Paul Simon holds that he didn't intend Bridge as a eulogy for the soon-to-break-up duo, and the songs weren't written to conform to a theme of farewell. (The fact that they were composed over a long period of time seems to confirm Simon's recollection.) Still, it's hard for a listener today to ignore the knowledge that Bridge would be Simon and Garfunkel's final studio album to date, and contains achingly beautiful valedictories. "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" finds Simon addressing his partner, a one-time architecture student: "So long, Frank Lloyd Wright/All of the nights we'd harmonize till dawn/I never laughed so long." In "Song for the Asking," a Garfunkel favorite, Simon wrote, "Thinking it over, I've been sad...Ask me and I will play/All of the love that I hold inside." The album's one cover version is, appropriately, the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love." Not that it's all elegiac; nobody could claim that of an album including the rocking "Ceciilia," rollicking "Keep the Customer Satisifed" and exuberant "Baby Driver." For a beautifully-crafted album with no filler, however, the title track still towers over the rest, even the indelibly poignant "The Boxer" and Peruvian-influenced "El Condor Pasa." In "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Paul Simon could fairly claim divine inspiration.
Bridge is heard in its Vic Anesini remaster; Anesini remastered the album in 2001 and there is no indication that this is a fresh remaster. That said, it sounds comparably excellent to the previous issue. Unlike the 2001 edition, however, the 40th Anniversary Edition contains no bonus tracks. There were possibilities for inclusion; in The Harmony Game, Simon and Garfunkel acknowledge that both "Cuba Sí, Nixon No" and "Feuilles-O" almost made the cut before the final 11-track lineup was settled. (There's no mention by either gentleman of "Groundhog," often considered the album's third outtake and recorded by Peter Yarrow in 1973.) Simon didn't feel that Garfunkel's Bach-inspired “Feuilles-O” fit on the album, while Garfunkel vetoed Simon's politically-charged “Cuba,” protesting that he had “a hard time getting behind that lyric.” While Garfunkel says he might feel differently today, he made the right decision; "Cuba Sí" would have irrevocably dated the album which instead remains relevant today. ("Feuilles-O" eventually was reworked on Garfunkel's 1973 album Angel Clare as "Feuilles-Oh/Do Space Men Pass Dead Souls on Their Way to the Moon?") Should "Cuba" have made its belated appearance on this 40th Anniversary Edition? One, of course, wishes that it had, along with the early demo of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" that appeared on Legacy's 2001 remaster. If Messrs. Simon and Garfunkel, along with reissue producer Bob Irwin, were firm in their intention for the Bridge LP on Disc 1 to appear as it did in 1970, perhaps the much-desired "Cuba" could have appeared with the still-unheard "Feuilles-O" and previously-released "Bridge" demo as audio extras on the DVD? These rare tracks are about the only things we're left wanting from this superb reissue.
Hit the jump for the scoop on the lengthy DVD's two programs, Songs of America and The Harmony Game!
Songs of America is the controversial television special that aired on CBS-TV in November, 1969. Its original sponsor, Bell Atlantic (a division of AT&T), was unprepared when Simon, Garfunkel and director Charles Grodin delivered a documentary using the duo's music to underscore the nation's political turmoil. Bell refused sponsorship, which was picked up by Alberto Culver, manufacturers of the shampoo VO5. It's jarring to see as the special's first image the visage of actor Robert Ryan (The Dirty Dozen, Anzio), delivering a brief, stentorian introduction to let viewers know just what to expect. Ryan's calming presence is quickly dissipated by stark and haunting images of America: not just freeways, factories and fields, but violence and protests, set to "'Kathy, I'm lost,' I said, though I knew she was sleeping...I'm empty and aching and I don't know why..." Simon and Garfunkel were addressing America's ills in the only way they knew how - via their music - but with a provocative visual component. Nostalgic images of Mickey Mantle, Howdy Doody, The Lone Ranger and Flash Gordon ("So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright") are juxtaposed with footage of the still recently-assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy ("Bridge Over Troubled Water"). Cesar Chavez and the Poor People’s March on Washington pointedly appear. The dialogue is as frank as the imagery, with Simon wondering aloud whether America is "gonna make it" for another 200 years but later admitting that he's "hopeful" watching the Woodstock Generation come together with a real sense of belonging. The duo are even more direct and harsh speaking of the Vietnam War as when Simon asserts, “I think much of what we’re saying, if not all of what we’re saying, is extremely obvious. As obvious as it is that we shouldn’t be in Vietnam…”
Most gripping in Songs of America is Simon and Garfunkel eloquently addressing the need for an artist to speak out. As rhetoric still exists today from certain quarters that it’s somehow unpatriotic to dissent, their words still, alas, ring true. There's also rehearsal footage and live concert segments from their 1969 tour; these vintage clips have been unseen for so many years and are truly priceless for fans of the duo. As expected, the video quality of Songs of America isn't pristine, but the film has been reassembled from two existing sources for a seamless and eminently watchable experience. Songs of America is an unvarnished and even sometimes disturbing picture, for good and ill, of an era in American history that even today, still can't be swept under the carpet. Of course, a Peggy Fleming skating special tidily defeated Songs of America in the ratings. Can’t win ‘em all!
The title of The Harmony Game, the new 70-minute documentary film by director Jennifer LeBeau, is derived from a comment in Songs of America that “the harmony game” is what Simon and Garfunkel were playing. Simon looked wary at the notion! Both Paul and Art appear individually in new interviews, along with virtually every other key figure involved with the album and television special: manager Mort Lewis, engineer Roy Halee, arranger Jimmie Haskell, director Charles Grodin, and Wrecking Crew members Hal Blaine (percussion/drums) and Joe Osborn (bass). Larry Knechtel, the pianist on the title track of Bridge who died in 2009, is remembered fondly by the participants. Portions of “Cuba Sí” are heard in the documentary, and there’s much good stuff about the writing of the title song. Simon graciously notes that his sometimes-unsung partner inspired him to write the third verse that sent the song to an altogether transcendent place.
The duo’s split is barely alluded to until the final ten minutes or so of the film. Even then, the differences between the musical kindred spirits are described as far more musical than personal. Rather than dwelling on the negativity that existed at the time, nostalgia has tinted the participants’ memories, and all offer delicious tidbits on the making of the album. Garfunkel stresses today how Halee encouraged the artists to move from “the song to the record,” and much time is spent discussing just how the familiar sounds were committed to vinyl. There are fascinating stories of the recording of “The Boxer” in a Columbia University chapel, and Simon credits Garfunkel for composing the instrumental section of the song memorably played by high trumpet and pedal steel. We learn that “Cecilia” was written when the quintessential New York duo was living in L.A. on Blue Jay Way the summer of the Manson murders, and that the song’s distinctive percussion part was developed almost as a way to break the tension in the air. I won’t give any more away, but there’s much more where all of that came from. Trust me, though – you won’t forget the anecdote about arranger Ernie Freeman (“Strangers in the Night”) and the album’s title song!
Could Simon and Garfunkel have followed Bridge Over Troubled Water? That’s not so easily answered. But thanks to The Harmony Game and Songs of America, we have great insights as to what made the album such an important one for 1970 and why it still resonates today. The 40th Anniversary set is rounded out by a 22-page color booklet containing two fine essays, one by Michael Hill and another by Anthony DeCurtis. The final lyric of the closing track on Bridge Over Troubled Water is “Ask me and I will play, all the love that I hold inside.” Whether or not Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel choose to continue rekindling their musical relationship, they’ve left plenty of love behind, at the ready. Put your CD on and sing with me now: Lie-la-lie, lie-la-lie…
You can order Bridge Over Troubled Water: 40th Anniversary Edition here!
All of the Nights We'd Harmonize 'Til Dawn: Legacy Releases Live EP from Simon and Garfunkel
Release Round-Up: Week of June 8
Release Round-Up: Week of May 18
All I Know: Vocalion Reissues Art Garfunkel's "Angel Clare" and "Breakaway" in Surround on SACD
Small note: Bell Atlantic was created by the breakup of AT&T in the mid-1980s, so it almost certainly didn't exist to sponsor the S&G special in 1969. Maybe it was the Bell System, which was another name for AT&T? Good post, though. Thanks.
Thanks, Mark. The attribution to Bell Atlantic comes directly from the reissue's liner notes. Further information as to the exact AT&T division that initially sponsored "Songs of America" varies from website to website. So I suspect you may be correct that only the "Atlantic" is inaccurate.
I really do want to see Songs For America, but I feel like I shouldn't have to buy "Bridge" again. Techincally, I've bought it twice already. I had the CD back in the 80s, then replaced with the S&G Collected Works release that packaged all five of their studio albums on 3 CDs ("Bridge" standing alone on its own disc).
Maybe Sony will release it later, like they're doing with the Springsteen "The Promise" documentary. Maybe not, but I can hope!
I absolutely know where you're coming from. Kudos to Sony, however, for doing the right thing with the inexpensive price point -- the $14.99 this is selling for at Amazon (and elsewhere) is well-worth it for the 2+ hour DVD. I've paid far more for far less on DVD, so I almost consider the original album the bonus -- the DVD content is just terrific, and all previously unreleased.
Thanks, Joe... I hadn't even checked the price. You're right. $14.99 is a perfectly reasonable price point for that. OK then... Sold!
Even though they should've included "Cuba Si, Nixon No" too.
Was looking for a precise contents listing and other basics, but amazingly that info isn't available yet on http://www.legacyrecordings.com/artists/simon-and-garfunkel … So what's the release date? And how about "rest of world"? I keep imploring you: tell us the basics too!
The contents were posted back in January: https://theseconddisc.com/2011/01/22/sail-on-silvergirl-bridge-returns-for-40th-anniversary-edition/
And the U.S. release date was Tuesday, as we posted during our weekly release round-up: https://theseconddisc.com/2011/03/08/release-round-up-week-of-march-8/
We try to make a habit of posting the earliest release dates by territory (especially since some of this stuff never really gets released in other countries). Usually they're about a week apart; a search of Amazon U.K. seems to corroborate this as far as "Bridge" is concerned.