Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the re-release of their debut single "The Sound of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio working on instrumentation and production.
The album largely consists of acoustic pieces that were mostly written during Paul Simon's period in England the previous year, including some songs recycled from his debut solo record, The Paul Simon Songbook. The album includes the Garfunkel-led piece "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", as well as "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night", a combination of news reports of the day (the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the death of comedian Lenny Bruce), and the Christmas carol "Silent Night".
Many critics have considered it a breakthrough in recording for the duo, and one of their best efforts. "Homeward Bound" had already been a top five hit in numerous countries and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" performed similarly. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Pop Album Chart and was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Recording and production
Simon & Garfunkel were given four months to record the album, which allowed the duo considerable freedom in terms of creativity. The band's previous album, Sounds of Silence, was a "rush job" produced to capitalize on the success of their first hit single, "The Sound of Silence". The studio time for Parsley caused its budget to increase into an unusual cost for albums at that time—around $30,000 (US$ in dollars), Simon speculated. Parsley was the first time Simon insisted on total control in aspects of recording. The album was the duo's first to be recorded on an eight-track recorder, which the duo persuaded Columbia Records to use. Vocal takes were overdubbed, as they found it difficult to get "decent separation" between Simon's voice and guitar. Columbia executives took notice of the longer production time, commenting, "Boy, you really take a lot of time to make records."
The bulk of Parsley was recorded over a week in June 1966, with an additional recording date in July and two in August. Two previously released songs from the December 1965 Sounds of Silence sessions were also added to the track listing: "Homeward Bound" had originally been released as the second single from that album but had been left off the track listing of the US LP release; and "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" had already appeared on the B-side of "I Am a Rock". Garfunkel considered the recording of "Scarborough Fair" to be the moment the duo stepped into the role of producer because they were constantly beside Roy Halee mixing the track.
Composition
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is largely characterized by sharp contrasts from song to song. Simon found it difficult to write new songs; biographer Peter Ames Carlin notes that the sequence of promotion, including concerts and interviews, made Simon feel out of his element. "He needed things to be familiar", he wrote. In addition, sudden fame had affected both his relationships and him personally. Much of the album is composed of recycled songs written by Simon during his period in England in 1965. Three songs on the album—"Patterns", "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall", and "A Simple Desultory Philippic"—also appear on Simon's first solo effort, The Paul Simon Songbook ("Canticle", the second half of opening ballad "Scarborough Fair", is also culled from another song on the record, "The Side of a Hill").