Simon & Garfunkel Mono Mixes on Digital Formats Poll

Not fake live at all.

It's included on 'Live 1969' album
Performed in November 1969. St. Louis, Missouri

 

I wonder what the source of this is.

 

1 disc of AM radio hits...in mono or stereo where applicable.

 

me too...: )

 

I'd like Simon and Garfunkel monos of the following, with my reasons...

• Wednesday Morning, 3 AM - underrated album, probably the prettiest music. The vocal blend is best and most balanced in mono. Their voices really did sound spectacular together.
• Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - My favorite of their albums. The one with the most great S&G songs-per-lacquer. As good as it is in stereo, I think it's better still in mono. IMHO, they were still arranging the songs for mono.
• Bookends is the start of Roy Halee's flanged voice and instruments obsession, paralleled by the Byrds' Notorious Byrd Brothers. These now-quaint experiments (great though their music is) fold horribly to mono. The vocals suffer most of all and virtually disappear when folded. Tied with Sounds of Silence for my least favorite of their records (Simon admitted in a Rolling Stone interview that he was suffering from a songwriting dry spell), I still admire both for their wandering experimental nature, although I must admit of all their records, this is the one I'd most like to see released (CD please).
• S&G Singles - There's got to be a hot-sounding mono singles collection. It needs to have Richard Corey, We've got a Groovy Thing Going, Baby (something Simon wrote while trying to fish around for a new sound post-Sounds of Silence's surprise electrified hit) and including the non-fold, dedicated radio mono mixes of Cecilia and The Boxer that savvy Columbia A&R guys knew were needed to propel them to be hits.

Although Roy Halee was their favorite engineering and mixing collaborator, and is from the top tier of the business, I think their best mixer was their original mono mixer, Don Meehan. Meehan took a more blue collar approach, perhaps more detached, but ultimately (to me) more satisfying and musical. The ones I play to friends to convert them to S&G junkies are the Meehan mono records. I realize Meehan's out of the loop by the time the later albums were made, and I do adore Bridge Over Troubled Water, which is the ultimate Simon, Garfunkel and Halee creation.

His version of their collaboration on mixing their early records, including Meehan's hit version of Sounds of Silence is here: Truth About Simon and Garfunkel Sounds of Silence

 

I'd buy a MONO complete box set...

 

What do you like about the vocal balance on Wednesday Morning 3 AM? I have one of the rare CDs with the original stereo mix and find that the balance works well with it sounding like equal attention to both singers.

 

Hi S.P. Honeybunch. The mono LP of Wednesday Morning 3 AM just has that sound where the voices are so close it sounds like one at times. A friend of mine who was a producer once told me he had a preference for sibling singers. He felt they blended best. On 3 AM's mono LP, Simon and Garfunkel meet that description, at least to my ears. I have multiple versions of the stereo 3AM CD and none of them have that same sound, perhaps due to levels alone, or the spatial isolation of each voice, but I think the mono mixing is most musical of them all. I believe that one of the early CDs were mostly re-mixed by Roy Halee, who seemed to favor Simon's voice, although I listened again the other day, and all I can say is I didn't like it as much. Hope this helps clarify my preference.

 

I voted for them all. It does seem unlikely to happen at this point in time but you never know.

 

Well, all the A and B sides in their original single mixes fit lovingly on to 1 CD, so that’s a nice easy package, including the final stereo single.

This, for me, would perfectly compliment stand-alone CDs of the albums in their mono mixes. I don’t need bonus tracks on these disks if the singles disc picks up the slack on the mixes that both differ to the LPs (I am a Rock, Mrs. Robinson etc), and I don’t need a fold of BOTW on CD ashen I have a button that does that for me.

This could very easily be a 3 CD set too, but I’d probably prefer 5 CD (though if they missed out 3AM, I probably wouldn’t cry about it).

 

I am missing the option of a full loaded Box-Set with everything. Therefor I went for all the single sets with bonus tracks.

 

I made an error. "Why Don't You Write Me" is not on the promo, as "El Condor Pasa" is on both sides, mono/stereo.

 

1 Disc Mono Singles Collection With Mono Singles and any Mono Non-Album Tracks

 

The vocals will be mixed differently for mono as it's a great example of Halee flanging Art Gunfunkel on the second section. But, of course, as the instrumental track is taken from Los Incas original, that will simply be a folddown.

Interesting, though. I'd love to hear it.

 

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted but I’m still alive lol. Anyway as I was making a CD of Simon and Garfunkel mono 45’s for a friend today he asked me about “El Condor Pasa” as the stock copy is only in stereo. I don’t have a promo copy so I’m curious if the mono is a unique mix? I assume that it is as Columbia was a union shop.

I included any B sides as well that were different from the LP versions (mostly on the Bridge Over Troubled Water LP).

Thanks.

 

It is, not radically different, but noticeable to anyone familiar with the stereo mix.

 

Certainly the instrumental track, which is taken directly from a Los Incas track recorded in the mid-1960s, is a fold-down, not mixed differently. The vocals are a mix. Simon's main vocal on verses and Garfunkel's flanged voice on the ("Away I'd rather sail away..."), likely needed to be played with for mono. Roy Halee really liked flanging for the stereo and vocal smoothing. But, it doesn't fold easily. It must be boosted during re-mixing to go to mono properly.

Sounds like a great CD. I wish Colombia would/could issue one like you're doing.

 

As of today, there's no good sounding digital release of their albums in mono? Cheers.

 

...A mono fold Bridge Over Troubled water album? Where?
In non-" well-off, English-speaking " countries?????