Who Did It Better? Breakaway

Who Did It Better?

Breakaway

I don't know why, but I feel today's entry requires a bit of background and a history lesson to be put in perspective, so bear with me... I may not remember things correctly, as I was just a wee thing at the time, who didn't know anything about anything, but I will give it my best shot. 

The subject of today's episode of Who Did It Better hails back to the mid-70's, a time that was a bit of a muddle - politically, socially, and musically. America? Kind of a mess. They had a bicentennial to plan under the shadow cast by the huge upheaval Watergate had brought about. An air of mistrust lingered and, as a nation, we remained uncertain as to what to make of it. 

Musically? The answer seemed to be to apply as much balm as possible. By this point, the counter culture had become members of the mainstream and everybody was rapidly growing the hell up. Still, there was a yearning for nostalgia; we wanted our old heroes to remain relevant, so we reinvented them or they reinvented themselves.

Let's take Simon and Garfunkel for example.

Back in 1970, the duo broke up. They'd been a mainstay for privileged, white, ivy league college students everywhere and man, if they couldn't make it work, then how were the rest of us supposed to manage? The two wanted to pursue solo careers, and so they did. Fast forward to 1975, Columbia Records, the duo's original label, had been lucky enough to retain both artists and were about to unleash a publicity stunt unlike any other. 

You see, in 1975, there was a pining for the way things were... or, as defined back in 1973, The Way We Were. (See what we did there? Shout out to whkattk!) And part of that yearning involved the intertwining harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel. Everybody wanted a reunion, man. Those two cats... they needed to get back together, for the sake of the country. Yes, America needed a 'feel good' moment.

Surprisingly? They did... sort of. 

Simon had a song he wrote with Garfunkel in mind. Seems Paul felt Art was getting a little too soft, so he wanted to give him something a bit grittier to chew on. In Simon's words: "It originally was a song I was writing for Artie. I was gonna write a song for his new album, and I told him it would be a nasty song, because he was singing too many sweet songs. It seemed like a good concept for him." Hence the song, My Little Town came into being.   

At the time, Garfunkel was finishing work on his second solo album (Breakaway) and Simon had readied his fourth solo album (Still Crazy After All These Years), so Columbia Records decided to seize the moment and create a cross promotional frenzy. My Little Town would appear on both albums (Breakaway and Still Crazy After All The Years), the two albums would be released in late October within a week of one another (all in time for Xmas shoppers) and the two would appear live on the second episode of this brand new late night show on NBC called Saturday Night Live to promote it (which I watched). 

In addition, Columbia Records ran a mail order scam business where you would buy 12 L.P.s or tapes for 12 cents and then agree to buy only eight more at incredibly jacked up prices (plus postage). Also, you would get this little card in the mail promoting Columbia's latest release, and if you didn't return it via snail mail by a certain date, then that selection would be shipped to you (without your consent). Columbia Records decided to promote both solo albums at the same time on the same card, which meant you had to shell out big, big bucks if you were stupid enough not to return that card... which is how my older brother came to own both albums. He took one listen to Garfunkel's offering and handed it to me, which is how I came to possess a cassette copy of Art Garfunkel's Breakaway album, even though I did not own a cassette player. 

Well, all these schemes paid off big dividends; not only did My Little Town break into the Top Ten, but  Simon's album took the #1 spot, while Garfunkel's reached a very respectable #7.  

To follow-up this success, for Garfunkel's next single, the old chestnut, I Only Have Eyes For You was chosen. While it peaked at #18 state side, it went all the way to #1 (for two weeks) in the UK. It would also hit #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Which brings us to today's selection (did you ever think we'd get there?) For the third single? Break Away was chosen. 

Break Away was written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, known professionally as Gallagher and Lyle. Featuring backing vocals by David Crosby and Graham Nash (CSN and CSN&Y), the song would peak at #39 on the Hot 100 in February of 1976. It would also snag the #1 spot on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and go to #2 in Canada (where it was kept out of the top slot by Simon's 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.) 

Scottish duo, Gallagher & Lyle, established artists in the UK since 1972, would release their own version of the song in late 1976. Serving as the title track from their fifth album, Breakaway (just like Garfunkel's), Break Away (the song) would hit #7 in Ireland and #35 in the UK (where Garfunkel's version was inexplicably never released.) Incidentally, the song would be rereleased by the duo in 1983 and reach the Top Ten in Ireland for a second time.  

And there you have it, the whole story.

Now? On to the competition.

The Song: Break Away
The Competitors: Garfunkel vs. Lyle & Gallagher

Break Away - Art Garfunkel

Breakaway - Gallagher and Lyle

Art Garfunkel

Ah, that lovely keyboard with the vibraphone sound. It places this song at that exact moment in history. Garfunkel's approach to music? Hardly bombastic. Almost always wistful; one, long, pleasant sigh. His voice offers instant comfort, which is why I think placing this song in context to the times so important. His album, Breakaway? That was the balm needed at the time and that's why it got the public response it did. That lovely croon belonging to a different era served as aural chamomile. Yes, his voice gets a bit nasal now and then. But no other male singer has ever played with the spatial sounds of their head voice the way Garfunkel does. He sings the way a wizard conjures. 

Hear all that space in the mix? That's the magic of Richard Perry (The Pointer Sisters, Carly Simon), a protégé' of Arif Mardin. The two created this cosmopolitan sound keeping things simple and complicated at the same time, allowing former folk singers to slip into a jazzier, more urban landscape. No other producers ever captured the space between instruments/sounds the way these two did. 

All those little guitar accents on the bridge into the chorus? They bubble, setting the scene, setting up the listener. Take note of their use of dynamics throughout this piece. That was the magic of Garfunkel, why he was an ideal singing partner, he has a sixth sense when it comes to proportion, propulsion, In lesser hands, a song as pop-oriented as this could have come across choppy and a bit forced, but Garfunkel manages to coax all the magic out of it with the gentle massage of his voice. 

That funky bass sound kills me. When combined with the vibraphone keyboards it creates the loveliest little pop bop. And those harmonies. Growing up, I had no idea that Crosby and Nash sang on this (the type-size on cassettes back then? You needed a microscope.) Garfunkel could not be in better company. So warm, so rich sounding. 

Yes, the song is slight. And you can hear why this didn't break further than #39 on the chart. It's pleasant, but not exactly an AM radio hot hit. It's a bit too sophisticated. 

I'm realizing, as I listen to that horn break before the bridge into the second chorus that I am a bit too emotionally involved to be subjective regarding this song. That's the power of nostalgia. It seduces like nothing else, especially during formative years when one is little more than a sponge with arms and legs. I can see how one could dismiss this as a trifle. Find Garfunkel's vocals detached and whiny. Find the song's arrangement cloying and closed off.  I get it.

The second bridge has added dimension. Those harmonies round it out, while more space is filled with instrumentation that I suppose could be termed distracting, but it's really more about atmospherics. Volume-wise, the trio of singers barely raise the temp, yet it feels like the sun breaking the horizon. In fact, that is a great metaphor for the entire arrangement, which progresses quietly, subtly like a sunrise. 

And that same vibraphone/fuzzy bass combo continues to percolate under those waves of vocal harmony. And then, the only thing I do not understand... that flatulate synth pad at the 3:03 mark which sounds like a farting mosquito. Okay, so I would have loved to have been in the booth when the debate about whether that was necessary took place, because I can't fathom an argument where somebody would say, "No, this is absolutely necessary. This song will not get any attention unless this is in there, at that exact moment. I mean, the song will lose all it's drive." 

How fun. Strange, but having listened to this, all I can think of is Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys and how much influence they have had on pop music - which is why The Captain and Tennille spring to mind, because, in a way, they were mining the same diamond mind as Garfunkel. Coincidentally, The Beach Boys' Disney Girls would be recorded by both Garfunkel and The Captain and Tennille for their respective 1975 albums. 

And there we have it... full circle.    

Gallagher and Lyle

Their keyboard intro? A bit muddled. Not as crisp and clean. Gallagher's voice is very nice. Clean. A bit bright. But that could be because his vocals are mixed way up in the mix. In fact, they don't seem part of it. As he sings the second part of the first verse, the real difference emerges. Gallagher's phrasing is very clipped and his style, very direct. And he's pulling his notes, which may be due to his accent. When Lyle joins on the bridge into the chorus things warm up considerably. I rather like this. It's a lot crisper than Garfunkel's atmospheric-heavy version. 

But when we launch into that chorus? There's something not quite right. It's the baritone vocal that's not been tucked in properly. It sticks out, like a slice of bologna in a cucumber sandwich with the crust cut off. Yeah. I just does not work for my ear. It keeps pulling my ear to it. Oh, I know what it reminds me of. Did you ever, as a kid, record yourself singing to the recording of a favorite song? Remember how your voice just sort of laid there, flat and out of place? That's what's happening here on the chorus. It's very strange. I mean, it's a harmony... not the melody, but its mixed out front of everything else. Maybe they were trying to differentiate their version from Garfunkel's?

As we go into the second verse, the vocalist isn't filling in any of the vowel sounds. It's very clipped. As if none of the words are connected. That guitar solo... very much a product of the time. Stephen Bishop would tread similar waters - a combination of something almost tropical/Hawaiian while also reminiscent of a steel guitar. And then, on the bridge into the chorus, there's that guitar sound in the background sighing like a whale. 

Huh. The dual vocals kind of fall apart here for me. Though I love the strings. So subtle. And then there's that weird synth pad buried in there sort of swirling beneath. Then, when we hit the chorus? We don't soar. We hit our mark, while failing to actual make one. And that crashing cymbal? No. So unfocused. Just filler noise. Oh, my... listen at the 3:07 mark... hear that? That little kazoo sounding synth taking off? I rather admire that they chose the exact same moment as Garfunkel to do something like that. That synth pad becomes more prominent. It's too bad they weren't produced by 10cc's Godley and Creme - they would have made something of this. For that is what this reminds me of... a 10cc song.

Huh, all over at the 3:24 mark. What are we doing with the rest of the time, boys? Not a great deal, okay, then. 

Thanks?

The Verdict

So, one could argue that the song hardly warrants this amount of critique, but since that is what these posts are all about... I must allow it. 

One could argue that Garfunkel's version is cluttered, detached, and a tad art-song pretentious. 

One could argue that Gallagher and Lyle's version is a bit undercooked. Lazy, even? Though more natural, some odd choices in the mix, for sure. 

But I find Garfunkel's vocals, in combination with the harmonies provided by Crosby and Nash to be rather winning. The overall arrangement and feel of the production values? A product of it's time. 

While I appreciate Gallaher and Lyle's forthright approach, they fail to ignite the damn thing, leaving me underwhelmed. 

So, it's Garfunkel for me. 

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Okay, your turn, kids. 

What did you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section. A differing opinion? Bring it on. I love to hear it. 

That's all for today. 

Thanks for listening... and, as always, thanks for reading. 

Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel

SNL, October 1975