Discussion Board is STale

[steveo_1965]

The Discussion board lately is pretty stale.. We need some more
Bacharach news, or new things to talk about regarding Burt's music...I encourage others to think of some new questions or angles to discuss!!!!!
Steveo

[Blair N. Cummings]

I`ve often thought that it`s too bad for purposes such as this that the internet wasn`t around forty or so years ago when there was so much new work to absorb and share.
All we really CAN do now is, in effect, keep saying. "Wasn`t this great?"
I especially am frustrated in that I`m old enough to have heard most of these songs and albums when they were new; and I`m not afraid to say that I`ve really heard my fill of many (if not most) of them over the decades.
I envy those who can still respond with their original enthusiasm to each exposure to some old war-horse. I just can`t.

[steveo_1965]

Blair,
I understand where you're coming from.........I too am of the age that I heard a lot of this stuff originally.....
Well, Burt has written so much material, that if I don't "dote" heavy on
all of it, I can kind of just let things flow,and a tune of his will come into my head...like "Who Is Gonna Love Me"...I will probably not listen to it on record or cd, just let it go...and maybe(no doubt) another tune will pop in my head a week or 2 later that I can groove on....
His repetoire(pardon my spelling) is kind of like "the Sinatra Family Forum", whereby Frank's recordings and legacy is discussed....except Burt is still with us and writing.
I wish we had the wonderful singers we had in the 60's to interpet Burts new works....but the style is different, so Im not sure that would work...
Im kind of locked into the Golden years of Burt.(60's), even though Burt insists that he's emblematic of today,(and Im sure he is for this generations type of style or "sound")

[pljms]

Yes, if ever there was a composer defined by a particular decade it's Bacharach. His track record for at least eight years of the 60s is breathtaking. Equally, if his career had begun in 1980 I would not be a fan, he wouldn't be a household name and this site wouldn't exist.

[Jerry]

Hey pljms, Steveo & Blair-

I think this discussion has achieved what Steveo set out to do...wipe a bit of dust off this listserv! I initially joined because it was research for the show I was writing; I remain and check it every day, because I learn so much from the facile musical minds who frequent it!

I stand in partial agreement with you, pljms, if we were simply taklking about BB's work since 1980 (with the notable exceptions of the title tune from "Making Love", PAINTED FROM MEMORY and AT THIS TIME---I'm sorry, but "Heartlight" & "That's What Friends Are For" make me gag), his reputation and our passion would not be half of what it is!

Right now, seems to be a rather quiet time in the Burt Bacharach career. Especially after the halycon period of, roughly, 1996-2006, which saw his glorious revival, the E. Costello collaboration, AT THIS TIME, the political fallout and, sadly, the loss of both Nikki Bacharach and our own Keith, who really knew how to kick up a little dust.

Things go in cycles...so, keep the faith fellow Bacharachians!!!

Best Regards ('specially to you Steveo!),

Jerry
P.S.---Here is my desert island BB Top Ten...at least for today:
1This Guy's in Love With You
2Alfie
3Promises, Promises (I rediscovered it recently-what amaziing horn arrangement and vocal workout for Dionne)
4Nikki
5Are You There(With Another Girl-love the piano at the end!!)
6Paper Mache
7Something Big(Burt's version)
8The Windows of the World(use it in my show)
9Who is Gonna Love Me
10The Song That Changes Every Day-today it's I'll Never Fall in Love Again

BYE!

[steveo_1965]

Thank you Jerry for your post and Hi!
Namaste,
Steveo

Hi PLJMS, and BLair!

[ron hertel]

steveo:

You've opened up a topic that I'm sure most of us have given some thought. It's easy to conclude that much of what is discussed could be labeled "living in the past"; however, it is clear to me that so much of Burt's music and Dionne's interpretations are very much part of most forum participants lives today and NOT just distant memories. They are a big part of what we listen to today! ....... I've found it remarkable and appropriate that over the years neither Bacharach or Warwick product has ever been relegated to the "oldies but goodies" section in retail music establishments.

Some suggestions for future discussion might be to focus EVEN MORE on the lesser known works (non-commercial successes). There is so much that I've grown to appreciate over the years as I take the time to give a fresh listen to all those buried tracks that - "never have and never will" appear in a greatest hits compilation ........... While some might disagree with me - I think there was great material delivered by Burt and Carole Bayer Sager in the 80's and recorded by Dionne, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and others.

I'm pleased that Burt continues to occasionally provide us with new material and it would certainly be great if either he or "his people" could contribute something to the forum. This is considered by many to be Burt's "official website" - including Dionne's website link. Over the past few years - Dionne has addressed her followers with several messages per year on her website: "Message From Dionne"

Let's all work toward making this forum even more interesting! I WOULD HATE TO SEE IT DISAPPEAR! ........ once again - THANKS TO YOU - MARK - for keeping it afloat!

[steveo_1965]

Ron,
Thank you for your thoughts, and I agree with you, by the way...
I remember long ago, when this website first started, I mentioned the website to Burt...he just kind of shrigged his shoulders, and indicated
(in my mind) that he wasnt really going to be interactive with the site, or indicated that the computer wasnt his thing.......and whatever it was he was gonna let it roll along....
Well, That was many years ago when he said that, and I hope that
he chooses someday to post on the site, or post information....He did do the Huffington Post for awhile, but i guess he stopped doing that one.
Frank Sinatra, before he passed, more or less said the same thing about
a website run by his family, but he was interested in hearing from his daughter Nancy, who runs the Sinatra Family Forum, on what was going on....unfortuneately, he passed right around that time.

Steveo

[Dennis Webb]

Here's something to relieve that stale feeling. I've never seen this live performance by Dionne before and I don't know where it comes from; but it is DYNAMITE!

"Looking With My Eyes (Seeing With My Heart)



Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

-Dennis Webb

[gabba]

she is absolutely amazing!!!the way she manages this unbelievable range is quite something!!!!
she looks so relaxed and so safe...what a singer....and the arrangement of course is brilliant as always...considered that is a live recording,i presume is Burt conducting.
bye gabba

[steveo_1965]

Dear Gabba,
Hello! umm you are right...in a a way...I think its a prerecoded track from one of Dionne's records...she may be singing live to...just a guess...
She is great in this video.

[scotsgreg]

Wow. What a challenging song to sing well! Even on Dionne, who performs it passionately and with conviction, it sounds like it's near the top of her belt range. And I'm pretty certain the only live orchestra is the one that swells at the end before the backing track's fade-out. I remember reading somewhere that, after the huge success of 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' on the Adult Contemporary charts, where it reached #2 in 1964, Bacharach's 1965 work with her was a misguided attempt to steer her toward the adult contemporary market to cement her relationship with that vast audience of older white listeners, having already familiarized herself to African-American and teenaged fans in the R&B and Pop markets. It was a formula that would ultimately yield tremendous results by the late-1960s, but they hadn't quite musically bridged that gap yet. (I think, instead of going to the audience, they should have let the audience come to them, which they ultimately did.) Consequently, none of her 1965 singles, mostly soft ballads that avoided any rock or R&B trappings, cracked the top-40 that year. Once he reintegrated electric guitars and rock-friendly rhythms, beginning with 'Are You There (With Another Girl),' the bigger hits started coming again. Personally, I've always loved this song and this rare clip was exciting to see. Thanks for sharing it.

[pljms]

Re Looking with my eyes: It was common on US tv in the 60 for artists to sing live on top of their records. This song has to be one of the most complex BB ever composed and it would have been a miracle if it had been a hit. Over the years I've found it's not the big hits of Bacharach I return to the most for listening pleasure it's all the wonderful small hits, near misses and album tracks like this song, Are You There, Long After Tonight is all Over, Here I Am, My Little Red Book, Knowing When to Leave, Tick-Tock Goes the Clock, Paper Mache, April Fools etc etc etc. There must be over a hundred songs I'd put in that caregory.

[An Enormous BB Fan]

.......There must be over a hundred songs I'd put in that caregory.

Me, too! And that's why I think it's kind of impossible to have a "definitive" Dionne collection. Her output of great songs is just too huge IMHO.

[pljms]

As much as I admire DW I doubt if she's even recorded 100 Bacharach songs - well, maybe just. No, what I actually meant was Bacharach songs in general. When I started to investigate BB's career I was familiar with all the hits, of course, but it was the discovery of what I referred to in an earlier post as the small hits, the near misses, the album tracks and the film and show songs that cemented my love and admiration for this man's work. While I can tire of the some of the major songs (ex: What the World Needs Now, There's Always Something There to remind Me) my love for these '2nd division' songs never seems to diminish.