Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water CD

+ 2 Bonus Tracks

Personnel includes: Paul Simon (vocals, guitar); Art Garfunkel (vocals);
Fred Carter, Jr. (guitar); Jimmy Haskell, Ernie Freeman (strings); Larry Knechtel (keyboards); Joe Osborn (bass); Hal Blaine (drums) Los Incas.
Producers include: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee.
Recorded between August 11 and November 15, 1969. Originally released on Columbia Records (9914). Includes liner notes by Bud Scoppa.
Personnel: Paul Simon (vocals, guitar); Art Garfunkel (vocals); Fred Carter, Jr. (guitar); Ernie Freeman Combo, Jimmie Haskell (strings); Larry Knechtel (keyboards); Hal Blaine (drums).
Audio Mixers: Jen Wyler; Vic Anesini.
Liner Note Author: Bud Scoppa.
Recording information: 08/11/1969-11/14/1969.
Photographers: Don Hunstein; Peter Powell.
Arrangers: Henny Garfunkel; Paul Simon; Art Garfunkel.
After half a decade of pop superstardom, America's favorite folk-rock duo were just about ready to go their separate ways (at least Simon was), but not before releasing this gem of a swan song. Possibly S&G's most diverse album, BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER firmly established them as creators of pop standards on a par with Irving Berlin or Johnny Mercer. The title tune alone, a beautifully unfolding gospel-tinged vow of emotional commitment, places them in the pop hall of fame forever.
The story obviously doesn't stop there. Foreshadowing Simon's solo work, the jubilant love song "Cecilia" and the poignant, yearning "El Condor Pasa" both turn to the traditions of other cultures for musical inspiration. The highly metaphorical "The Boxer" is the only real throwback to Simon's more self-conscious early work. The transcendent production of "The Only Living Boy in New York" puts a pop sheen on an early example of Simon's nascent Randy Newman influence. What a way to say goodbye.
Bridge Over Troubled Water was one of the biggest-selling albums of its decade, and it hasn't fallen too far down on the list in years since. Apart from the gospel-flavored title track, which took some evolution to get to what it finally became, however, much of Bridge Over Troubled Water also constitutes a stepping back from the music that Simon & Garfunkel had made on Bookends -- this was mostly because the creative partnership that had formed the body and the motivation for the duo's four prior albums literally consumed itself in the making of Bridge Over Troubled Water. And, ironically, it all grew out of events that went back more than two years, to the hookup between Simon & Garfunkel and film director Mike Nichols on the movie The Graduate. The creative contact between Paul Simon and Nichols had yielded one monster hit ("Mrs. Robinson") and some rejections from the film ("Overs," "Punky's Dilemma"), and also a soundtrack that had greatly broadened the duo's audience; and it had introduced would-be actor Art Garfunkel to Nichols. And, suddenly, Garfunkel was involved in the shooting of Nichols' Catch-22, which took up most of his time for the better part of a year, and Simon was left to his own devices during his partner's absences. Thus, the close collaboration between the two, which had existed in this phase of their lives since 1965, was frayed not just at the edges but down to its very core. The very idea of a concept album such as Bookends had been, even if a concept could have been suggested, was thus out of the question.
As it turned out, absent anything as powerful as the sustained first side of Bookends, much of the resulting material here is fine, albeit relatively lightweight: "Baby Driver" with its Jan & Dean-style harmonies and early-'60s rock & roll beat; the upbeat "Cecelia," utilizing the largest array of percussion ever heard on a Simon & Garfunkel song; the live rendition of the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love"; and the reggae beat of "Why Don't You Write Me." Moreover, it was possible to discern a recurring theme on Bridge Over Troubled Water, but this was much more a reflection of the cRolling Stone (12/11/03, p.112) - Ranked #51 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...The partnership at its best..."
Rolling Stone (5/15/03, p.137) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...An album about the end--a casually ambitious look back at an expiring musical partnership (Simon and Garfunkel) and decade (the Sixties)..."
Q (1/00, p.140) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[Their] final record is probably their best. It's certainly their most consistent....notable for the strength of its melodies, the force of its lyrics and the Abbey Road-style sophistication of its production."
Uncut (8/01, p.92) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...One of the biggest-selling albums in pop history..."