My Top 100 Albums: #85 - Simon & Garfunkel, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’
85.
Simon & Garfunkel, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’
Columbia, 1970
On the surface, Simon & Garfunkel in 1970 feel a bit like remnants of a bygone era. The last of the true folk duos that had once been popular radio fare in the post-war period, with their upbeat finger-picked acoustic guitar sound and their renaissance choral inspired vocals, the two folk stalwarts feel a bit out of time, when you consider that the most successful artist to come out of that same scene, Bob Dylan, had cast aside his acoustic folk roots as much as half a decade earlier. And yet delve deeper into Bridge Over Troubled Water and you find something a lot more nuanced and profound. This would prove to be the duo’s last studio album as the public fervour abandoned their particular style of folk for the heavy, electric groove of the rhythm-and-blues and psychedelic rock movements, and as the two both prepared to make their way into other creative avenues - Art Garfunkel with his foray into acting and Paul Simon into the rhythm-driven music that would ultimately produce Graceland almost two decades later. This album is truly a product of its fractious origins and demonstrates a creative freedom that may not be picked up at first glance. This is a last hurrah for a long-term creative project in its final throes - and the pair seem intent on making the most of it. Simon’s lyrics are sardonic and cheeky; on Keep the Customer Satisfied he sings “It’s the same old story… everywhere I go/I get slandered, libelled/I hear words I never heard in the Bible”. Baby Driver is a colourful romp, Cecilia is a tongue-in-cheek ode to lost love, The Only Living Boy in New York is an ironic tribute to loneliness. On the other hand, we see a potent sensitivity and soft touch on the likes of El Condor Pasa, a simple yet beautiful nod to Peruvian music, and So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, an ostensible eulogy to the famous architect which is actually about the duo’s own imminent breakup. Even given the quality of these songs, the best songwriting is reserved for the album’s first two singles, The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water. The former is an extremely compelling acoustic folk ballad about poverty and isolation that only seems to get better with each listen. The latter is simply one of the best songs ever written - a gospel-inspired lament with a fierce piano accompaniment and unforgettable chorus. The duo were each initially intent on letting the other provide the vocals, but the task ultimately fell to Garfunkel, who ends up producing probably the most precise and captivating performance of his career. This album is many things: well-written, well-produced, engrossing, soothing, but above all it is fun, and for me that is the key to its enduring legacy.
Hidden Highlight: Baby Driver
Bridge Over Troubled Water
El Condor Pasa
Cecilia
Keep The Customer Satisfied
So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
The Boxer
Baby Driver
The Only Living Boy in New York
Why Don’t You Write Me
Bye Bye Love
Song for the Asking