Bookends

Bookends is the fourth studio album by Simon & Garfunkel, released by Columbia Records on April 3, 1968. A folk rock concept album, it uses its first side to trace a life journey from childhood to old age, framed by a short acoustic theme that opens and closes the sequence.^[1]

The album was made gradually over about a year at Columbia's studios in New York. After the success of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Paul Simon went through a dry spell, and Columbia brought in the producer John Simon (no relation) to help. He left the label in early 1968, and the duo and engineer Roy Halee finished the production themselves.^[1] Songs written for Mike Nichols's film The Graduate also overlapped with this period.^[1]

Side one moves through youth, a search for national identity (in "America"), the breakdown of love, and reflections on old age, including a sound collage built from recordings Garfunkel made in homes for the elderly. Side two gathers more rock-oriented material, including previously released singles such as "Mrs. Robinson."^[1]

Bookends topped the US Billboard 200 for seven non-consecutive weeks and reached number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the duo's best-selling album to that point. Early reviews were mixed, but later critics have judged it among their finest work.^[1]