The Paul Simon Songbook. - In 1965, after Wednesday Morning 3 AM didn't take off, Paul Simon left for England. While there, he recorded a solo album. Meanwhile, back in the US, Tom Wilson took the acoustic Sound of Silence and added electric guitars, bass, and drums. Paul Simon heard it on the radio in England; the first he knew of the electrified version. He rushed back to the US and re-recorded many songs from the solo album with Art Garfunkel and a band. (If you listen to I Am A Rock, it sounds like Al Kooper playing the same organ lines as on Like A Rolling Stone.)
This solo album is a great look at the songs at their most basic level - one guitar and one voice. It is also a reminder of how good a guitar player Paul Simon is; his playing got buried in the mix as time went on. The solo Sound of Silence is really different.