This is what happens when you combine a poetic genius and a voice of an angel.

My dad considered Paul Simon as the greatest poet of his generation. I think he’s right. Beautiful singing, playing and poetry.

To those of us who grew up with this version of "Sounds of Silence", the Disturbed version is heresy.

The original pure acoustic version of Sound of Silence can be heard on Wednesday Morning 3AM. When that version started to get some requests on radio, the producer, Tom Wilson, decided to cash in on the burgeoning folk rock craze and overdubbed the drums, bass, and electric guitar. That was the version that went to number 1.

The lyric of "Silence like a cancer grows" says it all to me in this song...

You are an extraordinarily honest and insightful young man. All the best to you in the future, I’m 65 years old and grew up listening to and playing this music, and I really enjoy your reactions. Thank you

I agree. Genius is the word to discribe Paul Simon & his incredible body of work .....

Lee, excellent reaction to Sound of Silence! That loneliness, isolation and lack of human communication you perceived is exactly the point that Paul was trying to convey.

Thank you for playing songs from different generations. I'm in my mid-70s, and this brings back fond memories of the golden summers of my youth. I always enjoy your truthful and heartfelt commentary to the songs.

One of the great lyrics of all time: "And so you see I've come to doubt all that I once held as true. I stand alone without beliefs. The only truth I know is you."

The Graduate! One of the best classics to watch.

Imagine what will happen when Lee finally hears “Old Friends/Bookends.” All the bundled hopes and dreams of the flower power generation blown up against the weathered boots of the survivors like so much old newsprint.

The combo that is often played together is Kathy's Song and America, which also refers to "Kathy" and is very beautiful and popular.

"Sound of Silence" is a national treasure. It just builds and builds.

I love Paul Simon's finger picking and chord changes in this song. He was writing at another level to others at that time. I used to play every song on this album when performing on campus or at the beach and almost everyone knew the words.

Sound of Silence is one of those songs that comes about as close to perfection as is possible. A timeless classic, thanks for your reaction to it.

The original Sound of Silence is available on their album Wednesday Morning 3am. I prefer the original.

Once heard the "Sound of Silence" is never forgotten.

They really are magical. And many years from now you’ll be looking back on these songs fondly. They have a way of sticking with you.

"And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls. And whispered in the sound of silence"

The concert in central park is the one you want to listen 22 just hear the guitar and their voices and the audience

Love love love Kathy's song!

Acoustic SOS was done at the Concert in Central Park (1981). It was just the two guys and an acoustic guitar and 500 K people mesmerized. I think alienation is maybe one of the words you were looking for, a sense of aloneness while surrounded by people, an outsider looking in. The song also conveys a dream like state. I once heard, and absolutely can’t verify, that one of the inputs for the song was a late night walk Simon took late in the quiet city, a walk that took him past a store display window with a bunch of TVs turned on, no sound. True or not, it is kind of a fitting image for this song. (Picture a dozen or so old school black & white TVs casting a bluish white light into the dark street.)

The Graduate -"Oh no sir, it's completely baked." Best line in the movie! 😄

Thanks for this Lee, perfect birthday reaction! Simon & Garfunkel are so nostalgic for us old folks, their harmonizing and poetic lyrics are like no other. Musically lucky generation we were!

Rhymin’ Simon was second only to Dylan as a songwriter. IMHO. Great song. ✌️❤️🎶

It seems that this whole album is asking society to remember its true transcendental nature. Gently protesting, critically bolstering, but meaningfully glittering in the void. Lee, you are so you, and that's what I love and admire about you, even though I hardly know you, you come through.

S&G pure acoustical version of Sound of Silence- their 1981 Central Park performance, done live. Amazing version of that song.

So wonderful to see you so enjoy the magic of Paul Simon. Give Bookends a listen.

Paul wrote songs in his bathroom with the echo. He entered the dark bathroom and got his first line. This song WAS acoustic and flopped. They were in England trying to get a break when, unknown to them, Columbia released after adding electric instruments and it hit the charts. Saw Disturbed last summer and I told my nephew it was his second time hearing SOS at that venue. He was 4 and I took him to Paul Simon “Born at the Right Time” tour. He remembers, but keeps saying we saw Paul McCartney. 😂

The sound of silence gives me chills when I hear it start, love it

There is a version like that: Live at Central Park, NY concert.

Beautiful! Yes, watch The Graduate!

Thanks, Lee, for reacting to Simon & Garfunkel - JUST LOVE THEM!!! HUGS!!

Love your reaction to the genius of Paul Simon!

If you see the movie it will give you a real feel for the music..it sets the mood...and you will get a understanding of the time we had growed up in

Incredibly thoughtful reaction by you

I'm 75 and SOS was the 1st socially conscious lyric l ever heard. Your response is reminiscent of my own. Disturbing, deep, changed my life.

Even after all the brilliant songs that S & G did afterwards, and all the awards and accolades, this may still be my favorite songs of theirs.

The original Original of Sound of Silence is on their first album Wednesday Morning 3 am. Just an acoustic guitar and two outstanding voices.

The Graduate is a masterpiece - it's also one of the funniest movies I've ever seen

Sound of Silence has always been one of my all time favorites since it first came out-yes I’m that old -the lyrics of Kathys song are magical

Never tire of hearing S&G.

Man I cant count how many times I played this song on guitar in the last thirty years. This and Sounds and April and the Boxer.🙂

Among my top 5 lines (may not be exact) "and as it watch the rain weave their weary paths and die. I know that I am like the rain. There but for the grace of you go I."

There are two versions of The Sound Of Silence. The original is on the album but the single was a newer version recorded specifically for radio release

If you've never seen The Graduate it's a must see.

The original version is on their 1st album, "Wednesday morning, 3 A.M."

Listen to their version on Wednesday Morning 3:00 AM. It's just their voices and Paul's guitar.

The recording of S & G "Live in Central Park", has a few of their classics just acoustically including "Homeward Bound", "Sound of Silence", "April Come She Will" and a killer version of "Scarborough Fair". Might check it out.

They were magical. So calming.

If you want to hear an acoustic version, in addition to the studio recording, there is a beautiful live version, from the concert in Central Park (1981)

Thank you Kalifia! Listening to Simon & Garfunkel always makes me feel calm. It reminds me of being a child, looking out the window, watching the rain and just living in my own imagination.

Isn’t it amazing how great music is when you have a person who really knows how to write lyrics and Paul Simon is an absolute genius.

Two beautiful songs ... nice pairing

Seriously, is there anything better than1960s Simon & Garfunkel? S&G are definitely Top 10 of all time and if you said they were the greatest of all, you're not crazy.

Looking forward to listening to this when I get home later! Miss you mad lot in chat while I am here working! Soon be Thursday though :)

Paul and Art recorded an album of songs, including The Sound of Silence and then went on a European tour - the songs were, like all the others they had recorded, totally accoustic, stripped back and 'simple' - people didn't like them very much and this album looked like it too, was going to bomb... So, without informing them, their studio contacted musicians and arrangers to over-dub percussion, electric guitars... The result was instant and overwhelming! Paul and Art only found out about it when they heard the new versions of their songs played on the Radio, by which time it was too late to do anything other than embrace the ''new'' folk-rock genre 'they' had created...

Love these classics! I believe Mrs. Robinson is the last song from them for you to do from The Graduate

I loved The Graduate. Saw it with my girlfriend at a Dustin Hoffman film festival at the university in 1973. Whenever I see something about this movie I think of her and what I could have done to keep her. 50 years later.

See “The Graduate”…you’ll be VERY glad that you did.

The song was originally recorded acoustic guitar only, and was released beforehand, yet wasn't released as a single back then. Paul was upset when the producers brought the session musicians in adding in everything else for the real commercial release. Obviously became one of the most iconic songs of all time, but my all-time fave version of this tune is Paul doing it solo at the 10th anniversary of the Twin Towers going down. It's a really moving video as well. I cry every time, and that's my go-to version. My story's the exact same as with you and your mom.

There's a live version of Kathy's Song (in St Louis) which is just magical, partly because of a slight live reverb on the vocals and slightly because it sounds somehow more melancholy than the album version; in fact it is so good that they have put it on at least one of their Best of... compilations rather than the original.

The thing about being a teenager at that time, when these songs were new, was that you were presented with such a varied and mature a world of experience and feelings and ideas. There was an intensity to the songwriting that matched perfectly with the intensity of teenage emotions and feelings, so it all really hit hard. I don't know if any other era can say that in quite the same way.

Great reaction Lee!! Sound of Silence is my #1 S&G track...the message, the music (I think both the acoustic original and the 'rock' version that was released to the radio). I also love The Disturbed version - they made it their own without diverting too far from the original. I look at it like this: the Simon & Garfunkel version is the warning to society that we're not communicating, the Disturbed version is the wake-up call that we're still not listening, and to wake the F#$K up!! Kathy's Song is such a beautiful piece! Honestly, Paul Simon is definitely one of THE best songwriters in music! His lyricism is phenomenal! Keep 'em coming! Cheers!

Saying this original of 'Sound of Silence' has soul says it all.

Paul knows how to touch all our souls.

Paul Simon went to England, after the first folk album with Garfunkel (which wasn't a huge seller). Simon had a girlfriend; song is a tribute to her. It was 1965,...the recording of "Sounds of Silence" was recorded for their first album, and their Producer, added to the track to make it a bit more "Rock" like the Byrds, and Dylan were going, and some of The Beatles. At first, Paul Simon was not pleased with the additions to the track -but the single sold, got S&G on the Radio,...Simon came back to the US, and he and Garfunkel restarted their duo career.

I Am A Rock is another great song on that album. First single I purchased by them in the 60's. Great song!

The version of them singing it with just an acoustic guitar is on their album Wednesday Morning 3 A M.

I am a 71 year old woman 😅and I can not tell you how much impact

"devoid of something" is apt! I've never heard it, the feeling of this song, described in those words, but you're on to something. Thanks!

Just out the live version from the Concert At Central Park. Just the two of them...

My husband plays guitar and sings these songs to me all the time. Since 1970s.

L33, this is the second version of the tune by S & G. Originally on their debut album, Wednesday, 3 AM, in 1964, it was just acoustic guitar and voice. In 1966, producer Tom Wilson put their original vocals with electrified backing, becoming a number one tune.

The Kathy in the song was his girlfriend while in England. The same mentioned in the song America. In 1972 after S&G had already broken up, Simon & Garfunkles Greatest Hits was released. On it is a version of Kathy's Song live. I can't speak for others but for myself it became the definitive version since I heard it exclusively growing up. Give it a listen on your own sometime. Very stripped down and melancholic. It then plays El Condor Pasa (If I Could) which will forever be the song that should come afterward in my head. I think you already reacted to the live version of For Emily Wherever I May Find Her from the same greatest hits album. The genius of Sound of Silence lyrically cannot be understated. Being isolated and alone surrounded by a busy city and no one hearing the others. Light of the flashing sign snapping attention from the scene while being one with silence of it. A messenger to the dilusioned and disenfranchised of humanity.

There is a wonderful live in Central Park version with just Paul & Art singing from 1981 you should check it out

Simon & Garfunkel recorded an acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence" on their first album "Wednesday Morning, 3AM". Here it is: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/opaharB9tdWRpWw.html

Kathy's Song is so beautiful. One of my favorite songs. Full. Stop. If you really want to hear the best of Paul Simon's guitar playing, check out any number of tracks from his self-titled solo album (Paul Simon 1972). Try "Duncan," or "Everything Put Together Falls Apart" to get started.

On Simon & Garfunkel's first album "Wednesday Morning, 3AM" there is just what you are looking for...a more acoustic version of Sound of Silence. You must listen to it on headphones, their vocals are on seperate channels.

after they broke up, they got together and did a free concert in Central Park, in NYC. Much of it on youtube. the performances are amazing, especially Garfunkel on Bridge ove Troubled Waters, but the whole thing is great. They were a little older and more mature. Great videos

Your comments about your Mom were touching...while there might be some geographical distance, a call out of the blue from you is so.ething she will treasure!

There’s another version of this by them that’s even better.

Their previous album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." has a lovely acoustic rendition of "The Sound of Silence". In fact, the album has many lovely acoustic ballads and love songs, Check it out!!

Great reaction. Great song! It's HARD being a human! You are RIGHT! It is hard being. Jon Anderson and Paul are good friends.

Another day, another great reaction to a couple of gems by just another of those superb bands from the 60s and 70s. You and your channel have been a really great discovery.

There's some great stuff on Wednesday Morning 3am. The title track, Poem on the Underground Wall, Bleeker Street... Play any of these and I am 14 years old again.Keep up the good work kiddo.

As someone said below, there's a "naked" verson of this piece in their first album. This reboot of the song was made whitout the duo consent or even knowledge. In fact they had split up due to the lack of positive feedback on that first album and Paul went to England and lived there for a while with this english girl Kathy, which is the same Kathy that appears as co-protagonist in the song America Then all of a sudden Sounds of Silence went up up up in the charts as a single, featuring the new arrangement that the record company had made. In the wake of that the duo reformed. Meanwhile in England Paul managed to release a solo album and a bunch of those songs were later re-recorded and included in their duo records

Love that you're wading into Paul Simon and the S&G catalog...Paul is such a gifted songwriter, but his acoustic guitar chops are severely underrated IMHO. He's usually not showcasing any flash, but his playing is sublime.

If you want SOS with just Paul and Art, just put in search Sound of Silence live. There is one in their prime from 1967, but the one that blew me away was 2009 when they were in their late 60's. Damn, they still sounded amazing! And your song selection on this channel is amazing, too. Keep up the good work. Since it is short, maybe you could do both and you can see the contrast of 42 years.

Yes, their first album has a totally acoustic version of the Sounds of Silence. There are also live acoustic versions but the studio version is perfect.

Classic #1 song Sounds Of Silence. Plus another brilliant Song Kathys Song!❤

Thank you for the great reaction! Saw Paul Simon in concert, bucket list checked off, expectation exceeded! Arty's voice, and their harmonies are so captivating. I put their Concert in Central Park video when cooking or cleaning. ❤

I've always loved the poetry of Kathy's Song. It's a song coming straight from the heart. I'm proud to say that I can play/sing a semi-decent cover of this song on occasions. This LP (plus Sgt Pepper) was a cornerstone of childhood. I remember waking up at some ungodly hour when I was nine to discover my older brother playing this LP on the family portable record player in the bedroom we shared. It was an eerie moment for me because the song he was listening to (Blessed) seemed almost spooky to me because the harmonies were unusual and nothing like I had ever heard before. It was like a spiritual awakening for me at the time. Another very unique song from this album that I'm sure you will get a kick out of is, A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission). It is a completely bizarre, humorously worded tune that will undoubtedly leave you scratching your head. It contains several references of various well known people from the 60s. Some you will know, most you probably won't. I'm guessing perhaps Simon didn't have enough material at the time and convinced his producer to put it on the album as a filler. As you will find out, it's definitely not a singalong kind of song. Cheers!

As others may have noted, 'Sounds of silence' was originally on the duo's debut album, which was very much in the folk revival mode. It wasn't a hit album initially, as it came out in the massive wake of The Beatles and a change in musical tastes. In a bid to be where music was 'happening' Paul Simon toured the UK's folk clubs and met his muse, British girl Kathy Mitty, whilst Art went back to being a university student in Columbia. Unknown to them their producers dubbed electric guitar, bass and drums onto their original recording, so that the song had a better chart success amongst the new folk/rock hybrid style developing in the States (if you listen there are a few small points where the band are struggling to match Paul's timing, which is not to any strict tempo.) To Paul and Art's surprise the song charted in the Billboard, so they decided to get back together, and the rest is history. The quality of a great song is that many artists can do there own take on a song in a wide range of styles,and reworked for new generations. Paul Simon truly is an inspired writer, and his lyrics are poetry which can stand on their own. Their blend of harmonies is a key signature they had from their very earliest days, and they would record on opposite sides of a mic and watch each other to get the enunciation perfect. Each subsequent album would become richer, and their long time producer Roy Halee, did for them what George Martin did for The Beatles, and made what where already extraordinary songs into beautifully arranged and produced recording masterpieces.

There is an acoustic version of sounds of silence. it's on the album, "Wednesday morning 3Am". it has the same album artwork

The electric guitar on The Sound of Silence tells me this is the second recording of this song. There's an earlier one with an accoutic guitar. They were encouraged to redo it with an electirc guitar and more production for their second album, which you are reviewing. You should check it out - the singing is even more evocative in this raw version. The album where you'll find it is their debut album - Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. That's what I first heard on the radio back when (in my early teens, so that would be 1964ish) It was replaced on the radio with the more highly produced version fairly quickly.

I recommend checkin' out the original version o' Kathy's Song from Paul Simon's first solo album-The Paul Simon Songbook. That's his British girlfriend Kathy on the cover. Simon & Garfunkel has split up after their first album bombed and Paul went to England to pursue a solo career. He high tailed it back to New York when a revamped version o' Sound O' Silence, released without his knowledge, topped the U.S. charts.

Homeward Bound, El Condor Pasa, Keep the customer satisfied, The Only Living Boy in New York, my favorite songs by S & G

On Simon and Garfunkel's previous album "Wednesday Morning, 3AM" is the original version of "Sounds Of Silence" without the extra instruments. It is what you are seeking. I have enjoyed your Simon & Garfunkel reactions.