Village Vanguard

A very interesting and worthwhile, though not superb, collection of 27 live performances and outtakes, spanning 1966 through 1969. The three studio outtakes from 1966 to 1967 include one song that the duo released as a B-side to the Fakin' It single, "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies," which is perhaps a bit too insouciant a love song even by Simon's 1966 standards, but has a decent tune. There's also a version of "Overs" with considerably different lyrics than the one that turned up on Bookends. Then there are a few songs from a 1966 "studio rehearsal," though the cover doesn't say whether this is a recording, TV, or radio studio, and some of them sound like Paul Simon solo tracks, with no evidence of Garfunkel. Anyway, these too are noteworthy for including two songs that never appeared on their albums: the nice, folky ballad "I Wish You Could Be Here" and "Bad Blues Feeling," the latter of which shows the influence of Simon's 1965 stint in Britain with its Bert Jansch-type licks. Six songs from a 1966 BBC appearance again yield rarities with a cover of Tom Paxton's "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound"; the anti-war "On the Side of a Hill," which never made it onto any S&G albums; and "A Church Is Burning," which only came out on Paul Simon's 1965 solo LP, The Paul Simon Song Book. The nine songs from a November 1969 concert don't have any otherwise unavailable numbers, but do boast the best sound quality of anything on the CD. This bootleg isn't solely notable for the rare compositions, though. The sound is very good at best and very listenable at worst. The performances are fine, and there are renditions of famous hits like "Homeward Bound," "Sounds of Silence," and "I Am a Rock" dotted throughout the program. ~

A new disc for the end of 1999, Village Vanguard gathers a lot of important material, some fairly common to the ROIO collector, some new to the more "public" ROIO market.

The various studio outtakes and rehearsals have appeared before on other releases in the same sound quality. The most striking of these is "Overs," which has a unique organ line and very early lyrics - vastly diferent from the final version of the song. It's nice to get "Bad News Feeling" and "I Wish You Could Be Here" with Paul Simon performing - the latter is more commonly available in a version by The Cyrkle.

The highlight of this disc is the 9 November 1969 material. This concert, performed a few days prior to the Miami University show and immediately after the wrap of principal recording for Bridge Over Troubled Water, has a high energy level. This show was likely the first live performance of "Song For The Asking," as Artie notes that Paul "just finished" the song. Unlike the Miami University show, there is no backing band here, likely due to the fact that studio recording took place in Los Angeles the day before this show. The recording quality of this section is the best on the disc, though not as clean as that of the aforementioned Miami U. show.

The other material on this disc - the "Sing Out" TV show and the BBC programme - are well-done, though the recording quality is typical of any off-air recording of the time: fairly low-fidelity, but quite listenable.
   

Label Head Records

SOUND A to C mostly B+

Label Head

Label Head Records

 

 

You don't know where your interest lies ( Studio out-takes 1966-1967 )

For Emily, whenever I may find her ( Studio out-takes 1966-1967 )

Overs ( Studio out-takes 1966-1967 )

Homeward bound ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

At the zoo ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

America ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

59th Street bridge song ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

song for the asking ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

a poem on the underground wall ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

for Emily, whenever I may find her ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

anji ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

Richard Cory ( sing out T.V SPECIAL1966 )

Sound of silence ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

Homeward bound ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

A most peculiar Man ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

He was my brother ( Carbondale, Il, Nov, 08, 1969 )

I am a rock ( studio rehearsal 1966 )

I wish you could be here ( studio rehearsal 1966 )

Blessed ( studio rehearsal 1966 )

Bad blues feeling ( studio rehearsal 1966 )

Cloudy ( studio rehearsal 1966 )

Where I'm bound ( BBC LONDON 1966 )

Sparrow ( BBC LONDON 1966 )

On the side of a hill ( BBC LONDON 1966 )

I am a rock ( BBC LONDON 1966 )

A church is burning ( BBC LONDON 1966 )

Anji ( BBC LONDON 1966 )