Paul Simon is also one of the few artists who ever emerged from a group only to do even greater work. And Bridge is a record of ashes and pain. Paul Simon emerged from this tragedy to forge one of the most important solo careers of any musical artist. The songs on this album are filled with heartbreak, desire and sadness, not of the romantic kind or the sexual kind, but of the loss of Artie’s friendship and the dissolution of the magic they had experienced for more than a dozen years of making music together. The student truly taught the teacher in this instance, for Simon was acutely aware of living in Dylan’s shadow all through the mid and late 1960s. He also set the standard for the disguised confessional, and I for one believe that it was the model Dylan adapted for his own use. Not only did Simon respond to the challenge, he wrote what must be seen as the precursor to Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks – an album essentially dedicated to the breakup of the most important relationship of his life up until that time. He landed a major supporting role in the movie Carnal Knowledge that also starred Jack Nicholson, Ann Margret, Candice Bergen and Carole Kane. Paul Simon was undoubtedly feeling the pressure to perform, since Art was spending much of his time that year trying to kick-start a movie career. Their previous album Bookends is widely acknowledged to be their masterpiece, but Bridge comes a close second and in several of the songs matches their best work. And then came rock and roll.” ~ Art Garfunkelīy the time they recorded Bridgein 1970, they were one of the biggest folk/pop acts ever. ‘”When Paul and I were first friends, starting in the sixth grade and seventh grade, we would sing a little together and we would make up radio shows and become disc jockeys on our home wire recorder. Their 2011 release of the 40th Anniversary of their most famous album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, brought forth renewed appreciation of their career as a duo and a reappraisal of their last full album as a team. Their reunion tours of recent years sold out dozens of times around the world. When Paul and Artie went their separate ways in 1970 it was some years before Paul found his footing again some say that Artie never did. With Simon’s songwriting powers, his virtuoso guitar work and Artie’s own magnificent instrument of a voice, the duo produced classic after classic in ‘Sounds of Silence, ‘I Am A Rock’ and many others. They combined the literacy of Bob Dylan with harmonies that matched The Everly Brothers. Thus began one of the most famous musical marriages in all of pop history: their songbook continues to be worshipped by millions of fans around the world. It was 50 years ago when I met the white rabbit and I followed him down the hole for the next 50 years”. “We go back to the 6th grade when we were 11 and met doing Alice In Wonderland. Here’s how it went in that interview, with Artie first telling the story of how they met: Years ago Artie and Paul were interviewed together. ![]() ![]() It was a time for self-doubt and reassessment.The songs on this album are filled with heartbreak, desire and sadness, and the loss of the magic they experienced in making music together. Simon set back on course to reenergize his solo career and released an excellent album, that nonetheless did not get the warm reception that it deserved. Personal difficulties provided the impetus to reunite, and when New York City paved the way for the biggest free concert in the city’s history, it made the re-pairing virtually inevitable, even if it was to be short-lived. Such was the public demand, though, that not reuniting would have been like avoiding the elephant in the room. Considering Paul Simon’s determination to maintain a solo career and Art Garfunkel’s allegedly incorrigible nature, it seems amazing that the duo would have reunited as often as they have, even if only for a short while.
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