Album #55 : Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon and Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)

Regarded as one of folk rock's greatest partnerships, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have contributed some of rock's finest examples of songwriting and harmonising. All this was achieved in a career that spanned just five studio albums, and featured its fair share of fractious times; in fact, the pair split up on several occasions, although since the final separation in 1970 there have been a number of reunion tours.

The pair could not have had more divergent careers after their split; Simon continued in music, forging a fine reputation as one of America's great songsmiths and popularising a number of world music sounds, while Garfunkel combined an acting career with a string of minor hits, but musically never achieved the heights of the Simon and Garfunkel years.

This album, 1970's Bridge Over Troubled Water, was the pair's final studio album. There are hints in some of the lyrics about the fact that the partnership was reaching its termination, but there are also some of the band's highest regarded, and most remarkable, songs.

And, after about twenty years of wanting to listen to the whole album, today I'm reviewing it.

The Album

Loaded with wall to wall harmonies and sprawling backing vocals, Bridge Over Troubled Water is an album that any vocalist worth their salt should be listening to. Both Simon and Garfunkel are supremely gifted vocalists, equally comfortable and powerful at all ends of the vocal spectrum. They alternate between softer, lilting folk ballad vocals and a more rollicking rock and roll style throughout the album's eleven songs, though it's probably the former where they are at their finest; their skills in delivering dual harmonies almost without peer on the quieter tunes.

And what a set of songs they are, kicking off with the album's title track. The first two verses are piano and a solo Garfunkel (the piano arrangement, played with sublime skill and dexterity by Larry Knechtel, is almost the greatest musical moment of the whole album. It manages to evoke such a range of emotions in combination with the vocal). Garfunkel begins with a more withdrawn, quiet vocal, gradually increasing in intensity by the time he reaches the second 'chorus'. If it were to have a weak spot, it's that final verse; bombastic in sound, there's drums and strings that are simply too loud and drown out the piano. That however is a nitpick on what is one of the pair's finest songs.

Cecelia has the album's first example of a more uptempo sound. It's a real stomping tune with a rollicking dual vocal line and some interesting instrumentation through the mid-section. This more rock, less folk approach is also heard on the underrated Keep The Customer Satisfied, a mildly aggressive attack on the rigours of going on tour and with roots in rockabilly and Motown, the Beach Boys-lite rock and roll style of Baby Driver, and there's even a decent cover of the Everly Brothers classic Bye Bye Love.

However, in keeping with the duo's skill in combining their vocal talents in softer, more folk-style tunes, the real highlights come in the group's ballad-style tracks. Apart from the title track, the album also gave us career highlight The Boxer, a sprawling folk ballad that, through one of the great lyrical sets, tells the tale of a man (the titular boxer) dealing with poverty, unemployment and loneliness in a sprawling New York metropolis. Fingerpicked guitars from Simon and Fred Martin, Jr are the basis of the song's sound, while there is also a mournful, plaintive cry in the form of a soprano saxophone solo. It's got to be one of the greatest ballads ever written or recorded. There's also the two songs that are aimed squarely at Garfunkel; the parting farewell of So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, which uses the famous architect as a metaphor for Simon's compadre, telling warm tales of their earlier years while saying a fond 'so long', and Simon's tale of isolation, The Only Living Boy In New York, written about Garfunkel's trip to Mexico to shoot a movie, leaving Simon alone to work on material for the album.

The album's bittersweet finish is also of interest; Song For The Asking is solo Simon, just him and his guitar (and more of those annoyingly too-loud strings that detract from the album). There's no Garfunkel, which is sad, as this serves as the last song ever released on a studio recording by the two.

The Verdict

The mild departures from their established folk sound on Bridge Over Troubled Water mark it as an album of interest. However, it's clear that the pair are at their best on those folky tunes, as this is, after all, where they made their name. It is a minor disappointment that the album's production is far too much of the Wall of Sound variety, as there are clear times when the songs should be allowed to breathe on their own, free of overbearing string arrangements.

There's plenty on here apart from the three singles of note, though, that make it a worthy recommendation. Put simply, today's "folk" scene owes a great debt to the work of Simon and Garfunkel, and in my view it still doesn't hold a candle to the duo at their finest.

This is a great album, and a fitting final release, managing to say goodbye while retaining all the hallmarks of what made them one of America's most popular artistic groups.

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

Bridge Over Troubled Water

The Boxer

The Only Living Boy In New York

Tomorrow, the first of two classic Australian releases of the 80s.