(09) Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the fifth and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel. Released on January 26, 1970 on both Quadraphonic and Stereo formats.
Though many fans find the previous album, "Bookends", to be the apex of the duo's artistic creativity, it's hard to think of another pop act that exited with a success comparable to this album and its title track. Despite Garfunkel's initial reservation, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" made good on Simon's feeling that it was the best song he'd ever written, topping the Hot 100 for six weeks and winning Grammy awards for song and record of the year. Though the recording is deeply tied to Garfunkel's brilliant vocal performance, the composition spawned dozens of successful covers, including Aretha Franklin's Grammy-winning R&B chart-topper and Buck Owens' Top 10 single. In the 1970s it became a staple in Elvis Presley's stage show, and cover versions continue to be recorded to this day, with a live version from the 2010 Grammys having charted,
But the title song is far from the album's only jewel. With Garfunkel away for the better part of 1969 filming Catch 22, Simon was left to work alone, and apparently consider a post-Garfunkel career. "The Only Living Boy in New York City" and "Why Don't You Write Me" are easily heard to be contemplations of Simon's isolation, while "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" includes the telling lyric "so long Frank Lloyd Wright, all of the nights we harmonized `til dawn," an allusion seemingly tied to Garfunkel's study of architecture at Columbia. The seeds of Simon's multicultural solo career can be heard in the Peruvian flute of "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," broad rhythm instrumentation of "Cecilia," and reggae styling of "Why Don't You Write Me."

Tracklist

01.  Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon)  - 4:52
02.  El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (Daniel Alomía Robles, Paul Simon)  - 3:06
03.  Cecilia (Paul Simon)  - 2:55
04.  Keep the Customer Satisfied (Paul Simon)  - 2:33
05.  So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright (Paul Simon)  - 3:41
06.  The Boxer (Paul Simon)  - 5:08
07.  Baby Driver (Paul Simon)  - 3:14
08.  The Only Living Boy in New York (Paul Simon)  - 3:58
09.  Why Don't You Write Me (Paul Simon)  - 2:45
10.  Bye Bye Love (live recording from Ames, Iowa) (Felice and Boudleaux Bryant)  - 2:55
11.  Song for the Asking (Paul Simon)  - 1:39

Released:  January 26, 1970
Genre:  Folk Rock
Length:  36:29
Label:  Columbia Records
Producer:  Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee

Personnel
Paul Simon – lead vocals, guitar
Art Garfunkel – lead vocals
Los Incas – Peruvian instruments
Joe Osborn – bass guitar
Larry Knechtel – piano
Fred Carter, Jr. – guitar
Hal Blaine – drums
Pete Drake – Steel guitar, Dobro
Jimmie Haskell and Ernie Freeman – strings
Bryan Beck – flute, saxophones, horn section