The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Yes, Tom Jones's "What's New, Pussycat?" will probably reign as the greatest British male interp of a Bacharach song ever. It's just so exuberantly a symbol of Swinging London in 1965. But I have personal favorites: Cliff Richard's version of "Through The Eye Of A Needle" is subl...

I agree with jbw1026... "I'm A Better Man (For Having Loved You)" is a bit too sophisticated for a lot of listeners... All of Humperdinck's charisma cannot force a song to be a hit-- if the average musically naive person cannot sing it and remember it readily. My guess is that a savvy writ...

Hallo, Werner, vom Texas «in der Farwest», I have a short video clip of Barbra Streisand singing "(They Long To Be) Close To You" at the piano with Burt. It's taken from a USA TV special he did in 1971. The video quality is not good... in fact it was recorded by someone holding a videoc...

Roberto, on a slightly different note-- did you happen to see my request, further down on this forum, for assistence in translating some of Ornella Vanoni's interpretations from the Italian into English?

I would think you are just the man to do it.


D.

Oh, I dunno about that review's last comment... Part of the greatness of this record is the superb Italian translations themselves. It makes me wonder: were these particular translations done recently for Vanoni's record, or were they the "default" Italian translations done back in the 60'...

That solo is done by lovely soprano, Lisa Taylor. Her extraordinarily pure and winsome soprano is undoubtedly a sonority that Burt loves, as her harmonies can be heard conferring a silvery lining to nearly all the songs on PAINTED.


D.

Hello ENORMOUS BB FAN: Yes, I've been remiss, I know... sorry! Life has been a rollercoaster for me the last year, and, it's true, I didn't come through for you on those transcriptions. But I will if you'll still let me. Gosh... what would I play for Burt... I'm thinking of something like "If I...

I hope you Burt fans caught his recent guesting on the NPR radio program, PIANO JAZZ WITH MARIAN McPARTLAND. Burt and Marion very casually strolled through a selection of Burt's more well-known tunes, with results both rugged and rapturous. The highlight for me was Burt playing, alone, his intimate ...

I, for one, love Burt's instrumental versions. They are so intelligent and playful. They take risks, and bring something new to each song. They are absolutely not "Muzak" versions of the originals! Interesting that they are not jazzy in the strictest sense... or, to be more specific, they ...

In 1968, the biggest thing going on in San Antonio, Texas was the world's fair, called HemisFair '68. It was exciting, because it brought a good bit of international attention to SA, elevating it from merely a backwater western cow-town to something a bit more sophisticated. Kennedy's assassination ...

Young R&B vocalist/songwriter Brian McKnight has impressed me the most over the last 10-12 years. Obviously a natural musical genius, he has razor-precise pitch, uncanny ability at melodic substitution (a.k.a. "scat") like Dionne has. Most impressively to me, he possesses that impeccab...

Of concern to Burt fans... 8/4/04 LOS ANGELES - Soul veteran Ronald Isley, the lead singer with the Isley Brothers, has suffered a minor stroke, but hopes to resume performing as soon as possible, a spokeswoman for his record label said on Thursday. Isley, 63, felt unwell while walking along a stree...

Hi Mark, Call me stupid, but I'm ready to take your poll, and I'm not 100% sure whether, on your continuum, a "10" means the Best or the Worst. :? I'll fill out the poll on the assumption that a "10" is like a Dudley Moore-rating-Bo Derek "10", OK? :wink: DAVE

Have you heard the music of James McMurtry (the son of Larry McMurtry of LONESOME DOVE, COMES A HORSEMAN, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT fame)? A friend of mine-- an English prof-- turned me onto a tune of his the other day.... while the musical ideas are stone-simple 3-chord blues/r...

Yepper, I also have to hand it to my late, great Sapphic sister and musical Mahatma, Dusty Springfield. I agree that every artiste brings his/her own interpretation to a BB song; in fact, I believe nobody appreciates this more than Burt himself. Yet Dusty didn't just interpret the BB/HD she sang; s...