Released - January 1970
Genre - Folk Rock
Producer - Paul Simon; Art Garfunkel & Art Halee
Selected Personnel - Paul Simon (Vocals & Guitar); Art Garfunkel (Vocals); Joe Osborn (Bass); Larry Knechtel (Piano); Peter Drake (Dobro/Pedal Steel); Hal Blaine (Drums)
Standout Track - Keep The Customer Satisfied
To my lasting shame, the first time I had any contact with this classic album's legacy was at the age of, I suppose, about eleven when a cover of the title track was included on the debut album by God-awful manufactured TV pop band Hear'Say, who at the time I was at least moderately interested in considering that I'd invested time in watching them on TV over the last few weeks (to be honest, "Pure And Simple" is still a song that makes me chuckle with its banality, so they're not all bad). The same is true of the Mamas and the Papas' "Monday, Monday," which is a vexing irritation whoever performs it. By the time I finally came to listen to Simon & Garfunkel's final album, however, I was of course familiar with the original recording of the title track, but all of the rest of it was new to me. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" actually does this album something of a disservice - it's a very pretty song, and an undeniable classic down the years, but it's fairly humdrum and by-the-numbers stuff, a simple, plodding pretty melody over the twinkling of a piano, lifted by Garfunkel's soft vocal (put in the spotlight, not quite for the first time, but certainly the most significant time in the duo's career), but it doesn't hint at the jubilant, fresh and innovative spirit that makes this record great.
There's a strange sense of inevitability listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water these days - perhaps the knowledge that this was the duo's final album makes it difficult to listen to it without the pressure of its context, but one does feel listening to it that this is a partnership on its last legs. Simon's songwriting influences and styles have diversified immensely since the relatively straightforward folk of Sounds Of Silence or Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme. The simple, college-graduate acoustic fare of those early albums certainly feel antiquated and quaint by 1970, like a relic from a simpler time, and the gospel, rockabilly, R&B and world influences in evidence on Bridge... imply that some sort of major change was needed in the group's dynamic for them to remain fresh and original. As it turned out, that major change was not only a shifting sensibility in Simon's writing, but also the departure of Garfunkel himself, the figure who had lurked in the shadows of the duo for years, rarely dominating the limelight but always having a subtle and palpable effect on the music itself. Tensions were already beginning to flare up between the duo by this stage, with increasing disagreements over what songs to include, while Garfunkel's increasing focus on his acting career proved a frequent distraction from his commitment to the music. During recording for Bridge..., he was also committed to a role in Mike Nichols' film Catch 22, leaving Simon to effectively manage everything on his own even more than he was usually required to.
Still, without doing discredit to Garfunkel, there's a sense that Simon's increased creative control over the album, and increasing sense of musical adventurousness, were just what was needed. Although the tranquil acoustic beauty of their older work is largely absent (there's nothing remotely as pretty or moving as "Kathy's Song" or "Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall" here), it's replaced by a sense of energy and upbeat optimism reminiscent of their earlier hit "Mrs Robinson," from the soundtrack to The Graduate. The out-and-out classic here is the brilliant "Keep The Customer Satisfied," which ploughs a similar rockabilly style to "Mrs Robinson" but ups the ante with the punch of a horn section, telling a story of homecoming reminiscent of 1966's "Homeward Bound." It's the most gloriously uplifting song they recorded, capturing even better than "Homeward Bound" the euphoria of returning to somewhere familiar. In fact, it's largely the more upbeat folk-rock tracks that really stand out here, with the up-tempo sing-along of "Cecilia" or the gleeful pop of "Baby Driver" standing out as similar highlights.
In terms of the slower, more acoustic numbers, it's not "Bridge Over Troubled Water" that stand out the most, though it is a classic. It's the forlorn epic of "The Boxer" that really sticks with you, Simon's plaintive wordless vocals echoing over the cavernous drumming of Hal Blaine to create a true folk classic. Another highlight is the Pervuian sounds of "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)", a Peruvian song that Simon inadvertently stole, thinking it was a traditional song and not liable to copyright, therefore leaving himself open to legal consequences later on, not for the last time. Despite the odd ownership wrangling that surrounds Simon's acquisition of the song, it's a lovely simple tune that also foreshadows Simon's growing interest in world musical styles which would continue through the reggae of "Mother And Child Reunion" on Paul Simon and the African choral singing of Graceland. While not everything here is a stone-cold classic, the album only really has one major misfire in the perfunctory live cover of the Everley Brothers' "Bye Bye Love," which then segues into the beautiful coda of "Song For The Asking."
Bridge Over Troubled Water proved to be Simon & Garfunkel's biggest hit yet, and perhaps could have been the first taste of a bold and innovative new direction for the duo in the future, if it had been a direction that agreed with Art Garfunkel's sensibilities. However, it soon transpired that Garfunkel found his acting career more rewarding than playing second fiddle to Simon's increasing musical eclecticism, and soon took on a role in Nichols' next film, leaving Simon to plough new ground on his own. Garfunkel would eventually return to the music industry to pursue a fairly forgettable solo career, and sporadically the duo would reunite for one-off concerts, but this still effectively remains the full stop of their career. Without Garfunkel, Simon would go on to create music that sounded bolder and newer and more innovative than the duo had ever sounded, but it would always lack a certain nuance and a certain air of whimsical folksiness that the mind and voice of Art Garfunkel effortlessly contributed to their early work.
Track Listing:
All songs written by Paul Simon except where noted.
1. Bridge Over Troubled Water
2. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (Daniel Alomia Robles; English lyrics by Paul Simon)
3. Cecilia
4. Keep The Customer Satisfied
5. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
6. The Boxer
7. Baby Driver
8. The Only Living Boy In New York
9. Why Don't You Write Me?
10. Bye Bye Love (Felice Bryant & Boudleaux Bryant)
11. Song For The Asking
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