is my favorite track.

 

"Fakin' It" was actually my favorite from that album (is that a mellotron?) although I agree the spoken part was too precious.
Also, a shout out for "Punky's Dilemma" which uses blatant product placement.

 

I do like the idea of simply replacing Voices of Old People with the bonus track You Don't Know Where Your Interest lies. But I'd put it at the end of side one. I like the relaxed feel of having Over, Old Friends and Bookends Theme all in a row.

 

Love this line:
“Sgt. Kishke’s Lower East Side Schlub Band"

I've always heard a certain Jewishness in Paul's writing, even more so than other notable Jewish popular songwriters, e.g. Neil Diamond, Leonard Cohen, George Gershwin, Billy Joel, et al.

Does that mean that Bookends is the Jewish Sgt. Peppers? No. But do Paul & Arty often wear their Jewishness on their sleeves? Yes, and nowhere more than Bookends.

 

I put You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies at the beginning of side 2. I take out Voices of Old People. It does not need to be replaced because Old Friends is basically about the same thing( being old). I agree, that this is one of my favorite albums. I like to get in a Simon and Garfunkel mood and I will listen to all five of their albums. I usually start with Bookends.

 

Have you heard the mono version of "Save the Life of my Child"?

 

Fantastic album. Better than "Bridge". Don't get the Jewish reference though.

 

Yes does a smoking version