SIMON AND GARFUNKEL – BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER LP – Nr MINT

Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
(CBS Records  1971  S63699  Europe Press)

Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges with a scuff/tear in middle of spine

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from the odd light pop/crackle)

Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the bestselling music groups of the 1960s and became counterculture icons of the decade’s social revolution, alongside artists such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan. Their biggest hits—including “The Sound of Silence” (1964), “Mrs. Robinson” (1968), “The Boxer” (1969), and “Bridge over Troubled Water” (1970)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide.

The duo met in elementary school in Queens, New York, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize together and began writing original material. By 1957, under the name Tom & Jerry, the teenagers had their first minor success with “Hey Schoolgirl”, a song imitating their idols The Everly Brothers. In 1963, aware of a growing public interest in folk music, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their debut, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., sold poorly, and they once again disbanded; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In June 1965, a new version of “The Sound of Silence”, overdubbed with electric guitar and drums, became a major U.S. AM radio hit in 1965, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. They reunited to release a second studio album, Sounds of Silence, and tour colleges nationwide. On their third release, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), the duo assumed more creative control. Their music was featured in the 1967 film The Graduate, giving them further exposure. Bookends (1968), their next album, topped the Billboard 200 chart and included the number-one single “Mrs. Robinson” from the film.

Their often rocky relationship led to artistic disagreements, which resulted in their breakup in 1970. Their final studio record, Bridge over Troubled Water, released that year, was their most successful, becoming one of the world’s best-selling albums. After their breakup, Simon released a number of acclaimed albums, including 1986’s Graceland. Garfunkel released some solo hits such as “All I Know”, and briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in two Mike Nichols films, Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge, and in Nicolas Roeg’s 1980 Bad Timing. The duo have reunited several times, most famously in 1981 for “The Concert in Central Park”, which attracted more than 500,000 people, the seventh-largest concert attendance in history.

Simon & Garfunkel won 10 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Bridge over Troubled Water is ranked at number 51 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Richie Unterberger described them as “the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s” and one of the most popular artists from the decade. They are among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 100 million records.

Bridge Over Troubled Water is the fifth and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel. Following the duo’s soundtrack for The Graduate, Art Garfunkel took an acting role in the film Catch-22, while Paul Simon worked on the songs, writing all tracks except one. With the help of producer Roy Halee, the album followed a similar musical pattern as their Bookends, partly abandoning their traditional style in favor of a more creative sound, combining rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, World music, pop and other genres. After filming Catch-22, Garfunkel returned and the duo recorded around 14 tracks, three of which were not featured in the album. It was described as both their “most effortless record and their most ambitious.”

Bridge was released in January 26, 1970 and several re-releases followed. Columbia Records released a 40th Anniversary Edition on March 8, 2011, which includes two DVDs including the political TV special Songs of America, the documentary The Harmony Game, additional liner notes and a booklet. Other reissues contain bonus tracks, such as the 2001 version, which covers the demo tapes of “Feuilles-O” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.

The album includes two of the duo’s most acclaimed songs, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “The Boxer“, which were listed on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Both critically and commercially successful, it topped the charts in over 10 countries and received 2 Grammy Awards for the album, plus four for the title song. It sold around 25 million records and was furthermore ranked on several must-have lists, including at number 51 in Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Despite numerous accolades, the duo decided to split up, and parted company; Garfunkel continued his film career, earning a Golden Globe nomination, while Simon worked intensely with music. Both released solo albums in the following years.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Paul Simon except where noted.

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