Prof sez:
Here's another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd". This completes
the series of the S&G mono albums I have been doing (which means I won't be doing the first album in the future).
This is the first "great" Simon & Garfunkel album. It is a major leap from their first, which presented them as a
unremarkable student-like Jewish folk duo.
By late 1965, spurred by the chart success of the title track -which had been overdubbed & re-released at Tom Wilson's
initiative- the guys reformed and recorded their follow-up. No doubt influenced by Dylan's switch to electric, the album's
content is divided between a more updated rocksound and a lighter acoustic sound that would the reflect the duo's live
performances. Paul Simon had been writing most of the material in well-over two years and there was more than enough
quality to pick from. Producer Bob Johnston even had the luxury to temporarily shelf the songs "Homeward Bound" and
"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" for single releases later in 1966.
The album was rush-released in January 1966 in both mono and stereo. In 1968 the mono version went out of print
and has since never been available again. Since this album was recorded on 4-track, the stereo mix misses much
of the impact that the mono has, isolating the elements and leaving the overall balance slightly off.
In 2000, When Columbia decided it was time for a Simon & Garfunkel reissue program, they went back the original
mulitracks and re-did the first three albums (supposedly due to irreplaceable damage to the original stereo masters).
The remix of this album is an interesting listening experience, as it gives an idea of what the multitapes
sound like and it has better fidelity, especially on the Tom Wilson tracks.
However, it can in no way replace the excitement of this vintage mono mix. This is the way it sounded
back then, and this is the way the music found its way into the public conscious. When I listen to the song SOS
from the current CD, I appreciate the well-recorded drumsound. But when I sit listen to the mono mix, I feel like
slapping the rhythm on my upper legs.
As you may have noted, there are two version of I Am A Rock included here. Actually, these are largely the same
performances and mixes, except for the intro. When Columbia wanted to release the track as a single, Paul Simon
concluded he was unhappy about the way he had sang the intro and demanded it to be re-done (and also have it replaced
on the mono album).
Columbia obliged to Simon's request and he re-recorded the intro and had it patched together with the original mono mix.
The result was quite sloppy, as the new intro was not played in the exact same key and the overall sound didn't match
either. It was never corrected on the stereo album. Not surprisingly, the 2001 remix also uses the original intro,
as this was how they found it on the multitapes.
I've been wanted to do this one since 2008, when I stumbled upon a used copy while on vacation in the bay area.
It took me a few purchases on ebay to find a copy that met my quality standards. The copy used here is the best
one I found in four years of searching, in nice EX condition and it's grooves were never subjected to the cheap
phonographs of the day, unlike all the other copies I had the misfortune of buying. So, while it took me a bit longer
than usual to clean up the digital recording, the result has turned out to be very nice, if I say so myself.
There are a few tracks that were cut pretty hot (like Tr. 3, 5 & 11) but I doubt you'd get a much cleaner playback from
an unplayed copy. The original IAAR intro was taken from a first pressing, all the rest from the 2nd pressing of which
the first side uses the same 1A cutting as the first pressing.
The record was professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s Enzymantic formula,
Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5 (using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.
I cleaned up a lot of clicks and pops manually (some of them are on the actual recording) and also repaired one
tape-dropout. All this was done without harming the music.
Enjoy! |
