In 1972 one of the best selling Simon & Garfunkel was released: ‘Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits’. It sold millions and stayed for years in the Top Hits. But 3 years before in Japan ‘Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits’ was released for the first time. Released before ‘Bridge over troubled water’ !

CBS SONX 60081:

 

No pictures on front or back. Only the title and name of the group in lower case in the right corner at the bottom.

 

A great fold-out cover with much information about Simon & Garfunkel. And much more important it had recording information too:

 Tracks:

Side A:

Mrs. Robinson
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ groovy)
Homeward bound
Flowers never bend with the rainfall
A hazy shade of winter
I am a rock

Side B:

Scarborough Fair / Canticle
Leaves that are green
Old friends
Fakin’ it
The dangling conversation
The sounds of silence

  

CBS Sony in Japan – besides the ‘normal’ albums – released many ‘Best of’ or ‘Greatest Hits’ lp’s. They released them in a wide variety of series too. One of these series was ‘ Grand Prix 20’. The album was simply titled ‘Paul Simon’ and listed not only top-hit songs, but it gave a nice overview of the artist’s career. Twenty (20) songs.

 

   

Noteworthy are the always present inlays. With translated lyrics and information about the artist.

   

Released in 1976, the album had the following 20 songs:

Side A:

My little town
50 Ways to leave your lover
Mother and child reunion
Paranoia blues
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard
Kodachrome
American tune
Loves me like a rock
El Condor Pasa
Bridge over troubled water

Side B:
The sound of silence
Homeward bound
America
Duncan
Papa Hobo
Take me to the mardi gras
Learn how to fall
I do it for your love
Gone at last.

 

 

 

 

With a huge Hit Record in the charts – world-wide – ‘Bright Eyes’ must have drive executives mad. Having just released the album ‘Fate for breakfast’ it had to be -repressed now with the hit-single, because of demand in the shops. Often the album-cover would remain untouched – like this pressing from Spain proves to us. The label with ‘Bright Eyes’ the cover without.  So a sticker on te front would help!

With extreme thanks to Michele Neri for sharing the pictures with us!

A couple of days there was this comment to the blog: ‘I have a programme for paul at high wycombe town hall on 3/12/65‘. It was posted by emjay.

Not so long ago I posted an article about Paul Simon performing at the same Trapdoor Folk Club (see also: http://www.thetrapdoorfolkclub.co.uk/#/paul-simon/4557730452 ). I take the liberty to post one of their newspapercuttings her now:

And as you can see the performance took place ‘last night (Thursday)’, no date is mentioned.

But blog-reader emjay told the progamm was for December 3rd 1965. And December 3 was a Friday in 1965. So another performance of Paul at the Trapdoor Folk Club.

Emjay is so kind to let us use a scan of the programm:

  

In the late 80’s an LP was released (in Germany ?) labeled BIG 600 and titled ‘Tom & Jerry meet Tico & The Triumphs’.

 

abd since the beginning of this year it has also become available on Compact Disc:

 

To receive ‘airplay’ and to sell the record in the shops Columbia released promotional or DJ copies. These were ‘not to be sold’ (and stamped with that remark), but now are widely sold on the internet and at record-markets. Some are very interesting, because they have MONO editions of the songs or even better a (slighty) different version of the lp version. We will take you these on this blog too. But here are a few examples of the promotional releases of ‘Bridge over troubled water’:

The mono version of Columbia 4-45079:

 

Remarkable is the large Blue A on the A-side. Both side are MONO versions.

The Stereo and Mono side of Columbia 4-45079:

 

Here is the STERO side clearly indicated by the green color of the label.

For ‘extreme’ colecftors it is also important to know which MATRIX was used, which could indicate a ‘very early version’. But we have to be carful here, becuase Columbia used different pressing-plants who all had their own MATRIX numbers.

JZSP 152907-2A and ZSP 152908-1B for the upper and
JZSS 152946-1C and ZSP 152079-2AA for the lower release.

A new page is in preparation. All about the CBS-SONY releases (Japan).

Here’s an example:

CBS Sony SOPO 42

  

More to come soon. And if you have info to share, please feel free to do so!

Recently Thonas Tomasi mentioned that he saw Simon & Garfunkel perform during the Winter Carnival of 1967 in Johnson (VT) at the Johnson State College. Probably in February 1967, but so far no definitive confirmation has been found.
But,  in an article of their upcoming show in Burlington (1967 March 12) it is mentioned.

Read here the (1967-03-08) St. Albans Daily Messenger article:

Someonean exact date for the Johnson State College show?

Just like the album before, ‘Watermark’ in 1978,  the hitalbum  ‘Fate for breakfast’ also has a ‘history’.

If not alone for being released with six (!) different covers. Here are the first three:

  

And then came the hit ‘bright eyes’ from the movie-picture ‘Watership Down’ and the album had to be re-pressed.
In the next couple of posts we will bring you another release history!

And the last 3:
  

And ofcourse the backcover:

Back in 1957 and 1958 Simon & Garfunkel released some singles on the Big Records label. Produced by Sid Prosen. Sid was the owner of the label and had signed them. When Simon & Garfunkel were starting a really succesful career he sold the tapes to various other labels, to cash in on the success he failed to have with them in 1957.

One of these releases is the famous lp with Simon & Garfunkel on the stairs at London’s Heathrow.
Another one is a 45rpm on ABC-Paramount, which was apparently also released in Japan:

 

ABC-Paramount HIT 1352