Bridge Over Troubled Water; Simon&Garfunkle, a 43 y/o recording, STILL gently powerful

July, 17, 2013 | lee martell

[lee martell]

That song came into my head today for no good reason. I was much younger back when it was released in 1970. The recording still resonates today. I say recording, and not just the song, which was beautifully written. In fact, Paul Simon (formerly married to Carrie Fisher) said that there are times when he considers this one the best song he ever wrote. The song starts in a subtle way, like little waves lapping on the shore. There is gospel styling of the lead piano, a promenade becomes a dirge. Then the soaring tenor of Art Garfunkle. Simon asked for Art to sing the lead, he now regrets it, but that is how it was probably meant to be presented. Every adult can identify a little with the purposely vague and esoteric tone. I listened to the song on my cell phone right before I went into the local gym to do my "War on Fat" exercises.This was the first time in about thirty years that I really, really walked along with this song, listening to it, allowing the song to lead me in some musical manner. I'm glad I did not listen to this song for the first time in 30 years through my earphones while I satinside the gym on a stationary bike. The other folks might wonder why I had this stunned expression on my face, or why I had to keep wiping my eyes. Go ahead and laugh at my melodrama, ha, ha, ha. If you ever liked Simon and Garfunkle back then, YOU take the dare and really listen to the musical structures and production techniques and the crescendos,(production based on some Phil Spector innovations) then describe to yourself how you feel. And that, ladies and gentlemen is what you call talent!

[Mears]

“I won’t tell my husband about this—jeesh! He would howl.”

==

My lips are sealed. Your secret is safe with me.

.

[Nervous Tick]

Bread and circuses, freddyboy. Bread and circuses.

[Mears]

Our father who art in heaven,Harold be thy name.

.

[dandiegirl]

LOL!

[ThomasThomas]

Add tomatoes and it is a spaghetti sauce recipe.

[fatman6502002]

I like the S&G version of Bridge Over Troubled Water also, but in my opinion the Eva Cassidy version from her “Live at Blues Alley” album is the gold standard for BOTW. Here’s a link to it. Enjoy:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eva+cassidy+bridge+over+troubled+water+video&mid=5F48C8DF626D19D096BD5F48C8DF626D19D096BD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE4

[Fiji Hill]

“American Pie”. It is just chock full of hidden meaning and you know they really do mean something, not just odds and ends thrown into a song to make people guess, and the writer has no idea what they mean.

American Pie? You're making me hungry. How about Patootie Pie by Louis Jordan & the Tympany Five, Cherry Pie by Marvin & Johnny or Pizza Pie by Norman Fox & the Rob Roys?

[Yardstick]

Oh yeah, that’s a great song, and they had piles of great songs.

Here’s one that sometimes gets me a little choked up if I’m in the right mood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FniUPxpYYAU

It’s preachy and leftwingy, but man that last verse.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

“Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio...”

http://destinyland.net/Joe_DiMaggio_vs_Paul_Simon_and_Garfunkel.htm

[Fiji Hill]

I use parsley, sage rosemary and thyme when cooking chicken and turkey.

[heights]

Beatles ‘Revolution’ November 1968
Simon & Garfunkel ‘Bridge over troubled water’ January 1970

[GSWarrior]

Ah yes, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, by the Funkel Brothers, Simon and Gar.

[Fiji Hill]

I first heard this tune when Chuck Cecil played it on his "Swingin' Years" broadcast over KFI at the same time Simon and Garfunkle were singing a different song about Joe DiMaggio over on KHJ and KRLA.

Joltin' Joe DiMaggio--Les Brown & His Band of Renown (1941)

[goodnesswins]

HUH?

[Yardstick]

Just found a interesting site with a collection of quotes from various interviews where S&G are commenting on their songs:

http://freespace.virgin.net/r.kent/quotes.html

Here's a snippet on "Bridge":

Paul - 'We were in California. We were all renting this house. Me and Artie and Peggy were living in this house with a bunch of other people throughout the summer. It was a house on Blue Jay Way, the one George Harrison wrote "Blue Jay Way" about.

We had this Sony machine and Artie had the piano, and I'd finished working on a song, and we went into the studio. I had it written on guitar, so we had to transpose the song. I had it written in the key of G, and I think Artie sang it in E. E flat. We were with Larry Knechtel, and I said, "Here's a song; it's in G, but I want it in E flat. I want it to have a gospel piano."

So, first we had to transpose the chords, and there was an arranger who used to do some work with me, Jimmie Haskell, who, as a favor, he said, "I'll write the chords; you call off the chord in G, and I'll write it in E flat." And he did that. That was the extent of what he did. He later won a Grammy for that. We'd put his name down as one of the arrangers. Then it took us about four days to get the piano part. Each night we'd work on the piano part until Larry really honed it into a good part.

Now, the song was originally two verses, and in the studio, as Larry was playing it, we decided--I believe it was Artie's idea, I can't remember, but I think it was Artie's idea to add another verse, because Larry was sort of elongating the piano part, so I said, "Play the piano part for a third verse again, even though I don't have it, and I'll write it" which I eventually did after the fact. I always felt that you could clearly see that it was written afterwards. It just doesn't sound like the first two verses.

Then the piano part was finished. Then we added bass--two basses, one way up high, the high bass notes. Joe Osborn did that. Then we added vibes in the second verse just to make the thing ring a bit. Then we put the drum on, and we recorded the drum in an echo chamber, and we did it with a tape-reverb that made the drum part sound different from what it actually was, because of that afterbeat effect. Then we gave it out to have a string part written. This was all in L.A. And then we came back to New York and did the vocals. Artie spent several days on the vocals.

I think 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' was a very good song and I think Artie sang it beautifully. I think he did really a great, a very soulful job to come out of a white singer. He sang it white, but soulful, and that's very hard to hear today...

Lots more at the link.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

An episode of a short lived 1988 TV show “The Highwayman,” had the main characters going back in time to 1945. The writers had a band performing for the Manhattan Project atomic bomb scientists, Les Brown and His Band of Renown. I think the writers just picked it out of the air as a band who could have done such a show at that time. After the episode aired it was declassified and publicly released that Les Brown and His Band of Renown did do a show in real life for the Los Alamos scientists in 1945. This is supposed to be one of sci fi’s greatest coincidences.

[tony549]

I enjoyed this version of BOTW sung by a 13 year old girl in Las Vegas recently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLDkSr38BhU

[lee martell]

I’m sorry about your hearing loss, but you have gained in other ways, you know firsthand, what a loving family can be like, a family that you helped to bring into this world and to teach about life. No one can take away those memories, or those facts.

[lee martell]

I understand what you mean, our generation did at times have a case of saccharine overload, a whole lotta sugar goin’ on all at once. Don’t forget, we had the Carpenters and the Archies (Sugar, Sugar!) and Bread (the group, not the food). Like I said, I needed to step away from the influence for a good long time (43 years)before I came back to The Sugar Shack.

[metesky]

Flaccid rock.