I mentioned in my review of the first episode that it felt more like a George Carlin variety special, with a few sketches and musical numbers on the side. The same goes for this episode, only more so. Paul Simon and the other guest musicians perform a total of eleven (!) songs, which leaves little time left for comedy sketches.
Cold opening:Simon performs "Still Crazy After All These Years," the title track from his album which would be released a week later. "Still Crazy" peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1976.
When the song ends, Chevy Chase picks up a guitar, stumbles, performs a pratfall, looks into the camera and exclaims "Live From New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Paul Simon and the Jesse Dixon Singers:"Loves Me Like A Rock"
Instead of an opening monologue, Simon sings "Loves Me Like A Rock," accompanied by the Jesse Dixon Singers. The song peaked at #2 on the pop chart in October 1973.
Commercial:"The Berkeley Collection"
Written by Michael O'Donoghue.
Former Yippie radical leader Jerry Rubin presents the Berkeley Collection of wallpaper. Your favorite '60s protest slogans can now adorn the walls of your home!
Paul Simon:"Marie"
Paul Simon sings a portion of this song written by Randy Newman and then introduces Newman.
Randy Newman:"Sail Away."
Newman sings the title track from his 1972 album.
Bees:
Simon is joined by the Not Ready For Prime Time Players in their bee costumes. He dismisses them, informing the cast that the bees were cut. The bees walk off stage looking dejected.
"Weekend Update":
Chevy Chase opens with a story about Pres. Gerald Ford's "accident of the week."
After a short newscast, Chase introduces a video that features a one-on-one basketball game between Paul Simon and NBA player Connie Hawkins.
Simon & Garfunkel:"The Boxer," "Scarborough Fair."
Simon reunites with his former partner for a performance of two of their best-loved songs.
"The Boxer" was released as a single in March of 1969 and reached #7 on the pop chart.
"Scarborough Fair" is an English folk song that has roots that reach back to the 15th century. Simon & Garfunkel's version was the lead-off track on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. "Scarborough Fair" later became a hit-single (peaking at #11) when it was featured on soundtrack of The Graduate in 1968.
Simon & Garfunkel:"My Little Town"
The duo performs "My Little Town," which was released on their respective 1975 solo albums and reached #9 on the pop chart. This time the SNL band backs them up.
Art Garfunkel:"I Only Have Eyes For You."
Simon says Garfunkel "demanded a solo number," while adding that his ex-partner "always sang better." Garfunkel sings the jazz standard "I Only Have Eyes For You," which was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin for the 1934 film Dames.
"Dregs and Vestiges," featuring Jim Henson's Muppets:
King Ploobus (Jim Henson), ruler of the land of Gorch, is freaking out, since his land is "on the brink of default." Ploobus' lackey Scred (Jerry Nelson) says that only the Mighty Favog can help solve their financial crisis.
A film by Albert Brooks:
Brooks introduces some of his "home movies," where his father displays an invasive predilection for filming very private moments of Brooks' life, including the first time he went to the bathroom alone and his first sexual experience.
"No Regrets" written by Harry Tobias, Roy Ingraham and originally recorded by Vera Lynn. It was made famous by Billie Holiday. Snow's version appeared on her 1976 album Second Childhood.
Paul Simon, Phoebe Snow & the Jesse Dixon Singers:"Gone At Last."
These three artists recorded this song in 1975 for Simon's Still Crazy album and it peaked at #23 on the charts.
Commercial "Try Hard 1-11":
A pitchman (George Coe) promotes a battery which is used to power pace-makers overnight to demonstrate its power.
Paul Simon:"American Tune"
Simon closes the show by performing his 1973 single "American Tune" This song was released in November of 1973 and reached #35 on the pop chart and it opens side two of Simon's album There Goes Rhymin' Simon.
Goodnights:
As was the case in the Carlin-hosted show, Simon stands alone when it's time to say goodnight. However, at the last second, he's joined by basketball hall-of-famer (and future U.S. Senator) Bill Bradley.
In a call-back to the earlier basketball video, Bradley presents Simon with a One-On-One basketball championship trophy. The trophy is almost as tall as Simon!
Notes about this episode:
Lorne Michaels says that after the first episode, the only note he got from the NBC network brass was to "cut the bees." So he made sure they were in the next episode. [1]
In the Muppets sketch, Gorch's financial woes are a reference to the economic crisis that was hitting New York City when this episode aired.
The "Try Hard 1-11" commercial was a parody of a series of 1970s ads for Die Hard car batteries.
Press clippings:
In the October 20, 1975 issue of the New York Times, the paper's TV critic John J. O'Connor called the Simon & Garfunkel reunion "nice while it lasted," but added "the same cannot be said for the rest of Saturday Night." O'Connor called the comedy sketches from the first two episodes "dreadfully uneven."
I found an ad for this episode that was published in the New York Times on the prior Sunday:
Classic moments:
Chevy Chase takes his first fall during a cold opening. The "fall of the week" would be featured just about every week until Chase's departure.
What stands out:
The Simon & Garfunkel reunion-In only its second episode, SNL shows viewers that every episode could be a "major event." I imagine it was a huge deal for their fans to get to see them reunite on television.
Simon tells his old partner "you've come crawling back." I would guess Garfunkel expected this, but considering the often-hostile relationship between the two, this is probably a case of "a joke that isn't really a joke." They sing "The Boxer" and "Scarborough Fair," accompanied only by Simon's acoustic guitar. Their harmonies are gorgeous as ever.
"Loves Me Like A Rock"-I grew up with this song, my mother owned the recording and played it a lot. It's performed in a slightly faster tempo here and the Jesse Dixon Singers provide great support to Simon.
Simon vs. Connie Hawkins- Simon was actually a star baseball player in high school, but he shows that he's a pretty good "baller" for a 5'4 singer. While this "game" was certainly staged and edited, Simon makes some nice shots and it's a one of the best segments of this episode.
The bees-They're only on stage for a few seconds, but the bees make their second appearance. This makes them SNL's first recurring characters!
"Sail Away"-Newman's tune is a sneaky, subversive song narrated from the perspective of a slave trader who is trying to talk Africans into sailing with him to America. One of Newman's best songs.
"The Berkeley Collection" commercial-This is funny and is funnier now because in the near future, former 60s radical Jerry Rubin would become known as a "hip capitalist" Wall Street stockbroker. It also predicts the 1960s nostalgia industry, still years away at this point.
Rubin delivers one of the funniest lines of the show: "Join me in a protest march down memory lane!"
What doesn't work:I generally like Paul Simon's music, but his performances are a bit awkward when it's just him by himself with a microphone.
J.A. Morris' rating:
On the whole, it's a good episode, but I would've preferred more comedy. However, the Simon & Garfunkel reunion makes it worth watching at least once. While it does contain some good songs, eleven musical performances in just over an hour is a bit too many. Episode 2 is an example of how Lorne Michaels and company were still figuring out what exactly they wanted this show to be.
Footnotes:
[1]Live, From New York, by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, p.67.
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