Muzikland

相信許多人在接觸一個過去年代的歌手或樂團的時候﹐都會有一個像我的聆聽經驗﹐就是先從精選唱片著手﹐因為最好的歌曲都應該在精選內吧﹐若感到對味的話﹐才會再從專輯著手瞭解。

筆者認識 Simon & Garfunkel 的歌曲﹐也是這樣﹐買來的首張唱片乃是一張1972年的精選﹐當時以為一碟網羅盡他們的好歌﹐而且吸引我的歌曲﹐說實在也不多。不過到了CD年代﹐哥哥借來一張日版 Bridge Over Troubled Water 的 CD﹐因為喜歡當中幾首歌曲﹐於是就自製卡帶精選了﹐那就是在這張 CD加上我的精選唱片﹐從中挑選喜歡的歌﹐錄成一盒46分鐘的卡帶﹐想不到之後竟對這盒卡帶愛不釋手。

90年代﹐美國CD開始普遍﹐在KPS也買到許多進口的美版CD﹐於是也就一張一張 Simon & Garfunkel 的專輯﹐慢慢的買下來﹐不過對他們仍沒有深入瞭解﹐雖然他們是 Big Name﹐不過怎麼專輯中的歌曲都不斷重覆的﹐他們的名氣是否過譽了﹖

2001年 Colmubia 為他們發行了一套 Boxset﹐包括他們的5張原裝專輯﹐因為之前我已擁有幾張他們的CD及精選﹐甚至唱片也有兩張﹐那總足夠了吧﹐不過還是為了那原裝封套復刻﹐加上價錢不貴﹐於是又敗家了一次﹐這算是最後一次一了百了吧。

Simon & Garfunkel 由 Paul Simon (1941- ) 及 Art Garfunkel (1941- ) 組成﹐早於1957年﹐他們已經以 Tom & Jerry 組隊﹐而且還灌錄了一首頗受歡迎的單曲 Hey Schoolgirl﹐是他們兩人的創作﹐得到流行榜第49位﹐不過風格卻是 Everly Brothers 歌曲的 Copy﹐因為他們是50/60年代的巨星﹐歌曲都非常流行﹐而且他們天衣無縫的合音也讓Simon & Garfunkel為之神往。

Hey Schoolgirl: 原收錄於“Hey Schoolgirl”(1957/Big) 單曲中。
(Art Garfunkel / Paul Simon)


Hey schoolgirl in the second row
The teacher's lookin' over
So I got to whisper way down low
To say who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop
Let's meet after school at three

She said, "Hey babe
But there is one thing more
My school is over at half past four
Maybe whe we're older, then we can date
O-oh, let's wait"

She said, "Hey babe, I got a lot to do
It takes me hours
'Til my homework's through
Someday we'll go steady
So don't you fret
O-oh, not yet"

Then she turned around to me
With that gleam in her eye
She said, "I'm sorry if I passed you by
I'm gonna skip my homework
Gonna cut my class
Bug out of here real fast"

Hey schoolgirl in the second row
Now we're going steady
Hear the words that I want you to know
Well it's who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop
You're mine, I knew it all the time


Simon 與 Garfunkel 自小同住紐約皇后區的 Forest Hills﹐兩家相距不遠﹐不過兩人認識卻是因為同是小學同學﹐時為1953年﹐兩人更一同參與學校的 Alice In Wonderland表演。自1957年在Big 唱片出版後﹐兩人各自進了大學﹐Paul Simon 唸的是英國文學﹐之後也攻讀法律﹐至於 Garfunkel 則唸Art History 及數學。不過兩像始終與音樂結下不解緣。直到1964年為止﹐ Paul 已寫了超過30首歌﹐不過一般都是獨立主唱或跟其他音樂人合作﹐包括Tico and the Triumphs組合﹐但是偶爾也會跟 Garfunkel 合唱。這些歌曲散落在Amy﹑ABC-Paramount﹑Big﹑Hunt﹑ Ember﹑King﹑Tribute﹑MGM 及 Madison 等小型唱片公司。除了 Tom & Jerry 之外﹐Paul Simon 也有許多筆名﹐例如Jerry Landis﹑Paul Kane 及True Taylor 等。而 Garfunkel 除了與 Paul 以 Tom & Jerry 合唱歌曲之外﹐他也有個人單曲﹐這包括了以 Artie Garr 名義灌錄的Dream Alone (1959/Warwick)﹐Private World (1961/Octavia) 而且還是他的創作。


1963年 Paul Simon 及 Art Garfunkel 得到 Colmubia 試音成功﹐並且獲得一張唱片的合約﹐唱片公司為他們改名為 Simon & Garfunkel﹐於是Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. 專輯 也在1964年10月正式面世。

Wednesday Morning, 3 AM (1964/Columbia) Track List:
01 You Can Tell The World
02 Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream
03 Bleecker Street
04 Sparrow
05 Benedictus
06 The Sound Of Silence
07 He Was My Brother
08 Peggy-O
09 Go Tell It On The Mountain
10 The Sun Is Burning
11 The Times They Are A-Changin'
12 Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
2001 Version CD Bonus Track:
13 Bleecker Street (Demo)
14 He Was My Brother (Alternate Take 1)
15 The Sun Is Burning (Alternate Take 12).

這張 Folk Album收錄了5首 Paul Simon 的創作﹐還有7首其他人的作品或民謠﹐可惜唱片一出版﹐卻換來失敗﹐兩人隨之拆夥﹐而Paul 也移居英國。不過 Simon & Garfunkel 這組合卻沒有因此劃上句號﹐因為專輯中的 Sound Of Silence 在美國西岸電台有點播放率﹐這卻令到唱片監製想到新點子﹐更為這二人組合帶來事業的轉捩點。

Wednesday Morning, 3 AM 專輯原於1964年10月19日出版﹐之後在1966再版重新發行﹐得到LP 榜第30位﹐而這專輯中的 The Sound Of Music 成為原始的版本﹐也就是後來流行的所謂 Unplugged 吧。2001年這張專輯再次發行為CD﹐多加了一首 Demo 及兩首 Alternate Take。


Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream﹕由民歌手 Ed McCurdy 寫於1950年﹐乃是應一本婦女雜誌的要求﹐以和平為題材而寫的﹐經過一晚的宿醉﹐Ed 寫於Toronto 一間酒店房間之內。這也成為著名的反戰歌曲﹐除了 Simon & Garfunkel之外﹐多位民歌/鄉謠的歌手/組合均有灌錄﹐包括Chad Mitchell Trio (1962/Folk Era)﹑Kingston Trio (1963/Capitol)﹑Mason Proffit (1971/Ampex)﹑John Denver (1971/RCA) 及Limeiters (2000/GNP-Crescendo) 等﹐不過最早令此曲聞名的﹐乃是 Weavers﹐這已是1957年以前的事了。
(Ed McCurdy)


Last night I had the strangest dream
I'd ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again

And when the paper was all signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful pray'rs were prayed

And the people in the streets below
Were dancing 'round and 'round
While guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground

**********

Bleecker Street
(Paul Simon)


Fog's rollin' in off the East River bank
Like a shroud it covers Bleeker Street
Fills the alleys where men sleep
Hides the shepherd from the sheep

Voices leaking from a sad cafe
Smiling faces try to understand
I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand
On Bleeker Street

A poet reads his crooked rhyme
Holy, holy is his sacrament
Thirty dollars pays your rent
On Bleeker Street

I head a church bell softly chime
In a melody sustainin'
It's a long road to Caanan
On Bleeker Street
Bleeker Street

**********

The Sound Of Silence: 這首歌曲之後再度收錄於“Sounds Of Silence”(1965/Columbia) 及 “Graduate” (1968/Columbia) OST 中﹐不過那是另一個Folk Rock及 Alternate版本﹐並且成為 Billboard 冠軍歌。不過1965年﹐當Paul Simon 並未發現事業曙光時﹐在英國又灌錄了一個獨唱版﹐收錄於“Paul Simon Song Book”(1965/CBS) 專輯中。
(Paul Simon)


Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools said I,you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whisperd in the sounds of silence.

***********

He Was My Brother﹕這首歌早於1962年末已寫成﹐原是Paul Simon 以Paul Kane 的名義灌錄的單曲 (1963/Tribute)﹐當時創作人的 Credit 也是 Paul Kane。該曲的主人翁為Michael "Mickey" Schwerner﹐他同是 Paul 與 Garfunkel 的同學﹐是民權工作者﹐他於1964年6月21日連同兩名同工Andrew Goodman及James Chaney 於Mississippi 被 Ku Klux Klan (3K黨) 謀殺。不過 Simon & Garfunkel 的版本發行後﹐Paul 又在英國灌錄了一個獨唱版﹐收錄於“Paul Simon Song Book”(1965/CBS) 專輯中。
(Paul Simon)


He was my brother
Five years older than I
He was my brother
Twenty-three years old the day he died

Freedom rider
They cursed my brother to his face
Go home outsider
This town's gonna be your buryin' place

He was singin' on his knees
An angry mob trailed along
They shot my brother dead
Because he hated what was wrong

He was my brother
Tears can't bring him back to me
He was my brother
And he died so his brothers could be free
He died so his brothers could be free

**********

Go Tell It On The Mountain﹕是1865年的聖詩﹐中文名為“到各山嶺去傳揚”﹐Simon & Garfunkel 的版本為傳統歌詞﹐不過在1963年時﹐民歌組合 Peter Paul & Mary 連同唱片監制把它的歌詞重寫﹐於是成為了民權歌曲“Tell It On The Mountain”(1963/Warner)。
(Traditional)


Hallelujah!
Go tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
Jesus Christ is born

Down the lonely manger
The humble Christ was born
And God sent salvation
That blessed Christmas morn

While shepherds kept their watch
O'er silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shown a holy light

**********

The Times They Are A-Changin' ﹕原唱為Bob Dylan﹐收錄於“The Times They Are A-Changin'”(1964/Columbia) 專輯中﹐該張專輯的監制也是“Wednesday Morning, 3 AM”專輯的監制 Tom Wilson。此曲也被無數歌手/樂團翻唱﹐除了 Simon & Garfunkel 之外﹐還有Peter Paul & Mary (1964/Warner)﹑Byrds (1965/Columbia) 及Seekers (1965/Columbia EMI) 等。
(Bob Dylan)


Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.



筆者相關貼文﹕
Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends Live On Stage



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