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Continuing my trip back through the 1968 album charts.

22/12/68 : The Graduate - Simon & Garfunkel

I've seen the film (and quite liked it - it's surprisingly odd in places) and I know the famous tracks from it, but I'd struggle to imagine what they fill a whole album with - so I'm somewhat intrigued as to what I'm getting here.  And yes, it's the second soundtrack album in a row which would have been rejected in previous years but I'm definitely going to have to be more lenient this year than I have previously been.

Hmmm - what an odd album this is.  Firstly there are the S&G tracks that everyone knows - but two versions of them!  And even odder, neither of the versions of "Mrs Robinson" is the one that everyone knows - that's the one on Bookends (which we'll be meeting earlier in the year) because they hadn't finished it in time for the film.  Then there are the lesser known S&G tracks - "April Come She Will" which I did know and "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" which I didn't.  

And then there's Dave Grusin's stuff.  You know - Dave!  What - you don't know Dave?  Well, he's a purveyor of slightly sinister plinky-plonk instrumental music - and he only provides every other track on this album.  And whilst I can accept that he doesn't do a bad job, I can't imagine anyone came to this album wanting (or expecting) to get quite as much of his work as they do.  What they've totally done here is recognise there were three decent tracks in the film and then somehow create a whole album - I'm not saying it's a complete con, but it would certainly have left me feeling somewhat short-changed if I'd paid for it.

We're at #5 in the charts this week on their tenth week of an eighteen week run - and somehow it managed another 50 weeks in the charts across 18 more runs, last being seen in '71.  Had people not heard it?!?  The rest of the top five were The Beatles, The Seekers, The Rolling Stones and TSOM and we have two slightly different new entries in the chart this week - Mrs Mills (#32 - she was a curious piano teacher type) and the cast recording of Hair (#39).

Wikipedia doesn't have an awful lot to say on the album, but it does include the startling news that this won the Grammy Award for "Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special".  WHAT?!?  "Mrs Robinson" also won the Grammy for "Record Of The Year" - I'm perfectly happy with that, but this album deserves nothing.  But it got to #1 in the US selling 2 million copies - 1968 was a weird time, man!

"Customers also listened to" Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel (no-one expected that!), Harry Nilsson and Donovan.  I like a lot of stuff S&G have done but this album contains very little of it,  particularly if you ignore the repeated stuff - I'm astounded it was quite so popular.

15/12/68 - Our third soundtrack album in a row!
29/12/68 - 100% bangerz

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