SIMON AND GARFUNKEL - BOOKENDS
6/10/21
RATING: 10/10
As a freshly graduated, straight-out-of-school reviewer, I can conclusively say that the hardest thing about reviews is beginning them. I spent a solid one-and-a-half minutes of my precious time sitting here thinking about the first sentence of this review until I settled on a sentence about how hard the process was.
That wasn't so bad, was it?
Bookends was released on April 3rd, 1968. The album went to number one in the US and UK, easily the duo's biggest success up to that point. The first side of the album is a loose concept album that describes the effects of ageing, opening with the 30-second instrumental "Bookends". It's a nice opener and lulls you into a false sense of security before the giant first note of "Save the Life of my Child" on the Moog whacks you on the head to remind you that life isn't all pretty guitar instrumentals. The frantic atmosphere of the track is perfectly conveyed by the instrumentation and the fantastic vocal performance. It's one of S+G's best productions, the choice to pan all the vocals to the far left to fully enjoy the sound collage was inspired. The constant refrain that repeats throughout the song reminds the listener that through all the selfish reactions of the onlookers, at the heart of the situation is a mother who just wants her child to be safe. A great track and a great start to the album.
As if it weren't already hard enough to top "Save the Life of my Child", my personal favourite track on the album, "America", follows, a song of searching for something that perhaps isn't really there. The major 7th chords during the middle eight convey the wistfulness of the lyrics, and the magnificent chorus illustrates the excitement. A winner in every sense of the word.
The track that follows, "Overs" introduces one of the main themes of this LP: old age, and the way it affects people. I love the way the D6-Dsus4-Em sequence highlights the constant revision of the protagonist's thoughts about the relationship. The melody is a bit weaker on this track, but its jolting, stop-start manner also highlights effectively the thoughts in the protagonist's head.
I've read that people think "Voices of Old People" is a weakness on the album, and while I can understand why one might not like it, I feel it plays an important role in the album's concept and I find the lyrics quite insightful in the way portray the various people clinging on to elements of their youth. I think it plays a role similar to "Fitter Happier" from OK Computer, and no-one ever complains about that. Not a track I would listen too outside of the album, but a great track nonetheless, and important in the album.
"Old Friends" is another highlight on an album full to the brim of them. Here the composition is not only beautiful and poignant, it is assisted by a gorgeous string arrangement. No matter where the chords go in the verses, they always are pulled back to the A minor chord, and in the middle eight, the unexpected Asus4 chord illustrates the surprise of the characters at the way time has passed them by.
"Old Friends" transitions into a reprise of "Bookends" via a high string note. This time around it has lyrics and goes for a minute longer. Repeating the same song at the beginning and end of the side helps to emphasise the point that the lyrics make: nothing has changed, all that remains are memories.
The second side abandons the concept completely in favour of compiling various singles released by the duo. The first track "Fakin' It" was originally released in mid-67. The constant stepwise back-and-forth sequence in the chorus accentuates the narrator's plight: he isn't for real, and he knows it, and he can't stop thinking about it.
The next track, "Punky's Dilemma", cleverly builds an atmosphere of carefree daydreaming. One of the best melodies on the album is backed up by seventh chords that emphasise the airy nature of the track and lyrics that, while oblique, work well with the meandering melody and fantastic vocal delivery.
Next is a classic, and a deserving one at that. "Mrs Robinson" went to No 1 for three weeks in 1968 and it's easy to see why. An inspired melody, great harmonies, and another controlled, carefully constructed lyric from Paul Simon. "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you," they sing, a cry for a strong leader in the tumultuous year that was 1968. The chorus uses a recurring minor chord to underline the questionable character of Mrs Robinson, and the quieter dynamic and open major chords suit the secretive nature of the verse lyrics. Everybody knows and loves this song, and I'm going to have it stuck in my head for a week because of this review. The sacrifices I make...
After that comes one of the hardest rocking S+G song (which is not saying much) "A Hazy Shade of Winter". A great riff right from the outset draws you in before those massive stepwise chords hit you in the chorus. The lyrics, more musings on the passage of time, are no less quality however. A nice change of pace from the rest of the album.
The final track on the album is "At the Zoo". A playful number, this one uses a lightly picked guitar for the more abstract lines about it all happening at the zoo, then for the comical description of the journey to the zoo and descriptions of animals a more energetic strumming style is used. The constant changes, paired with inventive use of the stereo, makes this an enthralling end to the album.
The album is fantastic, full of top-quality Paul Simon songs, great performances and instrumentation, and it's a concept album that doesn't suck for once.
Now that I'm reaching the end, I can say conclusively that the hardest thing about writing reviews is ending them. Get back to me in a little while and I might have come up with something...
