Burt Bacharach’s long awaited new solo CD, his first solo collection of new material since 1979′s Woman, will reportedly be released in late October on Sony UK. The CD will apparently showcase some of Burt’s recent collaborations with Dr. Dre, the first of which turned up on Chris Botti’s 2003 CD A Thousand Kisses Deep. Stay tuned for more details.

Elton John will sing a posthumous duet with Luther Vandross on “Anyone Who Had A Heart” and Aretha Franklin will perform “A House Is Not A Home” on a new CD honoring Vandross to be released by J Records on Sept. 20. So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross will also feature performances by Alicia Keys, Celine Dion, Jamie Foxx, Donna Summer, Usher, Mary J.

Blige, Wyclef Jean and more.

Compiler Wayne Dickson writes that Legends, a new budget-priced three-disc collection of Dionne Warwick’s Arista material (1979–1993), will be released in the U.K. on Aug. 29. The first comprehensive collection of Dionne’s Arista period, Legends includes a wealth of Bacharach-Warwick material from the 1980s, including “Finder of Lost Loves,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “Stronger Than Before,” “Stay Devoted,” “Love Power,” “Sunny Weather Lover” and more.

Writer and performer PC Munoz sent in a link to this excellent essay on “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” part of an regular column on his web site devoted to great songs old and new. Check it out!

Stephen Munns, webmaster of CillaBlack.com, writes that two new decade-spanning compilations of Black will be released on Sept.

5, 2005. The first, Cilla in the 60s, features two Bacharach compositions: “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and Black’s original recording of “Alfie.”