The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

I was at a record fair last weekend where I came upon this 45 by Gloria Lynne, her 'Answer' record to 'Tower of Strength' by Gene McDaniels, 'You Don't Have To Be a Tower of Strength'. Once again it features a lyric by Bob Hilliard, a writer Bacharach stated he wished he'd worked with more during a London concert a couple of years ago.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=akyRri6aods

I was sent this by a friend who described it as "archetypal Bacharach & David" and who thought it obscure enough for me not to know it. Well, I know the song but not this recording by Leslie Uggams. I think this is very good but my personal favourite version is by Jackie Trent from an album she made with Tony Hatch in the early 70s, sadly yet to make an appearance on YT:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ2jLo1wd3Y

'Candy' with a Bacharach flavour.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWsqd9eILhQ

'blue'

Dionne singing I Say A Little Prayer in it's original arrangement at the Carnegie Hall in February (though in a lower key of course) - her voice seems to be getting better and better again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltoqtNna40

Issac Hayes, from his 1973 album (and cd, "The Spirit of Memphis"), with "The Windows of the World":

https://youtu.be/To-vCNAvbOw

Bacharach has stated on more than one occasion that he thought the recording of 'The Windows of the World' he arranged and produced for Dionne Warwick in 1967 lacked gravitas. I wonder what he made of Scott Walker's version from a year or so later?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMClE9z6E3o

Over the years Burt expressed frustration with the tempos at which he originally recorded a few songs, another well-known example being "...Prayer."
Nevertheless, he retained the familiar tempos when recording and performing his own renditions.
He has always been inexplicably unwilling to counter his audience`s expectations with either new arrangements (many now over a half-century old) or new compositions.
Jimmy Webb, even more notoriously, will not play any song in performance that hasn`t sold several billion dollars` worth of records.
What is it with these guys? Don`t they realise what a devoted fan-base they have and how welcome new or unfamiliar material would be?

Blair N. Cummings wrote:Over the years Burt expressed frustration with the tempos at which he originally recorded a few songs, another well-known example being "...Prayer."
Nevertheless, he retained the familiar tempos when recording and performing his own renditions.
He has always been inexplicably unwilling to counter his audience`s expectations with either new arrangements (many now over a half-century old) or new compositions.
Jimmy Webb, even more notoriously, will not play any song in performance that hasn`t sold several billion dollars` worth of records.
What is it with these guys? Don`t they realise what a devoted fan-base they have and how welcome new or unfamiliar material would be?

Burt and Jimmy certainly have plenty to choose from.

'blue'

The argument for the "Hit Parade" usually runs thus: Most people attending these performances are only casual fans and are familiar only with the tried-and-true. They expect the familiar and will be disappointed with anything else.
My rejoinder is that, of course, some "hits" must be performed. However, once upon a time, "What the World Needs Now" and "Didn`t We" were new songs. Only with time did they become favorites or "classics." Without new songs, there can be no new "hits" or favorites - only nostalgia.
I know that it`s a little late in the game to expect much new material from either Burt or JW, but the latter has wasted the last quarter century re-recording old stuff. That`s an astonishingly long time for inexcusable timidity and/or sloth.

I personally would walk ten miles in tight shoes to witness this fantasy BB set-list consisting of numbers he's never or rarely performed during his concerts including, surprisingly, several hits:

Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa
Please Stay
Message to Michael
You'll Never Get to Heaven
Reach Out For Me
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Here I Am
Are You There (with another girl)
Nikki
Casino Royale
Promises, Promises
Knowing When to Leave
Whoever You Are I Love You
The Sundance Kid
South American Getaway
Paper Mache
Check-Out Time
Something Big
I Just Have to Breathe
If I Could Go Back
Walk the Way You Talk
Monterey Peninsula
Seconds
Another Spring Will Rise

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaC9pT6HFQ

It's hooky and catchy and so laid back.
Thanks to David and Bacharach.........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMCehBJ0yQ

'blue'

oh the ladies who play sweet music, quartet405
sometime soon a Bacharach cover will be made
https://youtu.be/-7vmDGXZcV8

Here two clips from the Milan, Italy concert, July 23rd, 2018. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhRhfV0cRLM&t=18s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pYIuQA2G3E&t=2s

And another one from July23rd in Milan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dbPmYGMO_Y

That´s What Friends Are For
from Milan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7-tVwhQEQE