"The Rod Stewart Album" aka "An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down" by ROD STEWART – September 1969 US Debut Album on Mercury Records, February 1970 UK Debut Album on Vertigo Records In Different Artwork – Inside "Reason To Believe: The Complete Mercury Studio Recordings" - Featuring Ronnie Lane (of Small Faces and Faces), Ron Wood (of Faces and The Rolling Stones), Martin Pugh and Martin Quittenton (of Steamhammer), Mick Waller (of Steampacket), Ian McLagan (of Small Faces and The Who) with Keith Emerson (pre E.L.P.) and more (November 2002 UK Mercury Anthology – 5LPs, Singles and Rarities Remastered onto 3CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

September 1969 US Debut Album on Mercury Records 

Titled "The Rod Stewart Album"

See Below for February 1970 UK LP with Different Title and Artwork (Same Tracks)
 

"…I Wouldn't Change A Thing…"

 

"Take me back...down the Gasoline Alley where I came from..." I've been meaning to heap praise on this Chronicles 3CD Digipak of Scots Shortbread for years now - so here are the tartan scarves, champagne buckets and caviar pillow stains. Techo bits first...

 

USA/UK released November 2002 (reissued January 2005) – "Reason To Believe: The Complete Mercury Studio Recordings" by ROD STEWART on Mercury/Universal/Chronicles 440 063 422-2 (Barcode 044006342221) is a 3CD set and breaks down as follows:

 

Disc 1 (79:19 minutes):

1. Street Fighting Man [Side 1]

2. Man Of Constant Sorrow

3. Blind Prayer

4. Handbags And Gladrags

5. An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down [Side 2]

6. I Wouldn't Ever Change A Thing

7. Cindy's Lament

8. Dirty Old Town

Tracks 1 to 8 are his debut LP "An Old Raincoat Won’t Let You Down" – released February 1970 on Vertigo VO 4 in the UK. Mercury SR-61237 was released September 1969 in the USA where the album was lumbered with the hugely unimaginative title of "The Rod Stewart Album" itself matching the dreadfully plain and boring artwork (different to the beautiful UK version on Vertigo but with the same tracks). As this is effectively an American 3CD release – the booklet doesn't picture the lovely photograph gatefold of the UK artwork – only the US one – more’s the pity.

 

 

"Reason To Believe..." 3CD Remasters 

 

The 24-page booklet is housed in a three-way foldout card digipak with each flap featuring live photos (pictures beneath the see-through plastic trays also). AMY LINDEN provides the liner notes and there's discography info on each track and overall recording credits. But the big news is the SUHA GUR remasters which are fantastic – full of presence and life and that raunchy feel Stewart got at the time.
 

Looking for audio-glory, for many the first port of call on this 3CD set will be the more popular and well-known "Every Picture Tells A Story" and "Never A Dull Moment" sets. Both are 5-star Rod Stewart classics with nuggets like the gorgeous "Mandolin Wind" and the raucous "Los Paraguayos". But it's the first two British LPs issued on Vertigo at the tail ends of 1970 - "An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down" and "Gasoline Alley" - that I keep returning to when I play this massive CD haul.

 

Lyrically and musically – there is so much richness here. Armed with a God-given set of tonsils and a way with observation and melody - song after song smacks you over the head with greatness and smart choices. And all of it with that fantastic band of his. In short, his sessions were dripping with that loose but cool British Rock 'n' Roll swagger that seemed to come so easily to all of them. Let's get to the beginning...

 

 

February 1970 UK Sleeve for his Debut Album 

"An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down" 

Different (Better) Artwork To The Earlier US Debut "The Rod Stewart Album"

 

The crew for the debut included Ron Wood (soon to be in the Faces and later The Rolling Stones) and Martin Pugh of Steamhammer on Guitars, Ian McLagan on Keyboards, Martin Quittenton of Steamhammer on Acoustic Guitar, Ron Wood also on Bass with Mick Waller of Steampacket on Drums. 

 

Stewart opens Side 1's musical account with a Rolling Stones rebel call - "Street Fighting Man" – tremendous panache in his version filled with right speaker lead electric guitar dirtiness – his rasping vocals thrilling ("...Summer is here and the time is right for fighting in the streets.") Ginger Baker's Airforce would make a 1970 Polydor 45-single out of a live version of the folky "Man Of Constant Sorrow" – the kind of acoustic lament Stewart seems to thrive on.

 

His own "Blind Prayer" talks of mum and dad lost to a fire way up on the 14^th floor as dirty guitars and drums rattle and stab. Manfred Mann's Mike D'abo provides a haunting "Handbags And Gladrags" – arranging and playing piano on his own composition too. H&G is a fabulous moment on the LP – a gorgeous real-world lament of rags to riches. Ron Wood sticks it with grungy Bass on the UK title track "An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down" (another Rodders original) – a well-made slice of English garb to keep you from the drizzling rain.

 

We get the superb keyboard contribution of a pre 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer' Keith Emerson on "I Wouldn't Ever Change A Thing" – probably my fave-rave for the whole album and another RS original. A hissy but powerful organ lingers at the beginning of "Cindy's Lament" only to settle into a rocking riff where Cindy doesn't seem to notice our boy nearly as much as he would prefer. Love the way the piano comes in too – the remaster rattling the room. Rod ends his debut album with a gorgeous Scottish air from Ewan MacColl - "Dirty Old Town" – kissing his girl by the factory wall. His next platter was of course "Gasoline Alley" – the title track is enough to make me melt like butter.

 

The 3CD set "Reason To Believe: The Complete Mercury Studio Recordings" is that rare instance of quality and quantity combined in a peerless compilation and of all of it wrapped up in that top-quality remastered sound.

 

"...Combed my hair in a thousand ways…but I come out looking the same…" - Rod sang on 1971's "Every Picture Tells A Story". Forget all the expensive alternatives - this is the musical mirror you want to look in to…

"The Rolling Stones" and "England's Newest Hitmakers" by THE ROLLING STONES – April 1964 UK Debut Album on Decca Records in Mono Only, May 1964 US Debut LP as "England's Newest Hitmakers" on London Records in Mono and Stereo with Different Tracks and Artwork – Both Versions Available Inside "The Rolling Stones In Mono" (September 2016 UK ABKCO Records 15CD Breeze Block Box Set With New Remasters and Mini Repro LP Artwork) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Play With Fire..."

 

Oh lawdy mama yes. I pre-ordered this sucker the day it was announced and I've been giddy like Donald Trump at a Deluxe Toupee Convention ever since.

 

On arrival and being a Rolling Stones reissue - In Mono is typically a mixed bag of the fabulous vs. the downright sloppy and lazy (presentation glitches) – especially at this price and in 2016. But overall it's been worth the wait.

 

There were crossovers between the UK and American variants, but at last we also get the official digital debut of the first two British LPs in Mono on CD - "Rolling Stones No.1" and "No. 2". Let's get to the factoids...

 

UK and USA released Friday, 30 September 2016 – "The Rolling Stones In Mono" by THE ROLLING STONES on ABKCO Records 018771834526 (Barcode 018771834526) is a Remastered 15CD Box Set with a 48-Page booklet containing all of the UK and USA albums released between 1964 and 1969 on Decca, London and ABKCO Records (MONO only).

 

The UK and US Debut Album plays out as follows:

 

Disc 1 "The Rolling Stones" (32:51 minutes, 12 Tracks, UK Mono LP):

1. Route 66

2. I Just Want To Make Love To You

3. Honest I Do

4. Mona

5. Now I've Got A Witness (Like Uncle Phil And Uncle Gene)

6. Little By Little

7. I'm A King Bee [Side 2]

8. Carol

9. Tell Me (You're Coming Back)

10. Can I Get A Witness

11. You Can Make It If You Try

12. Walking The Dog

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "The Rolling Stones" – released 17 April 1964 in the UK on Decca LK 4605 (Mono only) – first time on CD.

 

 

Their US debut album was called "England's Newest Hitmakers" (as shown above) – released 3 May 1964 on London LL 3373 (Mono) and London PS 375 (Stereo). The Bo Diddley cover of "Mona" from the British LP was dropped in favour of "Not Fade Away" - a Buddy Holly cover version (see Track 10, Disc 15). The other tracks remained the same and to sequence that US album from these discs use the following [10/15 = Track 10, Disc 15, 5/1 = Track 5, Disc 1 etc]:

 

1. Not Fade Away [10/15]

2. Route 66 [1/1]

3. I Just Want To Make Love To You [2/1]

4. Honest I Do [3/1]

5. Now I've Got A Witness... [5/1]

6. Little By Little [6/1]

7. I'm A King Bee [7/1] [Side 2]

8. Carol [8/1]

9. Tell Me (You're Coming Back) [9/1]

10. Can I Get A Witness [10/1]

11. You Can Make It If You Try [11/1]

12. Walking The Dog [12/1]

 

The Side 1 opener of the US debut album "England's Newest Hitmakers" is a cover version of the Buddy Holly classic "Not Fade Away" and can be found on Disc 15 (Track 10). This 24-straggler-tracks CD compilation has been dubbed "Stray Cats" and runs to 70:17 minutes (24 Tracks). "Not Fade Away was also a 21 February 1964 UK 7" 45-single on Decca F 11845 (A-side).

 

 

DAVID FRICKE does the expert and affectionately written liner notes (Pages 1 to 43) that are accompanied by beautifully rendered black and white and colour period photos of the band from the TERRY O’NEILL Archive. But that's small beer to the really big deal news – the superb new Mono Audio. Mastered by BOB LUDWIG at Gateway Mastering - a team of three handled the transfers – STEVE ROSENTHAL and TED YOUNG did Sound Restoration while TERI LANDI did Analogue-to-Digital Transfers and Tape Research. GUS SKINAS is the DSD consultant while SEAN MAGEE and ALEX WHARTON did the Lacquer Cutting for the Vinyl Version at Abbey Road Studios. First generation tapes were used and as David Fricke enthuses on Page 3 of the excellent liner notes - the whole shebang is 'newly remastered with unprecedented fidelity and revelatory detail'. And I'd agree with that.

 

ABKCO Records 018771834526 is impressive and at times beautifully tactile. The credits page is pasted onto the back of the box so its not one of those annoying sheets that falls away the second you undo the shrink-wrap. Each oversized glossy full-colour hard card sleeve is held in a resealable 300 grams plastic and the glossy CDs themselves protected on the inside by an anti-static Japanese plastic so the surface of the disc remains un-scuffed by the card repro. But even though they look the part - practically speaking - re-sealable plastics are a frigging nightmare to actually use. Anyone who knows what those Japanese versions are like will cringe - they look gorgeous but tear so easily and the sealable flap sticks to the sleeve on exit and entry. 

 

Fortunately as these are all glossy hard-card sleeves that won't matter too much. Also instead of those brittle Japanese issues - ABKCO have smartly used a durable plastic on their resealable wraps. It's a little thing to note for sure - but if you actually want to play these and not rip strips off of your repro artwork every time you open them - it's a smart move. I like the flip-over lid, the covers in their plastics fit snugly within the box and the booklet looks the part too. The rear sleeves are paste-on for the first few albums and "No. 1" even comes with the 'Mona' track credit of the first British pressing (later issues have "I Need You Baby").

 

Fans will know that the first two British albums "Rolling Stones No. 1" and "No. 2" were originally released in Mono in the UK for a limited time (later in other territories) and have been officially AWOL on CD forever - a fact that seems amazing in 2016. So it's very cool to see their release here at last. Debut gems - the sly harmonica R&B of Slim Harpo's "I'm A King Bee" and cool stuff like "Route 66" and "I Just Want To Make Love to You" nailed their love of American Blues, Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll to the mast from the get go. Other great tracks include the boys donning a cap to Bo Diddley by doing his "Mona" and of course Chuck Berry and Motown are in there with "Carol" and "Can I Get A Witness". Even as you play the 1963 singles that start Disc 15 – the "Stray Cats" compilation – you can hear their edge early on. Great stuff...

 

As ever with Rolling Stones Deluxe Edition reissues, there's a compromise for long-suffering fans. But it would be churlish and penny-pinching to call this reissue anything other than a triumph.

 

I'm going to be opening the re-sealable plastics contained within this gorgeous thing for years to come. "England's Newest Hitmakers" and how - and I like that a lot...

"When A Man Loves A Woman + Warm And Tender Love" by PERCY SLEDGE - June and November 1966 US Debut and Second Studio Albums on Atlantic Records in Stereo (November 2016 UK Edsel Compilation - 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD with Four Bonus Tracks - Number 1 in a Series of 3 CD Compilations) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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June 1966 US Debut Album "When A Man Loves A Woman" on Atlantic Records

This Review Along With Nearly 195 Others Is Available in my

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Mod, New Breed, Funk, Jazz Dancers, Rare Grooves

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Your Guide To The Best CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

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"...Loving Eyes Can Never See..."

The first in an series of three Edsel CD compilations for that great Southern Soul Man – Percy Sledge - and his immaculately coiffured stay at Atlantic Records (see list below for the other two titles).

 

This leanly priced card-digipak offers up his June 1966 debut album "When A Man Loves A Woman" followed by the November 1966 second studio platter "Warm And Tender Soul" plus four appropriate stragglers – two Non-LP B-sides and two later-released alternate version rarities. Lots to warm your soul and the woman you love (put your best friend down). To the details...

 

UK released 11 November 2016 - "When A Man Loves A Woman + Warm And Tender Soul" by PERCY SLEDGE on Edsel EDSA 5063 (Barcode 740155506339) is a Compilation offering 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD with Four Bonus Tracks. It plays out as follows (73:33 minutes):

 

1. When A Man Loves A Woman [Side 1]

2. My Adorable One 

3. Put A Little Lovin' On Me

4. Love Me All The Way 

5. When She Touches Me (Nothing Else Matters)

6. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man 

7. Thief in The Night [Side 2]

8. You Fooled Me

9. Love Makes The World Go Round 

10. Success 

11. Love Me Like You Mean It 

Tracks 1 to 11 are his debut album "When A Man Loves A Woman" - released June 1966 in the USA on Atlantic 8125 (Mono) and Atlantic SD 8125 (Stereo) - in the UK on Atlantic 587015 (Mono) and Atlantic 588015 (Stereo). The STEREO Mix is used for this CD. 

 

12. It Tears Me Up [Side 1]

13. I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You 

14. You Really Got A Hold On Me 

15. That's How Strong My Love Is 

16. A Sweet Woman Like You 

17. Love Me Tender

18. Warm And Tender Love [Side 2]

19. Try A Little Tenderness 

20. So Much Love 

21. I Stand Accused 

22. Heart Of A Child 

23. Oh How Happy 

Tracks 12 to 23 are his second studio album "Warm And Tender Love" - released November 1966 in the USA on Atlantic 8132 (Mono) and Atlantic SD 8132 (Stereo) - in the UK on Atlantic 587048 (Mono) and Atlantic 588048 (Stereo). The STEREO Mix is used for this CD.

 

BONUS TRACKS:

24. When A Man Loves A Woman - Remake recorded in 1966, but unreleased until 1998 as an 'Alternate Take' on the CD compilation "The Very Best Of..." on Rhino R2 72969

 

25. Sugar Puddin' (July 1966 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2341, Non-LP B-side of "Warm And Tender Love")

 

26. You've Got That Something Wonderful (February 1967 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2383, Non-LP B-side of "Baby, Help Me")

 

27. (With) Every Beat Of My Heart (First Appeared on the 1981 UK LP "The Golden Voice Of Soul" on Atlantic K 20085)

 

PACKAGING - the card digipak opens to offer a superb 16-page booklet with properly in-depth and affectionate liner notes from Soul Expert TONY ROUNCE (October 2016). Our Tone is a name Sixties Soul and Southern Soul fans trust implicitly - a man whose vast knowledge on the subject has penned loads of booklets for England's Ace Records and other champions of the genre. You get pictures of both albums, their rare UK plum-coloured Atlantic labels, some rare 7" 45-single picture sleeves for "When A Man Loves A Woman", "It Tears Me Up" and "Warm And Tender Love". The booklet even reproduces the original LP's rear sleeve liner notes (both) alongside full track-by-track annotation. The last page pictures the threesome of generous CD compilations in the series (see list below). 

 

AUDIO is licensed from WEA (the 90s Rhino Remasters) and has been mastered for these compilations for Edsel by PHIL KINRADE at Alchemy Mastering. The debut album ranges from great to just good while the second LP is fabulous - and something of a missing masterpiece of slow torch-song Southern Soul. For sure some of the cuts rattle at the edge of obviously worn tapes, but most all of it feels alive and in your face for all the right smooching reasons. To the tunes...

Climbing to an impressive No. 2 slot on the Billboard LP charts, the debut album is of course dominated by the monster that is "When A Man Loves A Woman". A slow starter single in March 1966 yet still a sure fire hit, this stunning slice of sexy Southern Soul eventually nabbed the No. 1 slot months later on both US R&B and Pop - a huge feat for a male Soul Singer starting out. In fact (as Rounce quite rightly points out), the practice of placing a picture of a pretty white lady on the front cover of the album with the darker than dark singer on the rear was commonplace then (it actually affected shop sales) - but even now it grates big time.

 

The smooch of "When A Man Loves A Woman" is carried through with tracks like the soft-shuffling "My Adorable One" and take my cold hands and warm them of "Love Me All The Way" and "You Fooled Me". Upside the neck-breathers are a few dancefloor boppers like "Put A Little Lovin' On Me" and the makes the tree grow tall of "Love Makes The World Go Round". Forgotten nuggets come in the shape of the don't-come-easy organ grind of "Success" and the very Otis Redding bottom-wiggle of "Love Me Like You Mean It" - the B-side to the March 1966 classic "When A Man Loves A Woman". Speaking of which, I can hear why the 'brass' additions to that song were dropped (Bonus - Track 24) - it's a nice listen but one that clutters the mix up too much, thereby diluting the song's staggering hurt-power. Still, a fascinating listen to my ears after all these decades knowing the original...

 

The "Warm And Tender" album is even more amazing and in my book, a genuinely lost classic on the vast Atlantic Records catalogue. 

 

These Edsel sets are unfortunately deleted now in 2022, but if you get a chance to pick them up cheapish, then take the advice given in "You Really Got A Hold On Me" where Percy pleads "I don't want you, but I need you..." You do need it peeps...

 

PERCY SLEDGE Edsel Series of CD Compilations (November 2016)

 

1. When A Man Loves A Woman + Warm And Tender Love (Edsel EDSA 5063 - Barcode 740155506339) - 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD with Four Bonuses

 

2. The Percy Sledge Way + Take Time To Know Her (Edsel EDSK 7116 - Barcode 740155711634) - 2LPs Remastered onto 2CDs with Eight Bonuses)

 

3. My Special Prayer + Singles And Rarites (Edsel EDSK 7113 (Barcode 740155711337) - Final LP Remastered onto 2CDs with 27 Bonuses)

"Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" by SIMON & GARFUNKEL – August 1964 US Debut Album for Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel on Columbia Records in Mono and Stereo - Inside "The Collection" (November 2007 UK Columbia/Legacy 5CD/1DVD Clamshell Box Set with Mini LP Repro Card Artwork Sleeves and 1991 to 2001 Vic Anesini Remasters of Their Stereo Albums) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Exciting New Sounds In The Folk Tradition... "

 

Released November 2007 - "The Collection" by SIMON & GARFUNKEL on Columbia/Legacy 88697134662 (Barcode 886971346626) is an inconspicuous looking 5CD/1DVD mini box set from the outside (hardly the most inspired artwork for a box).

 

But not so well advertised is the fact that it uses the stunning VIC ANESINI remasters of "The Complete Studio Recordings (1964-1970)" 5CD retrospective from August 2001 and that Each Album Is An Expanded Edition – many with truly superlative period bonuses.

 

So under its rather dull-looking S&G white silhouette front cover hood, you're getting a whole lot of sonic and musical quality for not a lot of your hard earned. Here are the groovy feelings, the Wednesday Morning debut and Remastered Bookends...

 

Disc 1 (40:36 minutes):

1. You Can Tell The World [Side 1]

2. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

3. Bleecker Street

4. Sparrow

5. Benedictus

6. The Sound Of Silence

7. He Was My Brother [Side 2]

8. Peggy-O

9. Go Tell It On The Mountain

10. The Sun Is Burning

11. The Times They Are A-Changin'

12. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut vinyl album "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" - released 19 October 1964 in the USA on Columbia CL 2249 (Mono) and CS 9049 (Stereo) - the Stereo Mix is used. "Bleecker Street", "Sparrow", "He Was My Brother" and "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." are Paul Simon songs - the rest are cover versions.

 

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Bleecker Street (Demo)

14. He Was My Brother (Alternate Take 1)

15. The Sun Is Burning (Alternate Take 12)

Tracks 13 to 15 first issued August 2001 in "The Complete Studio Recordings (1964-1970)" 5CD retrospective.

 

The pull-off lid reveals 5 Card Repro sleeves for the albums standing up inside and a 6th disc - a DVD as documented above. The CDs take their remasters from the August 2001 "The Complete Studio Recordings (1964-1970)" 5CD retrospective remastered by VIC ANESINI. Compilers of the original 1997 "Old Friends" box set and the subsequent 2001 set explained how it took Columbia up to 3 years to locate the best possible STEREO source tapes - and the sonic results Anesini produced are simply stunning (he mastered both boxes) - beautiful clarity and real presence.

 

The booklet for this budget box keeps it simple - 12 pages of track details, basic recording/release info peppered with some period photos of the American duo. The lovely 5 x 5" Card Repro Sleeves are very well done (front and rear artwork fully represented) and inside each is a charcoal-grey inner sleeve to protect the disc (all the CDs have the same greyish colour scheme and don't reflect the original 360 Sound Columbia record labels. The DVD uses the artwork of the 1982 double-album "The Concert In Central Park" - and as it contains live Simon & Garfunkel hits alongside many great Paul Simon solo tunes  - makes for a superb addition to the music.

 

Which brings us to the simplicity and sheer melodiousness of their 1964 debut – lauded on the front and rear sleeve by Columbia Records (home of Bob Dylan, a natural label mate) as Exciting New Sounds In The Folk Tradition...

 

It opens frantically on the Gospel Joy of "You Can Tell The World" – a rapidly strummed Man From Galilee preacher thumper – victory won. In truth "You Can Tell The Wolrd" feels clunky now and even subversive given that Simon's views on religion are/were so acidic. Coming on all Everly Brothers at a Protest Rally with an Acoustic Guitar and Banjo, "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" tells of reluctant soldiers not wanting to go to another war far away (an Ed McCurdy cover version). 

 

There then follows a genuine moment of beauty – gorgeous audio coming off Simon’s own "Bleecker Street" – the famous street in the Village area of New York City looming in all its Folk/Protest glory. The Demo version of it (recorded 10 March 1964) is the first of the three Bonus Tracks and is just as stunning.

 

"Sparrow" is the second Paul Simon original on Side 1 – a feathered little bird talking of needed grain – struggling in an industrialized landscape that used to once be a garden. Equally gorgeous and church-hymn-like is "Benedictus", a Traditional arranged by the boys so that Simon is in the right speaker with Art in the left while a cello and acoustic sooth. And then it happens – that first real moment of magic – their 10 March 1964 recording of "The Sound Of Silence" – as lovely as Rock-Folk music could get. Even now "The Sound Of Silence" song has an epic quality - greatness looming large.

 

Side 2 opens with original song number four "He Was My Brother" – again so Everly Brothers in its harmony execution – a tale of a 23-year-old outsider who hated what was wrong with his country and the angry mob that shot him dead. "Peggy-O" is another Traditional given the S&G harmony treatment, golden-haired Peg riding in a carriage with her true love by her side. Simon's admiration of English and Scottish Folkies shows in his choice of the subtle Ian Campbell protest song "The Sun Is Burning" – a deceptively calm piece about children playing, oblivious to the mushroom cloud off in the distance turning all glory to ash and dust. 

 

Their cover of Bob Dylan's social anthem "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is good rather than great – far better is the title track "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" – the girl that I love softly breathing – soothing and sweet - much like the whole LP's vibe. The three acoustic guitar/voices Bonus Tracks are just so pretty and complete too. Sure it's off the times, but "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" is impressive and gve clear indications of the world-winning songs and harmony to come.

 

So there you have it. Although it's not the most awesome thing from the outside - "The Collection" by Simon & Garfunkel has the audio and visual goods on the inside. And it's cheap as chips price makes it a stunning deal into the bargain. 

 

You can buy the debut album "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" as a solo CD Remaster with a fuller booklet, but I advise fork out that few bob more for this dinky little flip-top. A Columbia Records Legacy indeed...