Simon & Garfunkel – The Graduate OST (1968)
The Graduate was the highest grossing film of 1967, earning $104.9 million. The Mike Nichols movie stars Dustin Hoffman as a 21-year-old who has an affair with the much older Anne Bancroft, before eventually falling for her daughter. The film soundtrack, that frequently gets mentioned in soundtrack best of lists, is nearly evenly split between Simon & Garfunkel songs and jazzy, orchestral numbers by soundtrack maestro Dave Grusin.
The album is bookended by two different versions of “The Sound of Silence” from the duo’s first album that was later remixed to become a #1 hit. Other S&G tracks include an extended version of “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”, “April Come She Will” and an alternate version of “The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine”. The movie’s main song is the first appearance of “Mrs. Robinson” that Simon had been working on but initially known as “Mrs. Roosevelt”. The eventual #1 hit appears here twice but not in its full version. Because of the movie, the song has become synonymous with the allure of older women.
While it’s Simon and Garfunkel’s name that is splashed across the record, Dave Grusin contributes six tracks that would appeal to the older generation. They are fun, upbeat numbers that have a dash of novelty and 60’s slapstick to them. The album vacillates between the hushed, folk rock of Simon & Garfunkel before the Grusin instrumentals come crashing in to up the pace. It’s an odd mix, one that appealed to both teenagers and adults at the time and sent the album soaring to #1. Today, it makes for an interesting curiosity that should really only appeal to completists and soundtrack buffs.
7/10
…someday we’ll be gone…
The Tragically Hip – Saskadelphia EP (2021)
On May 20th, Tragically Hip fans across Canada were surprised to find out the band was releasing a new EP titled Saskadelphia. The title being the original working name of 1991’s Road Apples album of which these songs were recorded for and eventually rejected. The original tapes of the EP’s six songs that were thought lost but found in 2019 lean towards the more rocking end of the band’s oeuvre. “Ouch” starts off the EP, with singer Gord Downie’s voice straining to get the words out as the rest of the band chugs behind him. The swaggering “Just as Well” recalls boogie rock of 80’s hit from The Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”.
“Not Necessary” is an early highlight. The melodic rocker sees Downie sing “You’re so calico, you’re all the colours in the world” over the chiming guitars of Paul Baker and Paul Langlois. The live version of “Montreal” about a victim of that city’s tragic Ecole Polytechique shooting is another poignant highlight. The bass of Gord Sinclair holds down “Crack My Spine Like A Whip” which also adds the crisp drumming of Johnny Fay. The EP closes with Downie announcing the introduction of the sped-up blues track “Reformed Baptist Blues”.
The sound here is early Hip, straight forward rock with a bit of the blues added, it lacks some of the subtleties they would later work into their music and lift them from clubs/theatres to selling out arenas across Canada. For fans that grew up the band, this is definitely a nostalgic trip that is hard to separate from the art, especially with the passing of Gord Downie in 2017. There are a couple great songs here along with some good ones. Mostly though, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun hearing “new” music from The Tragically Hip again.
8.5/10
The Weather Station – Ignorance (2021)
Released in February, Ignorance is The Weather Station’s fifth studio album. The Canadian band formed in 2006 and has since seen changing members but is led by singer/songwriter Tamara Lindeman who wrote all the songs here. While the Wikipedia page describes The Weather Station as a folk band, the sounds on the first half of the album are bright and bouncy even if the subject matter is not. First single “Robbers” speaks of Canada’s colonial past and on “Atlantic” Lindeman sings “I should really know better than to read the headlines” (about climate change) over a dance drumbeat and deep basslines.
Strings get added to both “Tried to Tell You” and “Parking Lot” which makes for classy 80s R&B. Slower introspective tracks show up on the second half of the album including “Trust” where Lindeman declares, “Dim the lights and draw the curtains, this is the end of love” and “Subdivisions” ends asking “did I take this too far?” Ignorance is a mature pop record that mixes both of those items in equal doses.
8/10
The Light Appears 