While it is certainly not their "greatest" album, this little gem remains my favorite Simon & Garfunkle album.  It has a passionate innocence that belongs very much to its time period of the early  1960's.
Only four songs on it were written by Simon, a big difference  from their later work where virtually everything was written by him.
Many of these songs paint wonderful word pictures:
"Last Night I  Had the Strangest Dream" is a very naive but beautiful plea for world  peace.  "Guns and swords and uniforms were scattered on the  ground".
"Bleeker Street" is a wonderful bit of poetry  about life in Greenwich Village. "The fog rolls in off the East  River...I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand on Bleeker  Street..."
"Sparrow" is an allegory, almost a biblical  parable, on Humanity's penchant for abandoning those in need.  "Who  will love a little sparrow?...'Not I', said the golden wheat, 'I would if I  could, but I cannot, I know...'"
"Benedictus" is a Latin  prayer...no word picture here, but I love Latin chant, and this is an  interesting interpretation.
"The Sounds of Silence" is surely  one of their greatest works and this is the original acoustic version.  The  best version I feel!
"Peggy-O" is an old, traditional folk  song, known by a number of names.  Joan Baez recorded it as  "Fennario" and the Clancy Brothers released it as "The Maid  of Fife".  It is Irish in origin, but has been modified as it moved  from country to country.  All three versions I mentioned are somewhat  different, but all are clearly the same basic song.
"The Sun Is  Burning" is a powerful anti-war song, specifically on the threat of  nuclear holocaust.
The album closes with the title track, a simple story  of a man who committed a senseles crime and now must flee, leaving behind  the girl he loves. "...I watch as her breasts gently rise, gently  fall.  For I know with the first light of dawn, I'll be leaving, and  tonight will be all I have left to recall..."
I strongly recommend  this album!
While it is certainly not their "greatest" album, this little gem remains my favorite Simon & Garfunkle album. It has a passionate innocence that belongs very much to its time period of the early  1960's. Only four songs on it were written by Simon, a big difference  from their later work where virtually everything was written by him. Many of these songs paint wonderful word pictures:
"Last Night I  Had the Strangest Dream" is a very naive but beautiful plea for world  peace. "Guns and swords and uniforms were scattered on the  ground". "Bleeker Street" is a wonderful bit of poetry  about life in Greenwich Village. "The fog rolls in off the East  River... I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand on Bleeker  Street... "
"Sparrow" is an allegory, almost a biblical  parable, on Humanity's penchant for abandoning those in need. "Who  will love a little sparrow?... 'Not I', said the golden wheat, 'I would if I  could, but I cannot, I know... '"
"Benedictus" is a Latin  prayer... no word picture here, but I love Latin chant, and this is an  interesting interpretation. "The Sounds of Silence" is surely  one of their greatest works and this is the original acoustic version. The  best version I feel! "Peggy-O" is an old, traditional folk  song, known by a number of names. Joan Baez recorded it as  "Fennario" and the Clancy Brothers released it as "The Maid  of Fife". It is Irish in origin, but has been modified as it moved  from country to country. All three versions I mentioned are somewhat  different, but all are clearly the same basic song. "The Sun Is  Burning" is a powerful anti-war song, specifically on the threat of  nuclear holocaust. The album closes with the title track, a simple story  of a man who committed a senseles crime and now must flee, leaving behind  the girl he loves. "... I watch as her breasts gently rise, gently  fall. For I know with the first light of dawn, I'll be leaving, and  tonight will be all I have left to recall... "
I strongly recommend  this album!