When Paul Simon wrote - in Simon and Garfunkel's 1965 breakthrough hit, The Sound of Silence - that "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls/And tenement halls," he made a call to our collective conscience that resonates just as powerfully today as it did during its long moment on the pop charts. Among '60s folk-rock bards who matured and endure as global singer/songwriters, Simon stands in the front rank, setting as high a bar for musical quality and poetic vision as any.
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