Joseph Marchese wrote to inform me that…
“PROMISES, PROMISES is getting its first-ever New York revival this February. It’s been selected to kick off the season at Encores!, the concert series at City Center th

at revives classic yet overlooked musicals in concert form. The show promises an all-star cast and will employ the original orchestrations. PROMISES only runs 5 performances (although a transfer for an open-ended run is always a possibility!) and I think every Bacharach-ite will be rushing to get tickets for one of NY’s hottest theatre events in ages. Now if only Capitol would re-release the PROMISES albums on CD….!”

“Hi! I enjoying your page.

Polydor (Japan) have released a compilation called “A&M Journey of Burt Bacharach” on August. It contains 20 tracks. In Japan, “Casino Royale” (Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass) is used for TV show now. If you want to know about details, I’ll send a track list.
Bye.”  k-ichi@pis.bekkoame.or.jp

Today Gramercy Pictures releases the long awaited film “Grace of My Heart,” director/writer Allison Anders’ fictionalized account of the life of an American songwriter from

the late 50s through the early 70s. The film features perhaps Burt Bacharach’s finest composition in 15 years, a collaboration with Elvis Costello on “God Give Me Strength.” Here is a Time article that talks about the song, the film and the recent spate of 60s derived pop entertainment.
Here’s a Time review of “Grace of My Heart.”

Jeff Gower wrote to say that those in search of Bacharach albums on compact disc should check out the on-line vendor CDEurope, where you can find Woman, Futures, Make It Easy On Yourself, Living Together, and Burt Bacharach on CD. They’re pricey (U.S. $25-$40), but if you can’t find the original LPs or if your copies are worn or scratched, CDEuope’s stock might be a worthwhile investment; I’d heard a while back that there are no plans to reissue any Bacharach albums in the foreseeable future (Reach Out, FYI, was reissued by A&M/Rebound Records in ’95).

Patrick Milligan of Rhino Records, the man responsible for compiling the label’s three-disc Bacharach anthology, says the target date for release is April 1997.

Read a complete update on the project here.

The word from Burt’s management company, the Burt Bacharach Music Group, is that no American tour is currently scheduled or being planned.

While Burt will continue to play occasional dates in the states, a U.S. tour does not appear to be on the horizon.

Hollywood Records is reportedly putting together a compilation to be called Loungapalooza. The lineup is tentatively set to include three artists covering Bacharach tunes: Cassandra Wilson doing a medley of “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” Poe covering “The Look of Love,” and — get ready — Green Day covering “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” No word yet on a tentative release date.

In addition to personally delivering a letter to Burt following his concert in Milan, Italy, Roberto Pinardi had Burt autograph this photo of his entire Bacharach collection.

Roberto just may be the biggest Bacharach fan in Italy, perhaps even all of Europe …

Burt’s June 28 concert at the Royal Festival Hall featured a “surprise” appearance by Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, a Bacharach nut who raved about Burt and “This Guy’s In Love” in particular on the BBC documentary “Burt Bacharach…This Is Now,” which aired in the UK in January.

Here’s a (Gallagher-centric) review of said concert from Melody Maker.

July 10, 1996
Paul in Milan just contributed a group of photos and video caps, mostly from Burt’ s TV

specials through the years! I’ll add the photos with their details to the pictures page soon, but in the meantime you can check them out here.