The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

I'd not heard 'Mulino Bianco' (composed & performed by Bacharach) before until recently and I've just discovered it comes from an album released in 1994 in Japan on the Nippon label entitled 'Tribute to Burt Bacharach', which appears to be mostly Japanese artists covering well known material except two new tracks by Bacharach himself, this and 'With a Smile', the latter posted on this forum a few months ago. The chord sequence has Burt written all over it, while the arrangement screams 80s/90s. Apologies if this has been posted here before:

I've not seen it here before or even heard of the tune. I've just looked it up in Serene Dominic's BB song book and the information on it there backs up what you say about it. Yes, it's very 80s rather than early to mid 90s and would sound better with a string orchestra rather than the synths and anything else other than the irritating alto sax as the lead instrument. The haunting and very Bacharach-ish chord of B flat major 7th with an F bass features heavily.

Sorry to be pedantic, Sara, but the solo instrument's actually a soprano sax. Serene Dominic made the same mistake in his Bacharach book.

This Yahama & DX7 drenched track has echoes of the sort of thing David Foster was laying down under his own name in the 80s. Bacharach and Foster collaborated more than once and the instrumental 'Heart Strings' (see below) is from Foster's 1983 album 'The Best of Me'. It went on to have lyrics added to it by Michael Jay and to be recorded by Glenn Jones under the title 'Love Will Show Us How'. Not particularly inspiring but it does show how their styles over-lapped in the 80s:

As a jazz lover you'd think I'd be able to recognise a soprano sax when I heard one, don't you? I also think I was incorrect with the chord - try F6 rather than B flat Major 7th with an F bass. Only one note difference between the two chords but it's enough. Incidentally, the same chord crops up again repeatedly towards the end of 'Always Taking Aim', when the vocals come in.

David Foster seemed to be everywhere in the 80s, as a player, producer and composer and I always thought that his compositions showed traces of Bacharach's influence. I should say co-compositions because so many of his hits seemed to have been written by a veritable committee. Two of my favourites of his were composed with guitarist/producer Jay Graydon, 'After the Love is Gone' and 'Mornin'', the Al Jarreau hit. Apart from 'Heart Strings' he co-wrote 'Girls Know How' with Bacharach from the 'Nightshift' soundtrack. I think trying to discern who wrote what for either of their co-writes would be a pretty fruitless exercise.

Sara, Jay Gradon also worked with Dionne Warwick on the 1982 album Friends In Love...writing the title song and arranging some great tunes on that one including one becoming a big hit later for Sergio Mendes call Never Gonna Let You Go and Foster wrote and produced Warwick's 1985 Love at Second Sight which was on her Friends album.