Burt Bacharach has been a huge part of my life lived through music, even when I was largely ignorant of this fact until I got to my teens and started paying more attention to the people behind the songs. Falling in love, falling out of love, Burt Bacharach captured the musical mood and, with Hal David, nailed the thoughts, feelings and dilemmas that listeners could relate to.
My initial 'shortlist' for this selection was ridiculously long, so I've ruthlessly cut it to ten songs and a little over half an hour. In the 1990s, I bought a budget compilation called The Burt Bacharach Songbook, a 23-track silver disc of solid gold songs. I could easily have just picked the ten from that alone and it would have been great. A few have made the cut here but I've interspersed them with some more contemporary cover versions from BMX Bandits, Terry Hall, Kevin Rowland, Espiritu aka Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones and Richard X featuring the unique talent that is The Flying Lizards' Deborah Evans-Stickland.
Given Bacharach and David's long and fruitful collaboration with Dionne Warwick, it would have been remiss of me not to start the selection with one of her songs, with three more covers along the way. The selection closes with my favorite cover of I'll Never Fall In Love Again, by Bobbie Gentry.
Lots more for a future part two and part three, but this is a brisk reminder of Burt Bacaharch's brilliance with a tune that hits all the emotional sweet spots. Thanks for all the music, Burt.
1) Do You Know The Way To San Jose: Dionne Warwick (1968)
2) It Doesn't Matter Anymore (Cover of Ricky Nelson): BMX Bandits (1998)
3) Close To You (Cover of '(They Long To Be) Close To You' by Richard Chamberlain): Terry Hall (1997)
4) Anyone... (Edit By Rob Smith & Ray Mighty) (Cover of 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' by Dionne Warwick): Smith & Mighty ft. Jackie Jackson (1988)
5) You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart) (Cover of Dionne Warwick): The Stylistics (1976)
6) Walk On By (Cover of Dionne Warwick): Richard X ft. Deborah Evans-Stickland (2003)
7) Always Something There To Remind Me (Radio Version By Phil Bodger) (Cover of Sandie Shaw): Espiritu (1994)
8) This Guy's In Love With You (Cover of Danny Williams): Kevin Rowland (1999)
9) Only Love Can Break A Heart (Cover of Gene Pitney): Timi Yuro (1981)
10) I'll Never Fall In Love Again (Cover of Jill O'Hara & Jerry Orbach): Bobbie Gentry (1969)
Like you I don't think I truly appreciated the excellence of Burt's songs until I was a fair bit older. As a child they were always there or thereabouts (sung by a variety of artists), but I wouldn't have known much about the Bacharach and David songwriting team back then. I first bought a compilation of his as a teenager as I found it in the easy-listening section of our local TV Services shop - sacre bleu, easy of the ears maybe, but not easy to write at all.
ReplyDeleteSince starting my place I have revisited the late 60s A LOT, so inevitable that Burt's songs have put in an appearance often. He had a real resurgence around the turn of the millennium which was when I got a 3 CD boxset, but considering he wrote over 500 songs ,lots of classics that were missed. You've put together a great selection there and always good to hear the songs interpreted by more recent artists. I was about to say like The Stranglers, Walk On By, but that was from 1978!
Great picture of him at the top there - he had movie-star good looks back them and would have looked very much at home in an American light comedy of the day.
Love the Terry Hall version of Close To You - that bit more poignant in view of his recent passing. I'm surprised how few tributes to Burt have been written around here actually whereas Terry had just about everyone writing one. An artist from an earlier generation I suppose and not a tragic passing unlike with Terry.
Delete(Hope I've not been insensitive in view of what has been going on in your world - apologies if I have been.)
I focused a fair bit on the Bacharach/David partnership, but his work with Carole Bayer Sager and Elvis Costello, to name but two, contains some latter day gems.
DeleteAs for cover versions, well, The Stranglers' take on Walk On By is just phenomenal in my opinion. Yes, no longer 'recent' by any stretch of the mark but still gives me a thrill when I listen to it. And Terry's version of Close to You is very special to me, too.
No need to apologise for any possible insensitivity - it's been lovely to read and share comments from everyone. Thanks for taking the time to write here, it's always welcomed and appreciated.