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Joined: 15 Dec 2003
Posts: 2439
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| Tell a Friend Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:19 am Post subject: Simon and Garfunkel- Sounds of Silence Review |
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Simon and Garfunkel- Sounds of Silence
I can empathise with those of my generation who dislike Simon and Garfunkel because, for a long time, I was one of them. Their songs are never going to make you tap your foot and they are never going to make you want to hit the dance floor. They are slow, they are melancholy and they can hardly be said to be ‘street’ in our current climate of riff-based rock and drum-based dance. Faced with this competition, the duos brand of folk can seem a tad tepid.
However, Sounds of Silence was never meant to be heard in a club, nor is it music to dance to. I first heard its title track in the opening scenes of the 1960s film, The Graduate, and it was in this situation that I finally heard the genius of this duo. I was hit with that deep resonance that I have discovered so many have experienced previously. Forced to sit and listen to both the blissfully tranquil melody and graceful lyrics, I found myself won over in a matter of seconds. This is music to lie on your bed and allow to wash over you. It is music that both soothes and alerts you because, with their deeply poignant, sometimes upsetting, often enigmatic and always poetic lyrics, all you want to do is listen intently to everything they have to say.
This album is an absolute triumph. It moves effortlessly from one lyrical masterpiece to another. It takes you on an emotional journey, beginning with the deeply unsettling signature song, passing through the mournfully reflective April, Come She Will, to the uplifting but guarded I am a Rock. Each songs hits you like a sucker-punch, forcing you to bask in the power of these deeply personal singer-songwriters. After a few hearings, it ceases really to be about music then about life. It becomes an embedded soundtrack to your day-to-day routine.
Reviewed by Alex for UKEvents.net |
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