Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel)

Episode 41: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel). McCartney In Goal is the podcast that debates and dissects the great albums of popular rock music, using a competitive knock-out format. Today we’re discussing, Bridge Over Troubled Water which is the fifth (and final) studio album by Simon & Garfunkel, released in January 1970 on Columbia Records. It contains the well-known Simon & Garfunkel hits: "The Boxer", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Cecilia" and "The Only Living Boy In New York".  

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel saw the end of the productive recording relationship between Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It was their fifth and final album together. Art Garfunkel was starting to develop a career as an actor, which is referenced in the song Only Living Boy In New York. Many of the songs hint at the declining relationship between Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, which in truth had often been strained during their partnership together. This album is considered to be their best work and was their most successful.  

>>> Topics discussed:  

00.37 – Welcome to our podcast  

02:55 – First qualifier: El Condor Pasa (If I Could) v Song For The Asking  

03:43 – [MUSIC] El Condor Pasa (If I Could)  

06:45 – [MUSIC] Song For The Asking  

09:44 – Second qualifier: So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright v Why Don’t You Write Me

11:22 – Who is Roy Halee? What did Roy Halee contribute to Simon & Garfunkel’s career?  

16:11 – [MUSIC] So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright  

18:16 – Third qualifier: Baby Driver v Bye Bye Love  

18:22 – [MUSIC] Bye Bye Love  

20:00 – Which songs were left off the album?  

22:12 – Who were Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel?  

24:22 – Is ‘Statusful’ a scrabble word?  

26:13 – What is a smoking bullet?  

27:50 – The long-standing rivalry between Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel  

28:58 – The odd cover choice for Bridge Over Troubled Water  

30:23 – How did Simon & Garfunkel get their big break? Who was Dick Summers?  

32:09 – First quarterfinal: El Condor Pasa (If I Could) v Bridge Over Troubled Water  

34:44 – [MUSIC] Bridge Over Troubled Water  

40:27 – Second quarterfinal: The Boxer v Why Don’t You Write Me  

41:56 – Third quarterfinal: Baby Driver v The Only Living Boy In New York  

43:20 – [MUSIC] Baby Driver  

45:27 – Fourth quarterfinal: Cecilia v Keep The Customer Satisfied  

46:15 – [MUSIC] Keep The Customer Satisfied  

49:05 – First Semi-final: Bridge Over Troubled Water v The Boxer  

52:37 – Second Semi-final: Cecilia v The Only Living Boy In New York  

54:10 – [MUSIC] Cecilia  

58:06 – Final: The Boxer v The Only Living Boy In New York  

58:18 – Is Bridge Over Troubled Water a great album?  

1:00:47 – [MUSIC] The Only Living Boy In New York

1:10:01 – [MUSIC] The Boxer  

>>> Twitter - https://twitter.com/mccartneyin  

>>> Podcast episode web page - https://mccartneyingoal.com/ep-41-bridge-over-troubled-water-simon-garfunkel/

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