Even in a period of heavy re-issues (Pearl Jam, Neil Diamond, etc.) the titles Bridge Over Troubled Water and Live 1969 are intense.
They carry weight and symbolism even for those who weren’t there. Some may be indifferent but like all music that becomes timeless, this album (including Live 1969) evokes images and creates an instant environment.
The live portion of the release is the duo on tour in late 1969 playing acoustically and augmented at points with a four- piece band.
Scarborough Fair on the 69 disc is fused with the S&G legend and is an older, traditional song that Paul Simon never wrote but could have done, several hundred years ago.
This track and Homeward Bound, Mrs. Robinson, I Am a Rock and The Sound of Silence etc., have passed into easily accessed history that changes every time they’re summoned through an audio system. They’re all familiar songs, but exist on the edge of “classic” radio, not subject to overkill.
Of course, Bridge Over Troubled Water is a classic and needs no further pondering or description. The clever pairing of that recording and the unheard Live 1969 is a documenting of how these songs became eternal.
Bridge Over Troubled Water floats into view like a forgotten iceberg and then drifts off for another sighting; rocket-ship material that’s likely translatable to extra-terrestrials.
–– Dean Gordon-Smith is the music reviewer for The Morning Star. His column appears every Friday.
