and Art Garfunkel, respectively. "Bridge" quickly attained the beloved stature of a hymn, while "The Boxer" -- a metaphor for the immigrant experience in America -- ranks with Simon's finest songs. At the other extreme are sprightly tunes that hearken back to the duo's Fifties roots: "Cecelia," whose echoed hand claps sound like an early hip-hop drum loop, and "Keep the Customer Satisfied," the antic tale of a flimflam man staying ahead of the law. During the
Bridge sessions, Garfunkel was often working on the film
Catch-22 in Mexico; Simon gently notes his absence in "The Only Living Boy in New York." The notion of life chapters closing also permeates the folksy bossa nova "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright." It's ironic that "Bridge Over Troubled Water," a gospel-style song of reassurance and solidarity that Simon wrote as a vehicle for Garfunkel's golden tenor, would be one of their final collaborations. But they exited on an exhilarating note.
PARKE PUTERBAUGH
(From RS 922, May 15, 2003)
This was S&G's biggest selling album by a few million copies, but it's actually their least cohesive work. That's not to say there isn't plenty of pop perfection here, including "The Oldest Living Boy in New York," "The Boxer" and the moving title track (which Smokey Robinson has called the best black spiritual ever written).
