Previous Bacharach News...

May 15, 1998
I finally got around to adding Robin Platts' sensational article about Burt and Hal's recording history, "Anyone Who Had a Heart: The Songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David," from the December 1997 Discoveries magazine. It's a must read for the serious Bacharach collector.

May 12, 1998
Happy Birthday, Burt! Burt Bacharach turns 69 today.

May 6, 1998
There is an article on Burt, "Burt's Back," in the June 1998 issue of CMJ New Music Monthly (the one with Garbage on the cover).

May 4, 1998
Many people have written to find out how to contact Burt. To send fan mail to Burt, write to the following address:

Burt Bacharach
c/o Linda Dozoretz Communications
8033 Sunset Blvd., Ste. 6226
Los Angeles, CA 90046

To contact Burt's management, write to the following:

Richard Rosenberg
William Morris Agency
151 El Camino Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

And keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-if-not-already-released-in-the-States "Shooting Fish," which includes on its soundtrack Jackie DeShannon's "What the World Needs Now" and Dionne Warwick's "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and features in the film "Big Burt," a juke box that plays nothing by songs by you-know-who.

April 29, 1998
As you probably noticed, I added a guestbook to the site. Please feel free to post comments on Burt or any Burt-related information. This is also a great way to post requests for Burt information. You can still send me questions or comments personally, but opening the question to a world of Burt fanatics yields you a better chance of getting your answer.

A month ago I issued a request for information about the recently released Australian tribute record, "To Hal and Bacharach." Several people responded with information and I thank all of them. Here's the track listing:

Always Something There To Remind Me - REBECCA'S EMPIRE
Walk on By - THE MAVIS'S This Girl's In Love With You - LEONARDO'S BRIDE
Trains & Boats & Planes - THE DUMB EARTH
The Look of Love - LISA MILLER & TEX PERKINS
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - CORDRAZINE
What's New Pussycat - FRANK BENNETT (A guy who does Frank Sinatra covers. He supported Bacharach's recent Australian Hilton gigs)
I'll Never Fall In Love Again - THE WHITLAMS
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence - REGURGITATOR
Do You Know The Way To San Jose - THE AVALANCHES
Anyone Who Had a Heart - KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS
24 Hours from Tulsa - CHRIS WILSON
Wives & Lovers - KILEY GAFFNEY
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - THE EARTHMEN
Make It Easy On Yourself - THE BLACKEYED SUSANS Close To You - BILLY BAXTER
You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart - KIVA
What The World Needs Now - DAVE GRANEY & CLARE MOORE vs THE DIRTY THREE

April 16, 1998
So after the watching the show last night, what did you think? One thing I'm wondering about is the Ben Folds Five version of "Raindrops" with the verses all mixed up. Was that intentional or accidental? I couldn't tell. It's hard to believe it's an accident, but why would he go to the trouble of rearranging the verses of such a simple song? Hmmm. Left out of the TV show was Burt's medley of early hits, including "Magic Moments," "The Story of My Life," "(Beware of the) Blob" and "Tower of Strength, and Dionne's "A House Is Not A Home." All in all, a great show and a throwback to Burt's ABC specials of the '70s ("I've been a fan of this next act for some time now...")

Also, Alec Cumming wrote to refer me to this interview with EC.

Correspondent John Chilson says the Burt tribute musical, What the World Needs Now Is Love, which is currently playing at the Globe Theatre in San Diego in preparation for a Broadway run, has opened to mixed reviews. One newspaper headline, John reports, read something to he effect of "What this play needs is a plot."

April 14, 1998
You're in for an amazing night folks. On Wednesday, April 15, at 9 p.m. (EDT) Turner Network Television (TNT) broadcasts "Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night." The special tribute to Burt was taped on April 8 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and features the quintessential galaxy of stars, including Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Ben Folds Five, Dionne Warwick, Chrissie Hynde, Luther Vandross, Wynonna and more. Throughout the show, Burt backs on piano and conducts the orchestra.

The live program was as follows:

Don't miss it!

April 2, 1998
This just in... Burt will be appearing in Las Vegas at Harrah's, May 8-10.

Jazz vocalists Ian Shaw & Claire Martin will be performing stylish reworkings of Bacharach favourites & lesser-known songs along with selections from their current albums and duets of jazz classics at London's Studio I from through April 5, 1998. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are £9/ £6 (concs)

Scott Bassin wrote to say that he's gotten word of a new tribute record from Australia, "To Hal and Bacharach-who's who of new Australian artists performing their songs." No track listing yet. Anyone know any details?

And finally, I'm going to be in New York for the April 8th "Bacharach: One Amazing Night" tribute concert. Whoo hoo! I haven't been to New York in 10 years, so I'd love to hear from any New York Burt fans with suggestions of cool things to see or do in Gotham. E-mail me!

March 12, 1998
There's a new article on Burt in today's St. Petersburg Times, "Back to Bacharach."

I can't remember whether this was mentioned before, but Sutgump reminded me that a Broadway musical entitled "What the World Needs Now" is scheduled to open on Broadway in June following an out of town try out in San Diego. I'll try to keep you posted.

March 10, 1998
All-Star Tribute Planned For Bacharach on April 8
Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Ben Folds Five, and Dionne Warwick are among the artists that will perform Burt Bacharach tunes at a concert April 8 in New York. "Bacharach: One Amazing Night" will include the music industry's best interpreting the pop songwriter's tunes, including Oasis' Noel Gallagher singing "This Guy's In Love With You," Chrissie Hynde covering "Baby It's You," and comedian Mike Myers trying his hand at "What's New Pussycat?" The event, executive-produced by Bacharach himself, will be taped for broadcast a week later on Turner Network Television (TNT). The concert will kick off the channel's Master Series, which will showcase individuals who have profoundly influenced contemporary culture.    

March 1, 1998
A lot of people are asking about the three-disc Burt set due out on Rhino this year. Unfortunately, the licensing process has proved to be a monumental task. Although Rhino hoped to have the set out this month, the set will most likely not be out until August.

Alec Cumming wrote to say there's a new Bacharach article, "The Beauty of Bacharach," in the Feb. 16, 1998, Boston Phoenix.

February 11, 1998
One of the most common comments I've been receiving lately has to do with the format of the audio files, aiff, which is awkward for PC users (i.e. 90+% of you) and takes forever to download. I've experimented with switching to RealAudio, but I've as of yet been unable to do it right.

 Only computer experts need read this. Here's my situation. I use a Mac. In order to convert a track on a CD to real audio, I first have to import the track into SoundMachine. The settings I use are 16 bit stereo and a rate of 44.1 khz. Once I've imported the track, I have to save it in one of seven file types: au, system 7 sound, aiff, wav, QuickTime movie, movie, movie self-contained. I've been using aiff. Once I've got the track in aiff format, I use the RealAudio Encoder to convert it. I use the setting RealAudio 3.0 28.8 stereo for no particular reason.

 The resulting RealAudio files, however, when played back tend to skip and stick. Every 10 seconds or so, the song hangs on a single sound, as if it were stuck, and then moves on. If I were playing it from the Net, I might assume that the delays were due to network traffic. But the problem occurs when I'm playing the file from my desktop.

 Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated by me and any other Burt fan without a T1 connection. Thanks.

January 29, 1998
Scott Bassin wrote to say that Bravo is re-airing a documentary on the great Dusty Springfield tonight. The one-hour program includes a performance of "A House Is Not A Home" with Dusty on vocals and Burt on piano that's not to be missed.

January 28, 1998
Greetings, salutations, happy new year! And apologies (yet again) for letting the Burt news wire go silent for so long. There are many events and much news you've all supplied me with, so let's go.

 First of all, I ran across an article in the January 1998 Mojo (the best music magazine I've ever seen, I'll add) about the Burt-Elvis Costello recording project. Elvis said they've written dozens of songs recently, songs even more intense than their first collaboration. Says Burt, "Emotionally speaking, 'God Give Me Strength' sounds like the Partridge Family next to a couple of the others we've written since." The songs are still far from ready to be recorded, so the earliest a CD could appear would be summer (or more likely fall) 1998. Costello also denies the rumor that he has recorded half an hour's worth of Bacharach standards for the release. The new record will be all originals.

Pat Burke wrote to tell me that a (very good) interview with Burt on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" radio program, hosted by Chris Durites, is available online. The address is http://www.liveconcerts.com/listening/kcrw/. The Live Concerts/KCRW site features a truly mind-boggling collection of radio interviews and in-studio performances, ranging from Tom Waits and Jonathan Richman to Philip Glass and Peter Greenaway. It's definitely worth checking out.

I've also been informed that Better Living through Show Tunes has Rykodisc's long-awaited reissue of "Promises, Promises" on CD slated for April 1998. No mention yet on the Rykodisc site, so keep your fingers crossed for this excellent cast recording.

December 9, 1997
Not four days after I rued that no label had yet issued "What's New Pussycat" on CD, I have word that Razor & Tie Entertainment has plans to issue "What's New Pussycat" on CD for the first time. The original release date was to be January 1998, but the record is still being licensed so the actual release date is now up in the air. Razor & Tie, you may remember, is also the label that recently issued the soundtrack to "Lost Horizon" on CD (as well as compilations by several of my all time favorites, including Scott Walker, Television Personalities and Al Hirt).

 I also asked Davide Bonori to send me his most up to date Bacharach discography. Davide has compiled one of the most comprehensive discographies around, and his most recent version can be found right here.

December 8, 1997
Hot off the press, Robbie Leff sent me some vidcaps of Burt from tonight's Billboard Music Awards.

December 5, 1997
Sorry for the two month delay in updating Burt news. There are quite a few things to mention. In the order that I received each item...
    On Oct. 6, Davide Bonori came across three excellent but expensive Japanese Bacharach collections. Each includes many rare performances not easy to find elsewhere. The full track listing of each is here if you're interested.

    I can't remember if I've posted their URL before, but the Bacharachs are a Danish band that does nothing but Bacharach songs. Unfortunately, their site is in Danish. If you can figure out the bit about Bacharach Cocktail, write me...

    Gary Fitch wrote in with chords for the beginning of "God Give Me Stength." Has anyone finished a version yet?

    On Jan. 20, 1998, Big Deal Records will release "What the World Needs Now ...Big Deal Recording Artists Perform the Songs of Burt Bacharach. The track listing and performers is as follows:

The CD also features cover art by Jack Davis, of Mad Magazine fame.

    Roberto Pinardi reports that Rykodisc will reissue" After the Fox" on CD. The number of Burt recordings unavailable on CD is shrinking by the day. Now if only someone would reissue "What's New, Pussycat." In my opinion it's one of Burt's best soundtracks, with "My Little Red Book," "Here I Am," and lots more swingin' instrumentals.

    Brian Burke writes to report that Rhino Records will definitely issue the Bacharach Box in 1998--June of '98 is the current release date. This from the mouth of none other than Dr. Rhino.

    Rod Lott writes to report that the new issue of Details (w/ Courtney Cox on the cover) says the (highly anticipated) Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach album collaboration will hit stores sometime in 1998. Could there be any better news? Also, Burt and Hal are credited as co-writers of the current single "2 Wicky" by Hooverphonic (featured on the soundtracks of "Stealing Beauty" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer", as well as Hooverphonic's own great album, "New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular"), because the song samples a bit of
Issac Hayes' version of "Walk On By."

October 8, 1997
I just received the new CD reissue of Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (MCA) and it's tremendous! The CD includes four songs that were not on the U.S. LP of that name: "The Last One to be Loved," "A House Is Not A Home," "Saturday Sunshine," and "And So Goodbye, My Love." The 15-track CD's running time is about 41 minutes, and it includes an 11-page booklet with excellent biographical material on Burt as well as a few nice photos from the '60s. It also helped clarify for me the (confusing) relationship between three very similar Kapp records: Hit Maker (May 1965), The Man! Burt Bacharach-His Songs (Oct. 1965) and Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (Jan. 1969). Which may point to an anachronism in "Austin Powers," but we won't worry about that.

October 6, 1997
Scott Bassin wrote to let me know that on November 18, Reprise Records is scheduled to release "Live on Letterman: Music from the Late Show." The compilation of live performances from David Letterman's "Late Show" includes the incredible rendition of "God Give Me Strength" performed by Burt and Elvis Costello for the show. Keep your eyes peeled.

September 24, 1997
I've had a lot of people ask me whether "Promises, Promises" is available on CD. The answer, unfortunately, is no. Bill Jennings, curator of Better Living through Show Tunes, tells me that Rykodisc is currently negotiating to release several '60s soundtracks on UA, the label that "Promises" came out on, most notably Frank Zappa's "200 Motels." Bill says Ryko isn't much interested in Broadway, but if they do cut the deal to release UA material, that would be the time to push for a CD re-release of "Promises, Promises." "In the best of all possible worlds," Bill adds, "it would include the ultra-rare London cast as bonus tracks."

CDNow says the release date for UNI/MCA's "Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits" has been pushed back to Oct. 7.

Courtesy of the New York band P.P.O.C., there are RealAudio recordings of Medeski Martin &Wood performing "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" from the "Back to Bacharach" concert on Sept. 14, 1997. It's 8:21 long in streaming audio.

The festival was organized by John Zorn's Tzadik label, with Zorn himself curating. Tzadik recently released "Burt Bacharach: Great Jewish Music." I finally purchased the CD last week and was blown away. It's a must have for any fan of Burt who also enjoys new music. The arrangements are sometimes traditional, sometimes radical, but they're all excellent. The Tzadik site includes two RealAudio samples from the collection, Wayne Horvitz's arrangement of "Close to You" and Elliott Sharp's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
 
Also, Thoughtscape Sounds has an almost complete catalog of Bacharach CDs imported from Japan, most selling for $25.99. "Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits, with three extra tracks not on the original lp, sells for $32.99. I'm pretty sure the domestic release of "BB Plays His Hits" will be the same package, only selling for a more reasonable $9.99.  I'm not endorsing, just informing.

September 9, 1997

My apologies for not updating the pages more frequently and/or not responding to your much appreciated e-mail are becoming old hat by now, but I do mean them sincerely.

In the news department, Bill Jennings reports that the deal calling for Varese Saraband to record the LA cast performance of  "Promises, Promises" has fallen through. Also, Scott Bassin and Rod Lott both informed me that MCA plans to issue Austin Powers' favorite album, "Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits,"  along with three bonus tracks on September 23. Keep an eye out for it!

Also, the enigmatic "Harry Bottom" just sent me two Bacharach lyrics and chords: a better version of "This Guy's in Love with You" and a rendering of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" with chords. Thanks, Harry.
 

An article about Burt, "That Bacharach Touch," appeared in the July 1997 issue of Electronic Musician. The article was written by Rob Shrock, a longtime member of Burt's touring band.

I finally added Roberto Pinardi's handy little list of Bacharach recordings available on compact disc. He sent it to me a year ago (sorry!), so I'm sure it's changed a little, most notably with MCA releasing "Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits" and Razor & Tie reissuing "Lost Horizon," but if there are any other Burt CD issues that aren't listed, please let me know.

And finally, the delightful Mary Edwards submitted a photo of she and Burt taken backstage following the August 7 Bacharach/Warwick concert at Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, N.Y.

July 28, 1997

An article on Burt, "What the World Needs," appeared in the July 21, 1997, issue of Time Magazine.

I've added two relatively recent articles to the Bacharach articles repository, one from USA Today, The Music World's in Love with Bacharach Again, and one from The New York Times, Jazz Taps Maverick of Pop Songs.

Also, Joseph Marchese wrote to inform us that relatively reliable sources say that Varese Sarabande has reached an agreement with Bacharach, David and Neil Simon to record a new version of Promises, Promises. Instead of the Encores! cast of Martin Short, Christine Baranski, et al., the new recording will feature the Los Angeles concert presentation cast, which starred Jason Alexander, Jean Smart and Alan Thicke. And most significantly, the Los Angeles performance includes a new song cowritten by Bacharach and David especially for the Encores! revival, "You've Got It All Wrong," their first significant collaboration in years. According to Joseph, the song melded perfectly with the rest of the score, indicating that Burt can recreate his 60s pop style when he wants to.

Alec Cumming wrote to update me that the long-awaited Bacharach Box Set on Rhino is now scheduled for a spring 1998 release.

Also I've finally added a new discography sent to me by Davide Bonori to the discographies section. This one is excellent in that includes information on the many Bacharach/Warwick records available on CD, most as European imports (as well as a few Japanese).

Alec Cumming, who's putting together a book on Bacharach, sent me the following (extensive) update on Burt. It covers virtually everything the man has been working on:

NEWSWEEK Magazine has what it calls it's Conventional Wisdom Watch - a list, with up or down arrows, where the magazine rates whether today's movers and shakers are in, out, hip, unhip, alive, or doomed. It's usually reserved for the politicians and the O.J. Simpsons of the world, but in this week's issue (June 30, 1997) Burt Bacharach is given an up arrow: "Just what the world needs now: Burt's back. That's what friends are for."

Why is Burt getting his up arrow now, in the summer of 1997, nearly 40 years after his first top 40 hit (Marty Robbins' "The Story of My Life")? Burt's own theory, from an interview with USA Today: "I think it's a yearning for music and melody," says the 68-year-old songwriter from his hotel in Monte Carlo, where he's in the midst of an eight-week European tour. "A couple of key people said one day, 'I really like this man's music.' And people tuned in to that. These songs were written before the alternative rock musicians were even born, but the wheel has come around for the second time."

Maybe one of those key people is Elvis Costello, an unabashed Bacharach fan (who may have kickstarted the Bacharach renaissance way back in 1978, when his sincere cover of "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" shocked the punk world). Elvis is following up his first collaboration with Burt - the lovely "God Give Me Strength", from the GRACE OF MY HEART Soundtrack - on a full-blown album, to be recorded in New York City. At this point, it's scheduled to be half new Bacharach-Costello compositions, and half remakes of Bacharach classics. If this collaboration sees the light of day (keep your fingers crossed!), it will be the first full-fledged and ambitious Bacharach release since 1979's (ill-fated) WOMAN...

The up arrow may also be referring to Burt's movie biz-comeback. AUSTIN POWERS, that International Man of Mystery, kept only one album stored away while he was cryogenically frozen - Kapp's "Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits". Burt himself even made a cameo in the successful comedy. "It was amazing working with Burt," Myers told USA Today. "His song 'The Look of Love' was the inspiration for this film. It was like having Gershwin appear in your movie."

(USA Today) Meanwhile, the new Julia Roberts film, MY BEST FRIENDS WEDDING, features no less than five of his songs covered by a variety of singers - including a scene where restaurant diners join in a rousing version of "I Say a Little Prayer". (According to ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's David Browne, the soundtrack "will make you take a vow - of dedication to the eternal appeal of Bacharach and Hal David's standards".)

And not only is Burt's music being covered on Hollywood soundtracks, but the jazz world too is paying tribute - in 2 highly-publicized (and highly different) releases. Pianist McCoy Tyner's new CD is entitled "What the World Needs Now: The Music of Burt Bacharach"; it features McCoy's trio backed with a full orchestra, with arrangements by West Coast-bassist John Clayton, covering such Burt standards as "Alfie", "A House is Not a Home" and "The Windows of the World". A smiling Burt is pictured on the back cover with McCoy, along with a quote: "It is extremely flattering to have a brilliant keyboard artist and virtuoso like McCoy Tyner come and interpret a whole album of one's music. His travels and voyages through my music are amazing. Thank you McCoy Tyner, thank you." The album, rated 4-stars by Downbeat Magazine, lush and bordering dangerously close to schmaltz-dom, will appeal especially to fans of Burt's late-60's/early-'70s instrumental records on A&M.

Meanwhile, the other release is neatly described by Francis Davis (in the wonderful Burt article in Atlantic Monthly): "The most awkwardly sincere of recent tributes to Bacharach, and also the most ambitious, is 'Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach', a two-disc set produced by the avant-garde composer John Zorn for his own label, Tzadik Records, on which instrumentalists and singers from Zorn's inner circle of noisemakers and deconstructionists give what perhaps only they would consider to be reasonably faithful interpretations of Bacharach classics. 'More than great pop songs,' Zorn writes in his liner notes, '[these songs] are deep explorations of the materials of music and should be studied and treasured with as much care and diligence as we accord any great work of art.'

"He might have added that it seems the peculiar fate of major artists to attract disciples they would be hard put to recognize as theirs. The title Great Jewish Music tells us more about Zorn, who now gives interviews only to the Jewish press, than it does about Bacharach, who has never made an issue of his religion or ethnicity. Still, the title serves to remind us that songwriting was a quick way up the ladder for the Jewish songwriters of Irving Berlin's generation -- Eastern European immigrants and their sons."

What's coming up for Burt? Well, after he wraps up yet another sold-out European (solo) tour, he hits the states with Dionne Warwick for a summer series of performances. (Will "God Give Me Strength" make it into the setlist?) No word yet if the Encores! production of PROMISES, PROMISES will make a return to the Broadway stage, although Bacharach/Hal David fans will be heartened to hear the pair collaborated last year on a new song for the restaging....

Meanwhile, for the summer of 1998, Gillian Lynne - an English choreographer/director whose past credits include CATS and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - is staging "a contemporary musical fable" at Broadway's Roundabout Theater. It's a new musical, titled WORLD, featuring the hit songs of (you guessed it) Bacharach and David. Gillian (who was spotted working on a all-new Bacharach musical in the recent GREAT PERFORMANCES PBS Burt documentary - wonder what's going on with that?) will direct and choreograph the revue, which will have a book by Kenny Solms, based on an idea by Solms and Lynne.

Bacharach fans are a happy lot these days, as Burt's arrow continues to point ever upwards.....

June 3, 1997
I've finally added Roberto Pinardi's paper on "Lost Horizon," titled "Is This A Lost Horizon?" You can find it in the Bacharach articles section.               

June 2, 1997
Hello, all! There's an incredible article on Burt in the June 1997 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. Writer Francis Davis's exploration of Bacharach's music and significance is one of the most intelligent and insightful to date. I've put a text version in the Bacharach Articles section, but in the meantime (and even after) you really should go directly to the source, http://www.theatlantic.com/atlantic/issues/97jun/burt.htm, which includes related hypertext links.

I've also finally gotten the lowdown on the John Zorn Bacharach tribute album that everyone's been asking about. "Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach" is a two-disc tribute record to Bacharach featuring Zorn and some of his avant jazz cronies. At times the music bears only slight resemblance to the titles they're supposedly covering, but it's an ambitious concept that should entertain more adventurous eart. It's available on Zorn's own Tzadic label.

WJBISCH@aol.com wrote to tell me that he has several Bacharach advertisement from Billboard and Cashbox that appeared between '69 and '77. They're all $4. If you want to follow up, contact Bill via email or check out his website, http://members.aol.com/wjbisch.

And finally, Brian Cooley wrote to inform us that the release date for the McCoy Tyner Bacharach tribute is June 16 according to Impulse. More info is available here.

And, folks, keep those emails coming. I may not respond promptly (or respond at all) to some of them, but I do read all of my email and I appreciate every Burt fan's interest.                

May 8, 1997
Mary Edwards writes to tell us that the Burt Bacharach documentary that originally aired in Great Britain in 1996--"Burt Bacharach: This Is Now"--will be broadcast in the U.S. on PBS's "Great Performances." If you're in New York, that means May 14 on channel 13. Elsewhere, check yr local listings...                

May 7, 1997
Jeff Gower writes:
"Perhaps you already know this, but the legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner (played with John Coltrane and many others) has recorded a new CD of all Bacharach interpretations. It will be on Impulse! records and will be released on May 13. The title is 'What the World Needs Now - The Music of Burt Bacharach'."                

May 2, 1997
"Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" open today! The new film by SNL vet Mike Meyers , about a swinging London photographer/spy frozen in the '60s and defrosted in the '90s, features a cameo by Burt as well as a soundtrack featuring Burt and the Posies on "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and former Bangle Susanna Hoffs on "The Look of Love." Plus, there's some Mike Flowers Pops, Sergio Mendes, Quincy Jones and more. Check it out!               

May 1, 1997
Roberto Pinardi just sent me a list of Bacharach-Warwick dates in America. How he found out this information from Italy, I don't know.

May 1, 1997
No, I'm not dead or asleep at wheel (well that one's debatable). Sorry I haven't updated the site recently, but there's so much to update, it's kind of a daunting, intimidating task. Any suggestions for updating priorities? Anyway, let's start by acknowledging March's smashingly successful revival of Burt's 1968 Broadway show "Promises, Promises." The production, starring Martin Short and featuring a showstopping turn from Christine Baranski, was a hit with both critics and fans. Please check out Steve Schenck's review below (on April 1). That's when he sent it to me, at least, although I've just got around to adding it to the page.

April 23
Martin Kent writes:
Dates for Dionne Warwick in the UK are as follows:

• Monday 23 June 7:30 Birmingham International Convention Centre tickets 25,20,15 Box office 0121-212-3333
• Wednesday 25 June 7:30 Manchester, Bridgewater Hall tickets 22.50,18.50,15.50 box office 0161-907-9000
• Saturday 28th June 7:30 London, Royal Festival Hall tickets 30,25,20,15,10 box office 0171-960-4242

All ticket prices in sterling. Dionne will be playing with the BBC Concert Orchestra (I think they supported Burt last year). Hopefully, there will be no sign of Noel Gallagher this time...                

April 1, 1997
Steve Schenck contributes this review of "Promises, Promises":

I attended the performance on Saturday night, and I must say, I couldn't have wished for more. I had seen the original production with Jerry Orbach back in early 1970. This production was almost better!

The sound was far superior, given technical advances. But in particular, the orchestra voices were more lush, better blended, fuller. There was a full 30 piece orchestra on the stage and they were dynamite!

The producer/choreographer had a great idea. During that glorious overture, he had girls dancing between lucite columns, giving the feel of the old "Hullabaloo" and "Shindig" shows of the 60's.

Nearly all the individual voices were superior to what I remember and what I listen to on my cast album recording.

Needless to say, Martin Short and Christine Baranski were terrific! But so were the rest of the cast.

The reviews in the New York papers were very favorable to ecstatic. The Times, Daily News and local Gannett papers all raved over the performances. Even the one who didn't particularly care for the show as a piece of theatre in 1968 thought that this production was perfect. More than one said the music brought tears to their eyes!

Gossip columnist Liz Smith raved over the production. She says that NY producers are lining up to get rights to bring a full scale revival of the show to Broadway for next season. Let's hope she's right!

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