One thing that I've neglected to speak about with Simon & Garfunkel, until now that is, is the dysfunctional relationship between Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel - they had been friends since childhood, yes, but their rise to fame created an uneasy power dynamic in the duo in which both members were jealous of each other's positions. Simon was annoyed about how Garfunkel was the star singer, the face of the duo, and Garfunkel was unsettled with the amount of power that Paul held over the duo as the lead songwriter - these tensions had been brewing since when they were Tom & Jerry in the 50s. By 1969 and 1970, Garfunkel was starring in movies like Catch-22, and each member was increasingly frustrated with each other, with Paul feeling that Garfunkel would leave to become a movie star - According to Paul, this is where the end of the duo began. It only makes sense that Bridge Over Troubled Water, their final album together, would be a grand and glorious endeavor - their own Abbey Road. While I don't find it to be their greatest album, I think there is little dispute that Bridge Over Troubled Water is the duo's finest collection of songs put to record.
The sonic experimentation that had been existing in a primordial form on Bookends is cranked up to 11 on Bridge. While preceding albums largely stuck to a mellow folk sound with a healthy enough dash of folk rock for good measure, Bridge Over Troubled Water is the most varied work Paul Simon had done up to that point. Even the more pure folk of "The Boxer," a brilliant piece of storytelling from Simon, is blown up to climatic, almost Spectoresque power and heights, the work of the talented Roy Halee. I'd like to single out the production on this record briefly, as even in comparison to the meticulous perfection of Bookends, Bridge Over Troubled Water is a brilliant produced disc - gentle and tasteful on moments like "Song for the Asking" and "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright," snappy and lighthearted on moments like "Baby Driver" and "Keep the Customer Satisfied," and bold and powerful on moments like the title track, which is one of the great songs of Paul Simon's career. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is powerful in its simple lyrics, soaring production, and what is Art Garfunkel's greatest vocal performance ever - I'm laying my cards down. It's beautiful and compassionate, and builds into the final verse to his most bold and vivid performance. It is, quite possibly, the duo's greatest song.
And the sonic juggling continues from start to finish - only Paul Simon would put the Peruvian "El Condor Pasa" after one of the most potent songs of his career, and then follow that up with the pure pop of "Cecilia," an undeniably catchy single, even if familiarity did begin to breed some contempt in my mind. The joy of the final chorus and the proclamation that "She loves me again!" is palpable. There's far more than just singles here, too - the previously mentioned "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" is a gentle ode to the late architect, inspired by Garfunkel's time at Columbia University. "Baby Driver" is a jubilant rock and roll number, complete with a blasting saxophone solo and a hint of Beach Boys vocal lines - it's a tune that never fails to make you smile and clap along, and you'll start singing along too if you listen enough. "The Only Living Boy in New York" was born out of Simon's frustration with Garfunkel leaving for movies, and yet it carries a beautiful and soft melody with all the love he holds inside - "Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where" is one of the great Paul Simon lyrics of all time. It seems that the further you go into the album, the better it gets - from the ode to tour exhaustion on "Keep the Customer Satisfied," playing like a more upbeat sequel to "Homeward Bound," to the reggae-tinged "Why Don't You Write Me" that's always been a personal favorite, to their rambunctious cover of "Bye Bye Love," which feels like coming full circle in many ways - inspired by The Everly Brothers at the start, and the penultimate song on their final album is a cover of one of their best known songs. A fitting farewell, and even more fitting is the album closer "Song for the Asking," a hopeful Paul Simon number that he sings with such grace that it will in fact make you smile - the perfect ending for the duo's career.
Although the two would reunite for various concerts, tours, and the 1975 single "My Little Town," there would never be another Simon & Garfunkel record - one was attempted around 1982-83, but old tensions came back, and eventually Garfunkel asked for his parts to be removed, and we got Paul Simon's Hearts and Bones instead. Maybe that's for the best in hindsight, as Bridge Over Troubled Water really does feel like the most ideal way for the group to bow out. It's varied, lighthearted, powerful, and above all moving - it's a very hopeful album, hopeful for home, love, and the future, like a complete tonal opposite to Bookends. There's a good chance that Simon & Garfunkel, as of the time of writing, will never get back together for another tour (Simon said in an interview that "too much damage has been done"), but we can rest easy knowing while they may be leaving, the music still remains, and they left on one hell of a final note.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Bridge Over Troubled Water.
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