A Fine Historical Document, Nothing More Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season On DVD.

The Good: Moments of humor, Great historical relevance
The Bad: Becomes far too self-referential, Early episodes are scattered, Repetitive, Does not use whole cast well.
The Basics: A trip down memory lane for those who lived it, a mediocre historical document for the rest of us, NBC's Saturday Night's first season is unremarkable.


Every now and then, I come across a work that I pick up on DVD to review and when I'm done, I know that an objective review of the material I've just witnessed will bring about a small storm of negative comments. As I finish my viewing of the mistitled Saturday Night Live - Season 1, I find myself overwhelmingly underwhelmed. Yes, I am overcome with how unimpressed I am with this boxed set. Capturing the 1975 - 1976 season of the sketch comedy show NBC’s Saturday Night and Saturday Night, what would become Saturday Night Live, this eight disc set follows on the heels of years of terrible "Best Of" collections which focus on individual performers from the Saturday Night Live family of performers. What this boxed set reveals, more than anything, is how tenuous a start the cultural phenomenon that is Saturday Night Live had.

With all twenty-four episodes on eight discs, the first season of the show that became a sketch comedy series is presented almost as it originally appeared in the mid-1970s. NBC’s Saturday Night starts out as a variety show, with almost all of its parts divorced from one another. Executive Producer Lorne Michaels assembled a show that featured a guest star - usually a comic or musician -, musical guest(s), Muppets, and a sketch comedy troupe that soon became known as the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players." That troupe was quickly whittled down to Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtain, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner.

The series began as far more of a variety show, with the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" contributing far less in the beginning than they did by the middle and end of the season. So, for example, the first episode starred George Carlin, who held court on an open stage several times in the episode. But less of his standup routines, he presented himself in a more philosophical light. And he bombed. That's not just me saying that, listening to the audience reacting, I was wondering if they had a cricket machine they could have plugged in to give feedback! Alas, they did not and it took until the last set before Carlin began to get laughs from the audience. His musings now seem somewhat banal and very dated. And I like George Carlin!

In addition to Carlin, there were two musical guests who each did two sets, a short film presented by Albert Brooks, the Muppets from the land of Gorch, and a few sketches, most notably the news, which was hosted by Chevy Chase. I swear I cannot recall what any of the sketches that first episode were. But there were very few. And they were fairly unmemorable as they squeezed in between Carlin mellowly lecturing the audience, rock stars of the day and the somewhat surreal experience of adulterous monstrous Muppets.

Beginning with the second episode, Chevy Chase opens each episode with a pratfall, which he begins to reference as the season progresses. But the second episode is an exceptional example of how different NBC’s Saturday Night is from the Saturday Night Live it became. Paul Simon was the host, not the musical guest, and almost the entire program involves him singing. The show opens, he sings two songs, Art Garfunkel is brought on, they do two songs together, Garfunkel does one alone and Simon gets an additional song (maybe two) on his own. Before you know it, the episode is over. And, again, sketches are stuck in between the other stuff.

That said, this season introduced the world to the physical and satirical comedy of Chevy Chase. He falls into most episodes and relentlessly mocks president Gerald Ford and the deceased president Franco of Spain. He fumbles his way through the news and has the honor of delivering the "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" line every outing. As well, it contains the Samuri (he's a tailor, deli chef, divorcee etc. depending on the week), Gilda Radner's hearing-impaired social activist Emily Litella, and the Headmaster for the New York School For The Hearing Impaired. As the season progresses, the sketches begin to be tailored to the guest host, like a short film containing Raquel Welch dancing (and nothing else!), Ford's Press Secretary portraying Press Secretaries Through History, and Buck Henry playing nervous white guys.

It's intriguing to watch the first season and see who was considered famous and cutting edge enough to present the show as a guest host. The first season was hosted by: George Carlin, Paul Simon, Robert Klein, Buck Henry, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, Rob Reiner, Lily Tomlin, Candice Bergen, Peter Boyle, Dezi Arnez, Madeline Kahn, Ron Nessen, Raquel Welch, Anthony Perkins, Elliot Gould, Dyan Cannon, Louise Lasser, Kris Kristofferson and Richard Pryor. The musical guests are interesting for their mix of artists that have remained well known, like Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Abba (who lip-synched one of their songs for some reason), Gordon Lightfoot and Carly Simon (who had a recorded performance, though it's cool because Chevy Chase actually joined her on "You're So Vain!") and those who seem to have been either one-hit wonders or whose works faded from the general popular rotation, like Janis Ian, Betty Carter, Martha Reeves, Phoebe Snow, John Sebastian, Leon Redbone, Harian Collins and Joyce Everson, and Leon and Mary Russell. Indeed, two of the most memorable musical performances involve Garrett Morris singing an opera piece and John Belushi's one-trick pony sweaty rock star (it starts as a Joe Cocker impression) interrupting Leon and Mary Russell. It is also worth noting that Howard Shore, the composer for Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings films (among others) is the band leader and composer for the orchestra this season!

And I'll admit, I was cheesed when Belushi cut Gordon Lightfoot's guitar strings because I was hoping he might perform "Sundown!" The problem here is that this DVD set is presenting a sketch comedy/variety show that is very dated. The reason is simple; the humor is topical. It's fresh and funny in 1975 to comment on Gerald Ford and the wide-open 1976 Primary contest. Those of us who lived through the Reagan Regime will delight to hear Chevy Chase (and others) relentlessly mock his first presidential bid as he loses the Republican primary to Ford (which ought to have been the death knell of his political career!). But it's pure nostalgia and it often makes references that will leave the less educated viewers completely lost. So, for example, most high school history courses will not teach students that George Wallace was a vociferous racist, which becomes the focus of all non-wheelchair jokes pertaining to Wallace.

There are two general categories of sketch comedy series: current events and broadbased satire. Cultural Events sketch comedy rely heavily on observations of politics, societal trends and pop culture of the day. Broadbased satire attempts to more frequently comment on the nature of human existence and immutable social institutions. It's the difference between comedy that pokes fun at Gerald Ford and Jaws (reviewed here!) and comedy that lashes out at Monarchy and male/female relationships. Are the two mutually exclusive? Absolutely not, but very few comedy troupes find a decent balance (though most do a Jaws, Star Trek, - the first of many Trek parodies appears late in this set! - and Star Wars parody at some point) and Saturday Night, when it becomes more of a sketch comedy show leans heavily toward the Cultural Events category as opposed to the Broadbased Satire grouping.

The final problems with the content are that as it evolves, the show begins to take some weird turns and becomes much more self-referential. Albert Brooks's short films, which were generally not terribly funny to begin with (though some were not supposed to be), were replaced by similar short films from someone whose name I don't even remember now (it's Weis, by the way). Come to think of it, I couldn't tell you the subject of even one of his short films despite having just finished watching the first season finale less than two hours ago. Albert Brooks, by the way, had short films that included him performing a bypass surgery and searching for the next big thing (there was a blind cab driver in that one); I might not have dug them, but they were vaguely memorable. Come to think of it, the other guy did one where he intercut a p.i. recalling how he catches cheating spouses and a new couple expressing their love for one another. The thing is, as the season progresses, fans were invited to send in home movies and they included peanuts slicing up a guy who ate a ton of peanuts, a choral song presented from a men's bathroom, and apple strippers (peelers); I recalled three instantly.

The point here is that the show is dramatically erratic, episode to episode and within episodes. It does not take long before the adult Muppets are canned, as are some of the writers who begin as part of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. But most of all, it's dated. As well, there are several bits that are repetitive. The season featured parody commercials, many of which are replayed more than once, which is accented as a problem on the DVDs when one sits and watches them back to back.

Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season goes a long way toward proving the argument I made when I reviewed Star Trek - The Complete First Season (Remastered), which is that the technology exists to clean up the old series', but it is often too costly to be realistic for restoration. Recently, Star Trek has been given a complete face-lift for HD and while the visual effects have been altered, the cleanup for HD removing film imperfections and the general grain of 1960s filmstock makes for a decent presentation. What we get with this DVD set is a series plagued by light burns, dust spots and the grainy quality that comes with the filmstock of the time. Yes, there has clearly been some remastering (though there are still fall-outs on the soundtrack at various points), but this is not the archiving of a historical document, nor the restoration of it to the best it could possibly be. Instead, we get a half-measure, a compromise print that makes the thirty year-old series look respectable, but not as good as it could look (and sound).

As well, this boxed set makes poor use of the DVD medium by presenting little in the way of bonus features. There are no commentary tracks and only two featurettes, both from 1975 - an interview and casting tapes. Those who are invested enough (emotionally) in this series to invest in the capital to purchase the set are likely to be disappointed that there are no featurettes discussing the cultural impact, the relevance or even the effect the show had. Some of that is addressed within the series in self-referential comments, but much of it is a complete mystery. The series is a fair historical document of mid-70's humor, music and celebrity, but there is nothing to make this set valuable for that by actually addressing it.

As it stands, the photo booklet gives the most information on that sort of thing and it is woefully little. Die-hard fans (the ones I lost with my opening lines of this review) who might have been waiting for this boxed set for the years it took to get all of the musical clearances needed to assemble this set are likely to be even more disappointed than I was (a lowly cinematic historian) by the lack of extensive bonus features exploring either the development of the season, commentary on specific sketches, or the impact or even any form of retrospective from surviving cast members on their impressions thirty years later.

But alas, there is nothing like that. Instead, we have endless references to Gerald Ford's stupidity, Patty Hearst (the O.J. trial of the day, I suppose), Francisco Franco's continuing death, and the rising political lights of the 1976 primary race. We have pained performances by Andy Kaufman (he comes on and lip-synchs, one of which where he has guests performing with him and he's electric on) that are sometimes more disturbing than funny, there is a broad array of musical guests that appeal to a huge segment of society as opposed to the narrow visions of 12 - 24 pop culture (that's something that actually is pretty okay), and the endless opening falls of Chevy Chase. And it might have been great in its day, but now, it's a historical document in a way that other sketch comedy shows are not (but someday The Daily Show will be!).

My final comment on this is this: this set is not ideal for fans of today's Saturday Night Live. If you have a youngster that loves Saturday Night Live, this is the ideal gift for that kid's parents, so they have something to bond over. Nowhere near as relentlessly (attempting to be) funny as today's Saturday Night Live, this requires a lot more patience and despite the supposed genius of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players, this is very skewed toward Chevy Chase and Jane Curtain (as the season goes on and Gilda Radner picks up the recurring Barbara Walters impression, she gets good airtime as well). How Dan Aykroyd made it big based on the first season remains a mystery. Laraine Newman, John Belushi and Garrett Morris are given ridiculously little to do as well.

Lopsided and dated, this boxed set is best for those who appreciated it the first time around, but it's more likely they'd get as much out of renting it as opposed to buying it; this eight-disc set has little to come back to more than once.

For more work with Lily Tomlin, please check out my reviews on:
The Pink Panther 2
The West Wing
A Prairie Home Companion
Orange County

4/10

For other television reviews, be sure to check out my Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Simon And Garfunkel Give Us A Bridge Over Troubled Water, A Fine Emotional Journey.

The Good: Great voices, Decent lyrics, Interesting musical variety.
The Bad: Short, seriously short.
The Basics: Brought down slightly by its lack of duration, Bridge Over Troubled Water is largely an enduring and wonderful folk-rock album worthy of anyone's time and attention.


As a record, I could conceivably make an argument for Simon And Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water to be a perfect album. Right off the bat, I'll say that because I am going to be bucking the trend of reviews of this item to give it a four-star rating and there is a simple, honest and consistent with my standards reason for rating it this way; it's too short for a compact disc. It is a poor use of the medium to not use even half the space of a c.d., regardless of when the album was made. So, were this 1970 and were I reviewing the record or tape recording of Bridge Over Troubled Water, I probably would boost this as a perfect recording.

But it is not. This is the compact disc reissue of Bridge Over Troubled Water and after eleven listens (I'm beginning number twelve while I write this), the predominant impression the disc leaves me with is that it is short. It is short and by the time one gets into it and enthusiastic about it, it is over. Done. This leaves the compact disc listening audience unsatisfied and wanting more. This album might be discounted, but regardless of the price, the medium has capacity and Columbia should have started the c.d. release as a dual-album, single disc release (something that they are just now doing, in fact!).

That said, it is hard to find much to complain about with Bridge Over Troubled Water. With eleven tracks clocking in at 37:28, Bridge Over Troubled Water represents the final full collaboration of original material between the legendary Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. For sure, it was impressive to see them together in the first season of Saturday Night Live, even though I was not alive during their heyday, but this album is closing of the curtain for the duo and it is an impressive outing. And largely this is the musical vision of Simon And Garfunkel (though with the sparse liner notes, it is tough to see just what Garfunkel did other than show up and sing). Paul Simon wrote or translated all of the songs, save "Bye Bye Love," and he plays guitar as well as sings on the tracks as well. Garfunkel sings but is not credited with any instrumentals. Both Simon and Garfunkel are credited as co-producers for the album, so it is hard to argue that this is not the album they wanted to release.

And with songs like the title track, who would even want to make that argument? “Bridge Over Troubled Water” may well be one of the top five Classic Folk-rock tracks of all time (put it up against Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" and Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind" and you've got a Folk Fight!). How could it not be? With lines like, "When you're down and out, / When you're on the street, / When evening falls so hard / I will comfort you. / I'll take your part / When darkness comes / And pain is all around, / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down" (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”) it expresses a universal sentiment with a tune and tone that goes from heartfelt to anthemic. This is the soaring support song of all time, easily evoking the passion of wanting to help another without ever seeming pushy or even possible to misinterpret. It is a perfect song and it starts with the simple poetry of Paul Simon, who reveals an incredible heart and soul on this track.

It is almost anticlimactic, then, to follow up with the rest of the album. Starting off with one of the greatest tracks of all time, makes it hard to make the rest of the album stand up. Perhaps that is why the duo immediately switched it up with the much more quiet "El Condor Pasa" and then the much more pop "Cecilia." But despite the inherent and obvious greatness of the title track, I kept finding myself returning to "Keep The Customer Satisfied" on this latest series of spins of the album. Often neglected, "Keep The Customer Satisfied" is a clever pop-rock song about the value of returning home after long periods of misunderstanding. Or it's a song about a gigolo, depending on one's perspective. Seriously, this song rivals many other Paul Simon works on the lyrics, with the refrain of "It's the same old story / Everywhere I go, / I get slandered, / Libeled, / I hear words I never heard / In the Bible, / And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine, / Two steps away from the county line, / Just trying to keep my customers satisfied / Satisfied" ("Keep The Customer Satisfied").

Lyrically, the album is powerful with musical stories ("The Boxer"), emotional outbursts ("Why Don't You Write Me" is quite possibly the most catchy and subtle song of anger and loneliness), and simple, heartwrenching poetry. The latter is encapsulated perfectly in the album's final track, "Song For The Asking." Short - brutally short - this is one of those songs that reminds the listener how in times past pop-rock and folk-rock artists were not afraid to depress the living hell out of their listeners and be incredibly successful at it. Because, damn, who wouldn't tear up even just reading the lines "This is my tune for the taking / Take it, don't turn away / I've been waiting all my life / Thinking it over, I've been sad / Thinking it over, I'd be more than glad / To change my ways for the asking / Ask me and I will play / All the love that I hold inside" ("Song For The Asking"). Combine those lyrics with the soft, smooth vocals of Simon and Garfunkel and you've got a musical tear-jerker!

Bridge Over Troubled Water holds up because all eleven of the songs - even the musical stories - say something universal and compelling, something that is often lacking from the legions of pop-rock, over produced performers in today's marketplace. In other words, these guys had talent and it explodes forth from the first note to the final applause (the last two tracks were recorded live).

Vocally, Bridge Over Troubled Water might not be the most compelling album of all time, but it does seem to be the Simon And Garfunkel album where Art and Paul harmonize with one another the best. Moreover, their voices dominate the album above the instrumentals and the vocals become instruments of their own. They have smooth, mid-range vocals and on this album rather than try to stretch outside that range, they seek instead to completely master that range and they hit every note on the head, with complete clarity for the lyrics. It is hard to ask for more than that!

Instrumentally, the duo makes incredible use out of guitars, bass and drums to create an impressive diversity of instrumental sound. For sure, on some tracks like “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, they add keyboards and additional strings and on "Baby Driver" there are produced sounds of motorcycles, but for the most part, the instrumentals are very limited in terms of type and number of instruments. But songs like "The Only Living Boy In New York" and "Cecilia" have a musical richness to them that make them seem like much more than simple guitar, drum, and bass tracks and they work.

Moreover, the album Bridge Over Troubled Water works because the instrumental and vocal diversity is so strong and tight. And there are actual melodies, another thing often lacking from today's popular music. And that leads us back to the problem; what is here on the disc is so good, it is impossible to not want more from this talented duo. And instead, we just get an ending.

The best track is “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and there is no truly bad track, though I found "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" to be less impressive than most of the others.

For other Simon & Garfunkel albums, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, And Thyme
Bookends
Sounds Of Silence

9/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the music reviews I have written!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Incredible And Memorable Is What We Get When Simon & Garfunkel Revel In Sounds Of Silence!

The Good: Excellent lyrics, Good tone, Music, Vocals
The Bad: SHORT!
The Basics: Despite its short duration, Sounds Of Silence holds up as a classic pop-rock album of poetry set to music through great voices!


Every now and then, I encounter an album that surprises me for just how thematically unified it is. So, for example, Heather Nova's album Redbird is all about healing and moving on. It is a brilliant album and it is beautifully written, but those who dislike such things might consider it a concept album based on its thematic unity. I feel no such prejudice against concept albums and as a result, I love the disc. Similarly, the depressing tone and the number of suicides (two explicit) on Sounds Of Silence could turn some people off, but it endures as a pretty great album in my book.

Sounds Of Silence is a pretty classic album by Simon & Garfunkel and, as the title suggests, it contains the hit song "The Sounds Of Silence." It is a melancholy, well-written album that legitimately exploded the influence of Simon & Garfunkel on the pop-rock and folk rock circuits when it was released in 1966. It remains one of the strongest sophomore albums of all time and it would certainly be even higher rated by me if only it were longer. Now, I understand that when it was originally released on record and audio cassette, there were certain limitations in terms of duration. However, compact discs can hold quite a bit more and an album this short does not make good use of the medium on its own. It ought to have been combined with another Simon & Garfunkel album when it was pressed onto c.d.

With only eleven tracks, clocking in at an anemic 29:20, Sounds Of Silence is very much the work of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote all of the tracks, save "Anji" and both performers play their own instruments on the album. While it was produced by neither Simon nor Garfunkel, it does seem like it is legitimately the musical vision of Simon and Garfunkel.

And what an impressive vision that is! Simon & Garfunkel start with impressive lyrics and advance their poetry into truly wonderful songs with their smooth, direct vocals. They are easy to listen to, they have a message and while they might seem a little limited by being two guys with guitars, on Sounds Of Silence, the have a little bit of backup and production in order to fill out their sound a bit better.

In some ways, it is hard to see why they would need to fill out their sound. After all, with poetic lines like, "In restless dreams I walked alone / Narrow streets of cobblestone, / 'neath the halo of a street lamp, / I turned my collar to the cold and damp / When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of / A neon light / That split the night / And touched the sound of silence," (“The Sounds Of Silence”), who truly needs enhancing? Simon writes lyrics that are stark and beautiful, intense and full of imagery. Songs like "The Sounds Of Silence" resonate even today because they capture a feeling of solitude and alienation that almost everyone has experienced at one time or another.

Of course, one hopes that most people have not felt quite so isolated as the musical protagonists in "Richard Cory" and "A Most Peculiar Man." Both songs involve subjects who kill themselves, Cory because his riches make him miserable and the other for mysterious reasons. Simon manages to make musical the sense of living in a complex with gossips when he sings, "He was a most peculiar man. / That's what Mrs. Riordan said and she should know; / She lived upstairs from him / She said he was a most peculiar man. . . . He lived all alone within a house, / Within a room, within himself, / A most peculiar man. / He had no friends, he seldom spoke / And no one in turn ever spoke to him, / 'cause he wasn't friendly and he didn't care / And he wasn't like them" ("A Most Peculiar Man"). Simon has a great musical voice in his writing that makes him a wonderful musical storyteller. Indeed, "A Most Peculiar Man" and "Richard Cory," despite their depressing themes, tell fully developed stories for the listener.

And despite the two tracks with suicides being back to back, this is not a thematically dull album, though alienation is a common theme on it. There are songs of longing ("April She Will Come"), the relationship of time and nature ("Leaves That Are Green"), and the defiant anthem of the Man ("I Am A Rock"). There is also a silly pop love song ("We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin'") which seems a little dated, but enjoyable. And Simon & Garfunkel pull off a perfectly good fleeing song with "Somewhere They Can't Find Me."

The magic of much of Sounds Of Silence is in the simplicity of Simon's observations set to music. He sings about aging and its effects, a subject very few people ever try to tack in pop-rock music. Or rather, there are few who can tackle it without sounding schmaltzy. Simon avoids that with his lines, "I threw a pebble in a brook / And watched the ripples run away / And they never made a sound. / And the leaves that are green turned to brown, / And they wither with the wind, / And they crumble in your hand" ("Leaves That Are Green"). Those lines alone could easily sell the album, especially when compared to the lines of what passes for popular music these days!

Of course, the album could not endure for as long as it has on the strength of the lyrics along. Simon's lyrics are put to Garfunkel's angelic voice and when Simon & Garfunkel harmonize, it truly is a musically amazing thing. It is hard to imagine that two men and their guitars could create something so beautiful out of something so simple. Yet, they do it.

Sounds Of Silence remains such a powerful album because the harmonies resonate with a quality that is timeless. They accent the guitars in a way that exceeds simple production; these men have talent and it is evident from their first notes. Moreover, the pair is able to articulate sometimes complex lines. That they sing with perfect clarity as well as tone enhances the way the music continues to resonate through the decades.

And truly, all that one could wish for from two men and their guitars is that there was more of their work. Rumor is there is a new bundle coming out that will rectify that problem and when that comes out . . . we'll see if it lives up to the expectations. What is here is truly excellent, there just isn't enough for this medium. It's like getting too small a portion in a restaurant and Sounds Of Silence leaves the listener wanting more.

The best track is either the title track or "A Most Peculiar Man." The instrumental "Anji" left almost no impression on me, making it the weak link.

For other Simon & Garfunkel or classic pop albums, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, And Thyme
Bookends
Album 1700 - Peter, Paul And Mary

8/10

See how this album stacks up against others and read their reviews by visiting my Music Review Index Page where the reviews are organized by the quality of the album or single!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Far Too Soft And Short, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme Is Not Simon & Garfunkel's Best Work. (My April Artist Of The Month Arrives!)

The Good: Moments of voice, Lyrics
The Bad: Short, Musically dull and underdeveloped
The Basics: Even a general love for Simon And Garfunkel cannot get me to recommend Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme, a short, underperforming album which fails to capitalize on what makes their other works great.


It behooves me to start this review by reaffirming that I like Simon and Garfunkel. I mean, not personally; I don't know Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel. In general, I enjoy the music of the duo Simon and Garfunkel, though. In fact, some years ago, I reviewed their album Bookends (here!) generally favorably. So, as I prepare for my next Artist Of The Month reviews, I was surprised to find that I had not previously reviewed any of their other albums.

In their body of works, though, I have managed to begin my renewed interest and reviews with one of their few albums that do not hold up. The album is Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme. The album is universally slow, smooth and quiet and outside the title track and "Homeward Bound," the album is utterly forgettable. Indeed, this is a tragically boring musical experience one might have thought that when it came time to transfer the album from its analog medium into a compact disc they might have beefed it up with additional tracks or combined it with another album. As it stands, though, it is left on its own and, frankly, it is not enough to earn a recommendation. Not by a long shot.

With twelve tracks, clocking in at 28:19, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme is more or less the works of Simon and Garfunkel. I write "more or less," because while they sing all of the songs on the album, two of the songs ("Scarborough Fair/Canticle" and "7 O'Clock News / Silent Night") were not written by either of the duo. In addition, the album was produced by Bob Johnson. So, while there is clearly quite a bit of the duo in this work, it does not seem like it is an absolute musical vision of Simon And Garfunkel.

That said, they must take the credit for the bulk of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme, as most of it is theirs. The songs range from the traditional and lyrical ("Scarborough Fair / Canticle") to the obvious love song ("For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her") to the contemplative ("Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall"). The thing is, while Simon and Garfunkel usually have wonderful lyrics, on this album some of them fall dramatically flat. In Paul Simon's seemingly desperate attempt to be Bob Dylan, he creates the terrible and jumbled lines, "I been phil spectored, resurrected. / I been lou adlered, barry sadlered. /Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay. / And I learned the truth from lenny bruce, / And all my wealth wont buy me health, / So I smoke a pint of tea a day" ("A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)"). It is a ridiculous song filled with dated cultural allusions and presented with a bland arrogance that cannot even be described as defiant.

This is not to say that the entire album is a lyrical mess; not by far. Simon's poetics come through quite beautifully on "Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall." There, he writes with classic imagery, "The mirror on my wall / Casts an image dark and small / But I'm not sure at all it's my reflection. / I am blinded by the light / Of God and truth and right / And I wander in the night without direction. / So I'll continue to continue to pretend / My life will never end, / And flowers never bend / With the rainfall" ("Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall"). It is rare to have a song so blatantly and articulately expressing doubt in the divine or questioning the purpose of life in the face of death, but here that is done and it is written quite well.

And there are some truly universal sentiments on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme, most notably in the longing for family and a place of one's own. This comes through quite truly and beautifully on the energetic "Homeward Bound." When Simon and Garfunkel sing, "Everyday's an endless stream / Of cigarettes and magazines / And each town looks the same to me / The movies and the factories / And every stranger's face I see / Reminds me that I long to be / Homeward bound / I wish I was / Homeward bound" ("Homeward Bound") they express perfectly a sentiment known to anyone who has traveled for business. They are incredibly well-written lyrics on that track and it is easy to see why Paul Simon is considered so gifted.

Sadly, the net result of the lyrics is still that they fall a bit flat. They use some fairly obvious rhymes over the course of the album and while they have decent themes (antiwar, pro-family, in favor of love) they are not as developed as they could be. Considering that the average track on the album is right around two minutes long, this is not a surprise.

The various ditties on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme are presented quite clearly by Simon and Garfunkel and their vocals are clear and crisp throughout the album. Sadly, the effect of the smooth voices is more narcolepcy-inspiring than truly beautiful. The guys can sing; they can also put their audience to sleep. The safe, mid to high range vocals Simon And Garfunkel present are almost completely dull. They vary little in terms of tone and tempo and while some may find it admirable, on such a short album it seems limited and boring to me.

Similarly, the instrumentals are simply the two men and their guitars. That is not entirely true. For this album there is a silent partner brought in to . . . play guitar. Yes, in a duo of two men playing only guitars, what they felt they needed was another guitar. Drums would have been nice, a piano could have shaken things up, a saxophone or bassoon or even a bass might have saved "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" from the disappointing sound it ends up having.

In other words, this is a shockingly limited album musically. It sounds like precisely what it is: two guys and their guitars. It could be so much more, but on this album they never pop into something greater. For all of the potential, Simon and Garfunkel fall flat on this one.

And I acknowledge that the spirit of experimentalism is alive and well for the boys with "7 O'Clock News / Silent Night," but just because they try something different does not mean it works. The idea of putting "Silent Night" with a sound clip of a news segment on the Vietnam war is not a bad one, but the execution here seems more jumbled than musical.

And as unfortunate as that is, that is how I find Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme, one of the few Simon And Garfunkel albums I'll put up on the shelf, knowing I won't pick it back up again. Ever.

The best track is "Homeward Bound," the low point is "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine."

For other former Artist Of The Month reviews, please check out:
That’s Why I’m Here - James Taylor
Aladdin Sane - David Bowie
American Industrial Ballads Boxed Set - Pete Seeger

3.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Soundtrack From A Darker Past: Watchmen Soundtrack Is A Conceptually Brilliant Album!

The Good: Some truly great songs, Well mixed, Memorable independent of film
The Bad: Missing one song, One lame song
The Basics: Despite a lousy cover opening the album, Watchmen is an extraordinary musical experience that transcends its links to the film.


I had been bugging my wife for months about Watchmen, before it was released. By the time it was released, I had probably bugged my (then) fiance so much that there was some doubt which part of the trip we were on I was enjoying more; spending the most continual time with her or seeing Watchmen in IMAX. Of course, in my mind there was no real competition; I was excited to be with my fiance, but there weren't billboards of her up all around New York City for me to ooh and ahh at. And I absolutely loved Watchmen (reviewed here!).

As the lights came up on our IMAX viewing of the film, though, I turned to my shocked fiance - who was probably wondering just what kind of a psychopath I was to drag her to such a film - and asked her what she thought of it. Her quiet response was simple: "That movie ruined 'Me And Bobby McGee' for me." It was in that moment I realized two things: 1. I would be doing a lot of apologizing that night and 2. The film had a powerful soundtrack that stood out at key moments in the film.

With twelve songs and over forty-five minutes of music, Watchmen is a compilation of (as near as I can tell) all but one of the songs played during Watchmen (there was a second Leonard Cohen song played during the closing credits after My Chemical Romance's cover of "Desolation Row" which did not make it onto this album). This is a collection of amazing music and the fact that back to back to back the album has "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "The Sound Of Silence," and "Me And Bobby McGee" puts it ahead of virtually any ten minutes on any oldie's station I've heard of late. Throw in the smooth jazz of Nat "King" Cole's "Unforgettable" and the fun of "I'm Your Boogie Man" and you have a solid album with a retro sound.

Of course, music is an essential part of almost every film ever produced, but that does not mean it makes for a truly great soundtrack album. The Watchmen soundtrack is, independent of the film. But, for a moment, it is worthwhile to see how much care went into producing the soundtrack. It is easy to recall that in the film, the sense of irony with which director Zach Snyder chose "The Times They Are A-Changin'" for the opening credit sequence as alternate timeline of Watchmen is illustrated. The song worked perfectly, but it also was presented tongue-in-cheek to get viewers into the mindset that the film was not following their recognizable sense of history.

But the care that went into constructing the soundtrack cannot be overstated; music had to have a rebellious quality that was evocative of a United States trapped in a Cold War of Nixon's Era. So, despite the fact that the film takes place in an alternate 1985, Snyder could not use music from the likes of R.E.M., which railed against Reagan and his doings. So, instead, Snyder and his assistants on Watchmen stuck with standards like Jimi Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" to punctuate the film. Track to track, the Watchmen soundtrack evolves as a nostalgic-retro rock experience after "Desolation Row."

In fact, there are only two incongruent tracks on Watchmen and the first is My Chemical Romance's "Desolation Row" cover which is noisy, unpleasant and does not fit the theme or sound of the rest of the album. My Chemical Romance does the cover as a My Chemical Romance song: loud and without articulation or respect to the lyrics in the song. Instrumentally, it is chaotic and sloppy. Those who appreciate Watchmen might call it many things, but chaotic it is not; the film and material that inspired it is elaborate, complicated and explores the nature of how pieces fit together to make an ordered whole whether it is a conspiracy or a human's mind. This cover of "Desolation Row" spits in the face of all that follows on the album.

Because what the album does exceptionally well after that is transport the listener to a simpler time with the nostalgic bars of "Unforgettable" and takes the listener on a musical history lesson through Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin and into the '70's with K.C. & The Sunshine Band and Leonard Cohen. And the clever aspect of the Watchmen soundtrack is that it does not track chronologically from the film. As a result, after Jimi Hendrix's guitar anthem comes the lone instrumental track "Ride Of The Valkyries" by Wagner and the anthemic nature of the two songs back to back is surprisingly incredible. It works.

As well, the album has a decent mix of male and female voices, with Billie Holiday's "You're My Thrill" playing well off "Pruit Igoe & Prophecies" (Philip Glass). One need not see Watchmen to appreciate the mix of classic folk rock and pop-rock (and with Hendrix, straight out rock) on the album, but it does take a creative mind to appreciate the way Wagner and Hendrix fit together, but the soundtrack acts as a musical journey making it easy to take that leap.

Just as viewers have been dazzled by the darkness and spectacle of Watchmen, listeners will likely enjoy the journey through the history of 60's and 70's pop rock with a few other classics thrown in. It's too bad the album had to start with such a sour and sloppy note.

The best track is "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and the low point is the album opener, "Desolation Row."

For other Watchmen products, please check out my reviews of:
Watching The Watchmen By Dave Gibbons
Limited Edition Walter Kovacs (Rorschach Unmasked) Action Figure
Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comics

9/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Storytellers In Song And Season: Bookends By Simon And Garfunkel

The Good: Lyrics, Voice, Good balance of instruments
The Bad: Short! Interspersed dialogue clips
The Basics: Solid lyrics and stunning vocals rock this enjoyable and listenable album, despite its short duration.


Back in the day when music was written, played and sung by artists, there was the original boy band, Simon and Garfunkel. Remember the days? I don't; I wasn't alive when they were at the tops of the charts. So, why are they worth listening to now?

Quite simply, they are that good. Bookends is an excellent example of their strengths as musical artists. The twelve-track album is often truly great and displays a profound understanding of human emotions. It's best classified as 60s rock; today it might be considered folk. Folk, in today's culture, is defined as "well written music played and sung by an artist with amazing lyrical powers, but is utterly unmarketable because it's too intelligent for the masses." Strange that quality lyrics are so far removed from popular culture now.

Enjoy Bookends then! The guitars range from pounding ("Save The Life Of My Child") to sensually picked ("Old Friends"). The guitars are used as a tool to accent the voices of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and despite their sometimes over-noticeable presence, they are never overbearing. In fact, all of the musical instruments: guitars, drums, tambourine's, etc. serve only to complement the vocals, never drowning them out, never asserting more importance than the voice.

What are Simon and Garfunkel singing about? What's so great about their voices? Well, the answer to the latter question is smooth. Simon and Garfunkel are instantly comprehensible, their voices are instruments and they know it. They blend together wonderfully and the only word to truly describe their sound is smooth. Their voices have a quality of satin.

Bookends ranges thematically from songs patriotic ("America") to sad lamenting ("Old Friends") to upbeat and fun ("Mrs. Robinson"). The strength of the lyrics is in the vocabulary; they have a wide range and it is utilized well. Moreover, they are insightful. Their lyrics speak to the overwhelming emotions and concepts that drive us as people. They know what they're singing about.

The weaknesses of the album are few. The first is the addition of clips of dialogue to a few of the tracks. In fact, track five "Voices Of Old People" is just that. It's dialogue from old people. It breaks up the momentum of the album and it such a departure from the rest of the album that is serves only to distract.

Bookends is a sterling example of why old records should be condensed when being remastered. At barely a half hour, this album is a tremendous waste of the c.d. medium. Two Simon and Garfunkel albums could fit on one c.d.! It's a huge disappointment that the amazing lyrics don't continue that long.

Then again, I ought not to complain; had no one remastered the album into a c.d. at all, I'd never have heard the fine lyric "Wish I was a Kellogg's Cornflake. . ." (Punky's Dilemma). The strongest track is the tear-jerking "Old Friends," the weak track is "Voices of Old People."

For other male vocalists with wonderful lyrics, please check out my reviews of:
Wonderwall (single) - Oasis
Actually - Pet Shop Boys
Minutes To Midnight - Linkin Park

7.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2001 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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