Simon & Garfunkel: "Scarborough Fair/Canticle"

In retrospect, Simon and Garfunkel’s third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme feels like their first real album.  Their debut record, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, was pure folk, and it didn’t really connect with an audience. 

Their second LP was a rush job, assembled in a hurry to cash in on the success of the single “The Sound of Silence.”

But for their third album, Simon and Garfunkel were given four months in the summer of 1966 to take their time and put together the record that they wanted.

One of the standouts on that recording was a folk song Paul had brought back from his time in England.  He and Art embellished it with a countermelody using lyrics Paul had written for an anti-war number called “The Side of the Hill.” In a rare contribution to the creative process, that new melody was mostly Art’s creation.  When they laid that “Canticle” atop the traditional ballad that was the foundation for the arrangement, it all fit together exquisitely…creating one of Simon and Garfunkel’s most memorable recordings.

You probably know the studio version already, but here’s a stunning trio performance with the host of The Andy Williams Show. Even in this simple arrangement, the song is mesmerizing. (The song begins at 1:00.)