Fantastic Four-Album Streaks: Simon & Garfunkel From 1966 to 1970

Now and again, we like to salute those who sustained brilliance over an extended stretch of time. Very few artists managed a run of four consecutive albums that all have achieved consensus greatness.

Simon & Garfunkel pulled off just such a hot streak from 1966 to 1970. Let’s look back at the unmitigated brilliance that they captured on those albums.

‘Sounds Of Silence’

It was almost over before it really started. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel split after their 1964 debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., mostly flopped. As Simon was trying to make his way as a solo act, a revamped version of “The Sound Of Silence”, capitalizing on the folk-rock trend, captured the public imagination. The pair hastened into the studio to do a full album. Luckily, they had a backlog of material courtesy of the 1965 Simon solo album The Paul Simon Songbook (also a flop). Thus, Sounds Of Silence is both a rush job and a rehash. And yet it’s unmistakably wondrous, delivering evergreens like “Kathy’s Song”, “April Come She Will”, and “I Am A Rock” at every turn.

‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme’

You can forgive Simon & Garfunkel for reaching at times on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme. They were in a serious rush, putting this album out in the same year as Sounds Of Silence. As such, the desperation for material can explain the well-meaning but corny closer “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night”. But that’s one of the only hiccups. Simon’s quickly maturing writing led to some outstanding tracks. “Homeward Bound” can still put lumps in throats if you’re far from the hearth. “The Dangling Conversation” dissects domestic ennui with heart-rending accuracy. And let’s not forget “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”, which benefits from Garfunkel’s knack for inventive vocal arrangements.

‘Bookends’

Bookends emerged with a great head start. S&G had already released the smash single “Mrs. Robinson” on the soundtrack to The Graduate before releasing it here as well. What’s noticeable here is how the two men, in conjunction with co-producer Roy Halee, were starting to expand their sonic horizons. “Fakin’ It” tacks some bold brass onto Simon’s tale of existential malaise. “Hazy Shade Of Winter” displayed the duo’s ability to rev up the tempo without losing the plot. And “America” stands as one of Simon’s zeitgeist-capturing anthems. With all this brilliance around it, we can kind of forgive the oh-so-skippable interlude “Voices Of Old People”.

‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’

It’s hard to say if, going into Bridge Over Troubled Water, the two men had an inkling that this would be their last album. Simon’s frustration over Garfunkel getting waylaid on a movie set eventually proved the final straw. Nonetheless, they made sure that everyone would miss them plenty by leaving behind this stunner of a record. If the title track, featuring Garfunkel’s most indelible vocal moment, had been all they recorded, it would have been plenty. But classic after classic emerges from the album, all pristinely and ambitiously recorded. “The Boxer” serves as one of Simon’s most haunting character sketches. “The Only Living Boy In New York” touchingly delves into the pair’s friendship. And “Cecilia” blasts away with good vibes.

(Photo by CBS via Getty Images)