In this, their first LP release in well over a year, the duo come up with a dynamite package aimed right at the top of the chart. The title tune, their new single, is spotlighted along with their hits, "The Boxer" and "Baby Driver," for added sales incentive. Standouts are the tongue-in-cheek "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright," and the updating of the Everly's "Bye Bye Love," as well as the compelling "Song For the Asking."

- Billboard, 1970.

Bonus Reviews!

Melodic. B

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

Further reading on Super Seventies RockSite!: Album Review: Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits Paul Simon: In His Own Words Album Review: Paul Simon - Paul Simon Album Review: Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon Album Review: Art Garfunkel - Angel Clare

Britain's best-selling album of the seventies was led by its title track, one of the top cuts in the history of popular music. As Paul Simon related to Jon Landau in an outstanding Rolling Stone interview, Art Garfunkel did not want to sing lead vocal on it at first, feeling it was not right for him. On many occasions Simon wished he had sung it himself, particularly when he stood in the wings while Garfunkel got all the applause for it. "That's my song, man," Paul recalled thinking in bitter moments. "Thank you very much. I wrote that song."

It would not have been the epic it was had Garfunkel not suggested expanding it beyond two verses. Simon asked pianist Larry Knetchel to lengthen his piano track, then finally wrote a third verse. In retrospect he claimed the third sounded clearly different from the first two.

"The Boxer" had been an international top ten hit the previous year. "Cecilia," originally recorded in a living room on a Sony and then copied and extended in the studio, became a smash in America. "El Condor Pasa," performed on top of a Los Incas record (and properly acknowledged), became another US hit, Julie Felix enjoying a cover success in Britain.

Simon and Garfunkel both thought something like "Cecilia" would be the first single, but Columbia chief Clive Davis persuaded them to go with the title song. He felt that it had the potential to become a monster hit and a standard copyright despite its length and tempo. Events proved him right. Not only was it a number one single, it pushed the album past ten million in sales. In Britain Bridge spent forty-one weeks at number one, the highest figure of any pop or rock album.

"The Only Living Boy in New York" was Simon's personal favourite on this collection. "Bye Bye Love" was a live recording. The LP was originally intended to contain a dozen numbers, but Garfunkel did not wish to sing Simon's "Cuba Sí, Nixon No," which never appeared anywhere, and Paul did not fancy doing what he called Art's "Bach chorale thing."

In 1987, Bridge Over Troubled Water was chosen by a panel of rock critics and music broadcasters as the #42 rock album of all time.

- Paul Gambaccini, The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time, Harmony Books, 1987.

Bridge Over Troubled Water has always been bothersome. Vinyl copies of these tapes always seem to sound scratchy and distorted, particularly in the climax of the title track, with the audience in "Bye Bye Love," and any heavy brass scoring.

Compact Disc does a lot to overcome these problems but can do nothing for the tape hiss from the master tapes -- "The Boxer" and the intro to "Bridge" for instance are quite hissy. Nor can CD do anything to improve the wowy sound on the orchestral backing to the title track. But benefits there are to be had. Much improved low bass solidity now powers its way through tracks like "Cecilia," "The Boxer" and "Baby Driver." Multi-tracked vocals and echo no longer contribute to the very edgy quality which could make the LP disappointing hearing. The orchestral contributions still sound bright, the brass is rather fierce at times, but the gain in simple transparency will mark this CD out as a high priority purchase for many people.

- David Prakel, Rock 'n' Roll on Compact Disc, 1987.

Well-crafted as they are, the lyrics haven't worn all that well; perhaps because of overexposure due to the tremendous popularity the album initially enjoyed in 1970 and its continued playability. What endures are the lush melodies, superbly produced. Overall, the CD's sound revitalizes this old chestnut providing a precise, yet warm, dynamic rendering of the craftsmanship displayed by the duo and their wonderful producer/engineer, Roy Halee, in the recording studio. The sound is sadly afflicted with consistently audible hiss and some distortion and/or muddiness in its loudest passages. Yet, on balance, the digital conversion is a substantial improvement; in fact, it offers several truly stunning moments. B+

- Bill Shapiro, Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock on CD, 1991.

The massive commercial success of Bridge Over Troubled Water -- it topped the charts for 10 weeks, won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, included four hit singles, and has sold more than five million copies in the U.S. -- tends to exaggerate its significance in the Simon and Garfunkel catalog. Actually, it's a step down from the masterpiece of Bookends, containing some filler, such as the comic if slight "Baby Driver" and the pleasant if inessential live cover of the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love"; it also lacks the previous album's musical and thematic unity. Still, one is admittedly splitting hairs when talking about an album that contains such classics as the title song and "The Boxer," as well as such notable tunes as "Cecilia," "El Condor Pasa," and "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright." This is Simon and Garfunkel's most popular album because it legitimately spoke to its audience, and much of it continues to set standards in thoughtful pop music decades later. * * * * *

- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

Bridge Over Troubled Water was Simon and Garfunkel's most successful album and, with the title track (their last No. 1) Garfunkel's best moment. The album is considered their masterpiece, though today it sounds overproduced. * * * * 1/2

- Leland Rucker, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

It took an estimated 800 hours to complete, with Paul Simon patiently working around Art Garfunkel's lengthy periods on the set of Catch 22. So intense was the workload that the duo turned down the chance to perform at Woodstock. Bridge Over Troubled Water would see the duo moving away from their folksy Bohemian beginnings to become the first great artists of the new 70s mainstream. Although the album may sound relaxed, polished, effortless even, it was recorded, literally, all over the place. Even the first song in the can, "The Boxer," was started in Nashville, developed in New York and finished in L.A. "Cecilia" proved raucous and brash, with the duo at one point dropping fifteen drumsticks onto a parquet floor in an attempt to capture a "frantic" sound. In stark contrast, "The Only Living Boy In New York" was deeply reflective and melancholic. But the true glory belonged to the title track, which is huge in every way. Simon had heard the phrase, "I'll be your bridge over deep water..." in a version of "Oh Mary Don't You Weep For Me." He never forgot the phrase and wound it into this slowly building ballad. Much to Simon's astonishment Art Garfunkel didn't initially warm to the song, and only under duress agreed to supply the lead vocal.

- Collins Gem Classic Albums, 1999.

Their vocals a seamless blend, these talented, classy guys pulled together a final gift to mankind that spoke eloquently to their generation and is sure to thrill little girls and English teachers for the next 100 years. It may have turned out to be the swan song to a beautiful collaboration between Paul's intuitive, thoughtful lyrics and Art's awesome tenor, but at least they finished on top with armfuls of Grammys -- what a way to go out. * * * * *

- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.

On their fifth and final studio album, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were pulling away from each other: Simon assembled some of it while Garfunkel was in Mexico acting in the film Catch-22. Garfunkel vetoed Simon's song, "Cuba Sí, Nixon No," and Simon nixed Garfunkel's idea for a Bach chorale. What remains is the partnership at its best: wry, wounded songs such as "The Boxer" with healing harmonies, though the gorgeous title track was sung by Garfunkel alone, despite his resistance. "He felt I should have done it," Simon told Rolling Stone in 1972. "And many times I'm sorry I didn't do it."

Bridge Over Troubled Water was chosen as the 51st greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.

- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.

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