Bridge Over Troubled Water

There are some truly great songs on this album.

Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cecilia and The Boxer are all superb. Big melodies, emotional weight and songwriting of the highest level. The title track in particular is timeless and powerful, while Cecilia has that infectious rhythm that makes it instantly memorable.

That said, parts of the album lean a little too heavily into the folk side for my taste. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright and El Condor Pasa do not quite land for me. They feel softer and more delicate, and I find myself drifting slightly during those moments. El Condor Pasa especially with the flutes just is not my thing.

When the album hits its peaks it is brilliant. I just prefer the bigger, more direct songs.

Favourite song: Cecilia
Least favourite song: El Condor Pasa
Album artwork: An iconic and instantly recognisable cover

This was a good album. The songs were distinct and pleasant, and I enjoyed most of them. There were just a few duds on the small tracklist. All in all I wouldn't listen to it again, but not bad. 3/5.

Good vocals. You can hear the influence on modern music. Dated sound but still enjoyable. 6/10

I was not expecting that brassy section in Keep the Customer Satisfied.

I enjoyed the Paul Simon solo album far more than I did this album. Felt like music for people that genuinely enjoy church music.

Frank Lloyd Wright reference was crazy tho

Pretty and melodic, overall this is a hushed and chill album that either fades into quietly into the background or demands close attention to the masterful song-writing, subtle phrasing, and understated instrumental prowess. Paul Simon loves a bit of the old cultural appropriation: the soaring Andean melodies and harmonies with pipes and charangos on El Condor Pasa are great and woven nicely into the structure of the pop song. Unobjectionable, and I get there's a lot of craft to it, but its never been my thing. Music for coffee shops and used book stores.

This was better than the other Simon and Garfunkel albums I've listened to on this list. There were several songs I recognized and they were actually decent. Still not really my thing. 3/5

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkels finest work, such a classic album.

Art Garfunkel's angelic voice in "Bridge Over Troubled Water". The horns in in "Keep The Customer Satisfied". The harmonies in "The Boxer". The choral sections in "Only Living Boy in New York". All five star moments, from an unimpeachable album.

This album has an absolutely amazing and gorgeous A-Side that is nothing but excellent music and the peak of folk music. This steam continues on to the B-side with The Boxer, but as the album winds down it starts to lose a lot of its muster, and the inclusion of a live piece, while it makes sense, is really jarring with how loud the crowd is, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth, being pretty much the finale. I could see me coming arouns to a five with this album over time, but as it stands, this is an extremely high four. I'm glad one of the Simon & Garfunkel outings on the list didn't leave me feeling disappointed, even if they are also good.

A few classics, a few filler tracks, very lush and expensive sounding. Not for me, really, bar the outstanding title track, but very pleasant and nice

Mikähän tässä S&G-kombossa on, kun onnistuvat musiikillaan niin koskettamaan. Kauniisti ja mielenkiintoisesti sovitettuja kappaleita, ja sanoissakin riittää pohtimista. 5/5

Not quite as interesting as some of their earlier releases to me personally. It's a little safer and happier sounding without that haunting edge that I adore. Still some solid guitarwork and vocal melodies though.

This reminds me of a classic southwestern UK joke about Simon & Garfunkel having engine trouble over the Somerset town of Bridgwater. It's a terrible joke. But the album is good! Too many good songs to choose from, some that I didn't even realize were performed by Simon & Garfunkel. Don't ask me for specifics. I just liked it.

Cecilia is a hit. This album has a lot of sonic whiplash in it. some songs are these upbeat dance hall jams, then you hit So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright like a brick wall. The Boxer is a killer song. Bye Bye Love is another good tune. This was a good album!

I didn't realize that DJ Shadow sampled from this album. Now I gotta go back and listen to some of his earlier stuff! I digress.

These guys had an uncanny creative sensibility because this album is back-to-back earworms. The album doesn't seem to follow any particular theme as it bounces between subdue (i.e. 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', 'So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright', and 'The Boxer') or bubbly and bright (i.e. 'Cecilia', 'Keep the Customer Satisfied', and 'Baby Driver') tracks, but they ultimately blend together nicely into a well rounded collection.

It's a solid album from start to finish that has endured for 50 years, and I'm sure it will hold it's beloved status for another 50, and then some.

The title track is part of the modern canon, but there's so many versions they all merge together - not sure I've ever heard the album version before; it's definitely WAY overproduced and quite weak compared to more pared down covers. Discovered a DJ Shadow sample on El Condor Pasa too! Hiding in plain sight. I enjoyed this in the main but not something I'd ever choose to listen to

An absolute classic. This album is very much of its time, but the songs are SO good. Some of the songs sound better in subsequent live versions. I found myself watching The Concert in Central Park after listening to this - Garfunkel singing Bridge Over Troubled Water in that concert was possibly his crowning moment. Similarly, The Boxer is one of my favorite songs of all time (I love playing it on guitar), but I prefer subsequent live versions (check out the Concert in Hyde Park for a great version). Regardless of version, I get chills every time I hear "In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade/and he carries the reminders/ of every glove that laid him down or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame/ "I am leaving, I am leaving" but the fighter still remains." What a moment. Plenty of other great moments: El Condor Pasa takes you somewhere else. This is the first time I listened to the original version by Los Incas which sounds almost identical except the Los Incas version is an instrumental and has a bit of craziness in the last minute. Cecilia is a classic and Keep the Customer Satisfied is a fun little rockabilly song. Baby Driver is a fun classic-sounding rock n roll song (I even originally thought it was a cover, but it's not). The Only Living Boy in NY is a good track - I like the overlaid vocals in that one. The only tracks I find (relatively) weak are So Long Frank Lloyd Wright and Why Don't You Write Me. They could have ended with the live version of Bye Bye Love since it's a callback to their early days and the influence of the Everly Brothers. But Song for the Asking is a nice touch and perhaps it's poignant that the last Simon & Garfunkel album ends on a song that almost sounds like Simon is singing alone (I can barely hear Garfunkel in it). In fact, that's consistent with the cover - Paul Simon appears to be eclipsing Art Garfunkel. It makes sense...Paul Simon wrote pretty much all the music for Simon & Garfunkel and it was time for him to move on, leading to an amazing career. Great album.

I will be honest, and say I'm still not and have never been impressed with "Bridge over Troubled Water". Ofcourse, on this album you'll find several pop classics, but this album is far from a masterpiece.

The title-track itself, and quite a few other songs, are immensely overproduced kitsch in my ears. Violins, choirs and the lot.

There's a few plus points to the album as well ofcourse. Songs like 'The Only Living Boy In New York' is beautiful, but it doesn't save the album.

It feels it's an album on multiple thoughts and might be known as one of the all-time classics. But not for me.

Reconozco que tiene exitazos, pero no me gustan los arreglos que me parecen artificiales hoy en día. Estas mismas canciones en un formato como el directo de Nueva York de 1967 me habría gustado más. En cualquier caso es un gran disco que hay que escuchar.