Art Garfunkel’s Watermark

In 1977 Art Garfunkel had finished his wonderful album with Jimmy Webb songs, ‘Watermark’. It was released in Europe in the summer, but suddenly a non-lp track made it to the charts. Sam Cooke’s  ‘(What a)Wonderful World’ sung by Art, together with James Taylor and Paul Simon was an international hit. But for the record company a ‘dissaster’, because now people who want to buy the album whith that that song on it. Nobody would by a single too. Or, even worse, they’d buy the single and the album was left in the shops. So they decide the re-press the album and delete one track from it and include ‘(what a) Wonderful World’ instead.

In Holland the album was already in the shops, with ‘Fingerpaint’ on it, as it was intended. That album-version was called back to CBS Holland and withdrawn. Luckily I had bought an original copy….

  

Below are pictures of the American promotional issue of the album, Columbia Recors JC 39475. Whereas the Dutch release has ‘just’ one production year, 1977, mentioned at the bottom of the label, this one has also 1978 added. And also remarkable is the fact that the two sides have different cataloguenumbers:
 

AL 34975 and BL 34975. Anyway it is the first time I have encountered this numbering. The Dutch pressing refers to JC 34975.

The album was nnounced in Billboard Magazine of October 15, 1977:

The track ‘Fingerpaint’ also did not make it again to the CD release. We can now only wait for a new release which might include demo’s and outtakes!

   

Above are the release on CBS Sony (Japan) and a re-release (?) on Columbia Records now with PC 34975 as catalogue number