TBGB Pick of the Week: July 3, 2005

“Bridge Over Troubled Water”
The Christianaires
MCG Records 2005

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” was destined to become a gospel song.

In fact, one might argue that it has always had a gospel provenance. For example, the title of the Paul Simon-penned paean to the power of unconditional love was alleged to have been inspired by the Swan Silvertones’ “Mary Don’t You Weep,” during which Rev. Claude Jeter declares that Jesus is “a bridge over deep water.” Also, during the “Bridge” recording session, Simon asked the background musicians to infuse the song with a “gospel feel.”

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” entered the Billboard charts in February of 1970 and remained #1 for six weeks, selling five million copies by the end of the year.

Following Simon and Garfunkel’s incredible success with the record, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” became one of the most covered songs of all time, for better or worse. In the gospel field, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama recorded it. So, too, did the Gospel Clefs, though their version pales in comparison to the quartet’s far more inventive work for Savoy Records in the late fifties and early sixties.

The Christianaires’ recent cover of the pop classic, from the MCG Records LP SoulLink Live 2, is among the best gospelized versions of the lot. Unlike many covers of the song, it does not sound anachronistic or painfully pious. Rather, it is no-holds-barred, soul-stirring, shouting gospel. Where quartets such as the Gospel Clefs seemed to fumble awkwardly with the unconventional “Wall of Sound” arrangement, the Christianaires’ straightforward and heartfelt rendering makes sense.