While reading the comments for Dame Shirley Bassey's great new cd, "The Performance", British singer/songwriter Tom Baxter tells about the genesis of his contribution to Dame Bassey's cd, "Almost There": "I remember the night I finished writing 'Almost There'. I was blasting Burt Bacharach's "God Give Me Strength" from the living room speakers... and after I finished he sat back and said "Wow, that's a song for Shirley Bassey!"" That "he" was Rufus Wainwright (who might know a little something about working with Burt Bacharach!), who had just heard Mr. Baxter's song for the first time.
Gary Barlow's (Take That) contribution, "This Time" sounds just like it might have come from the Bacharach/David songbook, the time changes and that great, elegant melody! I could almost visualize Mr. Bacharach conducting the orchestra behind the one and only Dame Bassey. A great song, a great cd with contributions from Rufus Wainwright, the Pet Shop Boys (no, it's not a dance track), KT Tunstall, John Barry and Don Black (a new track from them!). And I'm not the biggest Bassey fan, but this cd is something else, her voice is as strong as I've ever heard, a cd that's just such a personal expression from Dame Shirley Bassey.
Dame Shirley Bassey and Burt Bacharach are true role models that prove that you can have such vitality of life, something to say, still contributing to our culture and doing it with grace, good will and hard work. Thank you to them and all others who do just that, as there are many.
DSB/BB
Moderator: mark