Bridge Over Trouble Water

Bridge Over Troubled Water was Simon and Garfunkel's masterpiece and also their swan song. It was the duo's fifth and last album, and there are clues all over it about their break-up, but it's a great disc, with several classic songs.

Simon wrote the album while Garfunkel was filming Catch-22, and apparently the end was near. One bit of evidence is "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright," which was clearly Simon saying goodbye to Garfunkel, who early on was an architecture student (Garfunkel sang the song but didn't realize what it was about until much later, and he described Simon's move as "shitty"). "The Only Living Boy in New York" was Simon moping while Garfunkel was away, and perhaps realizing he didn't need him.

The album opens with three great hits: the title song, which still gives me chills every time I think about it; "El Condor Pasa," a traditional song from Peru that Simon, who would later put South African music on Western plates, learned about when he heard Andean music; and "Cecilia," a song about a faithless lover who reminds me of a young lady I once knew who had a stage name of Celia because she liked that song. What a great lyric:

Making love in the afternoon
With Cecilia up in my bedroom
I got up to wash my face
When I come back to bed
Someone's taken my place

The album also includes "The Boxer," one of Simon's great achievements, as well as a good example of Hal Blaine in action--he's on the drums, and those crashing cymbals, which sound like cannon fire, are his. I've never quite understood what the song was about, though.

Also on the record is "Baby Driver," which now may be more famous as a a movie, and a live version of "Bye Bye Love," another indication that a break up was imminent.

But about that title song. It's one of the best pop songs ever recorded, with inspiration in gospel music. Unbelievably, Garfunkel didn't want to sing it, thinking Simon should. Thank god he lost that argument, as when Artie passes on this will be the song that everyone remembers him for. I love the way it starts with just him and the piano, and the last verse swells with orchestration and Simon's harmonies:

"Sail on silver girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, when you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind"

Goosebumps every time, and boy does Garfunkel hit that last note.

The duo won a passel full of Grammys, including Best Album, and Best Song and Record of the Year for the title song. The worst thing about the record is the cover, which looks like it was taken by an amateur and makes Garfunkel look like he has a Fu Manchu mustache. The least creative thing about Simon and Garfunkel were their pedestrian album covers.