The Great Divide

[Roberto Pinardi]

New song
Magic

[Blair N. Cummings]

Why do almost all political lyrics come off as soft-headed and sentimental? Is it because actual political conduct (on all sides) is, perforce, hard-headed to the point of near-sociopathy and the very act of writing anything (excepting perhaps arrest warrants and ransom notes) a romantic act?
The song at hand to my ears rates somewhere between the previous Federer collaborations "Bridges" (the stark, excellent, live version) and "Blanket Capes" (a misfire).

[pljms]

It sounds like classic Bacharach to me and there's a naturalness in the way the lyrics scan with the melody which hasn't always been apparent in the more recent songs. It also has an immediacy that engages you right from the start.

[Sara D]

Those are seriously good musicians and after many years of being familiar with their names through the credits on CD sleeves it's a pleasure to actually watch them in the studio making that song come alive.

[Martin Johnson]

It must be a breath of fresh air for Bacharach to just occasionally be presented with a lyric which isn't about Love and in this instance it seems to have really inspired him. However, maybe it's just me but I can only make out about 80% of the lyric.

[Sara D]

However, maybe it's just me but I can only make out about 80% of the lyric.

The video has been uploaded onto YouTube again, this time with the text of the lyrics of the song's chorus but, alas, not the two verses.

[Martin Johnson]

That's helpful and it's a shame it's not accompanied by the complete lyrics as I still can't make out much in the line of the second verse that comes between "Gotta cool the anger down" and "See the truth through others eyes". Judging by the video footage the recording must have taken place before the pandemic, so in effect Bacharach has sat on this track for the best part of a year.