Simon & Garfunkel’s fifth and final album was released in 1970 and proved to be their most successful including critically acclaimed songs such as Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Boxer. The albums popularity meant several represses, reissues and remasters followed the original release leading to much speculation regarding the condition of the master tapes. My reference digital version, the MasterSound Gold CD from 1993, incudes comments in the liner notes stating oxide loss has led to several artifacts and hiss which means it’s highly likely any current day remasters are going to be from safety copies or digital transfers of the original stereo master unless stated otherwise. In this post I will give my thoughts on two vinyl variants of Bridge Over Troubled Water including a UK original and a 2016 remaster by Music On Vinyl.

Background

I do most of these comparisons out of personal interest and this is no different. My 1970 UK original is in good shape but the vinyl is noisy in places and the start of side A has some pretty nasty groove noise/damage which somewhat ruins the experience. I decided to pick up a newer remaster to compare and ultimately decide whether I need to try and find a nicer original press, settle for the Music On Vinyl release or seek out an alternative. Some on my want list include the 2009 Sundazed Music release cut by Kevin Gray, 1999 Classic Records release cut by Bernie Grundman and of course the MoFi One-Step release from 2018. I have also heard good things about the 1980 Mastersound Half-speed release. If I acquire any of these I will update the post accordingly.

Samples

On with the samples. The following recordings were captured using a Behringer U-CONTROL UCA222 played on an AT-LP5x turntable with AT-VM95ML cartridge and MoFi StudioPhono preamp.

1970 UK Original

2016 Music On Vinyl

Thoughts…

Firstly something which was obvious while editing these samples is that the Music On Vinyl release plays slightly faster than the original pressing. I don’t know which one is the correct speed but one would have to assume this is due to different tape speeds during transfer or different source tapes entirely.

This is an interesting comparison sound wise and one where I would say for many there may be no clear winner. The record is made up of a diverse selection of tracks spanning multiple genres with many complex and dense arrangements. The MOV in general is the more balanced presentation enhancing low frequency detail and definition. High frequency detail is also more present which helps with some of the more complex arrangements such as Cecilia and Baby Driver.

The title track highlights some inherent vocal distortion in the original master which the MOV works to address but in doing so the vocal loses some of it’s presence and sounds less natural somehow. Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Boxer are two tracks where the original LP mastering shines through and the mastering choices on the MOV release don’t benefit the music as strongly.

More complex arrangements like Keep The Customer Satisfied and Why Don’t You Write Me benefit from the better balanced MOV mastering. The vocal is less hot and instruments generally have more room to breath in the mix across a wider soundstage. Enhanced low frequency detail also help to drive the rhythm sections in these tracks compared to the thinner sounding original which is more vocal driven across the board.

Summary

I have to say this comparison surprised me in that both versions have their merits and I think opinion will be divided on the overall winner depending on what sort of presentation you prefer and best matches your system. The MOV is the cleaner and better balanced of the two smoothing out some of the more compressed and fatiguing passages in the original mastering but it is by no means definitive in my opinion. The original LP is an enjoyable listen and has a sound character that really benefits certain tracks but it has a notably thinner bottom end and less sparkle up top which doesn’t complement the music when the mix gets more dense.

What are your thoughts on Bridge Over Troubled Water and what is your go to version? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!