The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

This site has been quiet for a few days. Here's Trijntje Oosterhuis doing a great job (at least I think so) with "This House is Empty Now." Enjoy! How about putting up some more little-heard songs by our maestro?

Steve:
Couldn't agree more - beautiful interpretation! ..... Reminds me of something Dionne stated in an interview several years after the release of the Bacharach / Costello "Painted From Memory" CD. When asked how she liked it - she said that she hadn't listened to it! ..... Is that unbelievable or what? ..... I bring this up because Dionne could have also done - perhaps - the definitive version of this song prior to the changes in her vocal capabilities.
Trijntje along with vocalists like Rumer will perhaps carry on with some great interpretations of future Bacharach compositions as well fresh interpretations of many Bacharach classics. .... Speaking of little-heard songs ......... Trijntje's performance of "Falling Out Of Love" is great; however, Aretha Franklin's version remains my favorite!

Thanks Steve for sharing that terrific song with us! I read a comment regarding her version of "Who'll Speak For Love" stating that there's a version done with Burt. I think Patrick Williams does a good job of arranging Burt's songs for her, but are there any recordings of hers that are arranged/produced by Burt? I REALLY prefer HIS arrangements/productions as opposed to anyone else's. And yes Ron, I agree with you about Aretha's version simply because Burt's arrangements/productions are present. I still purchase many C.D.'s and ALWAYS buy the ones that are Burt-arranged/produced instead of, say, Patrick Williams. They just don't have that dazzling magic that only Burt can provide. Long live the C.D.!

I doubt that there are many "little heard" songs or performances with which most here aren`t thoroughly familiar, fanatics that we are, but there are a couple interesting things to note about this:
The first is that it was originally arranged for Glen and (ready?) Nancy Sinatra on the former`s summer replacement show for the Smothers Bros. in `68.
The other is that it recalls Burt`s insistance that the "hit" versions had the wrong tempo; that he had always really heard "...Prayer" slower. I wonder if this half of the duet is anything like what he had in mind.

Absolutely beautiful....this has got to be the right tempo, Glen Campbell and Anne Murray such great singers !
Burt Bacharach and Jimmy Webb.....pure gold !
Thanks for posting Blair !

"blue"

Another thought on the "...Prayer" arrangement: Although Burt recorded and performed "Close to You" according to his original conception and in spite of the overwhelmingly better known "swing" chart that Richard Carpenter gave it, Burt has never given us his ideal conception of one of his "greatest hits". He can`t be afraid of alienating fans at this point; I`d love to hear his archetype of "I Say a Little Prayer".

Blair:

Talk about a "buried treasure" ........... I had never heard that one before! ............................. Inspired me to pull out my Glen Campbell "All The Best" compilation comprised of 25 tracks (7 by Jimmy Webb)

Thanks,

Ron

Ron, we agree again (although I still say "screw all these pointless "awards")! Check your personal messages.

Thank-You soooooo much for posting this incredible duet!

Made my day.

Having my 2 favorite artists join forces for a song was awesome news to hear back in 1998: Burt Bacharach would write a song and CHICAGO would perform it! The song: "If I Should Lose You" intended to be used in "Isn't She Great?", but for some reason, did not make the cut, the song was included in Chicago's 'XXV- The Live Album' released in the fall of 1999. Unfortunately, the album did not even chart, therefore, those fortunate few of us who have heard the song, are very fortunate. I did NOT see any youtube postings of the song, but if you can get a hold of it and listen, you may find that it's probably up there with the 'PAINTED FROM MEMORY' songs.

Hi burtchifan, I happen to have that particular C.D. which is hard to find. There's a record store (yes, there are some still in existence) here in Tulsa that have particularly rare C.D.'s. There's also quite a number of Maestro-composed "gems" that people aren't aware of. Amongst them are offerings from Tevin Campbell, Earth Wind & Fire, Taja Seville, Pointer Sisters, and Randy Crawford just to name a few. Please refer to the Hitmaker's Archives' link of this site for a comprehensive listing of ALL of Burt's compositions. Long live C.D.'s!

Hi Bruce,
Here's an obscure "little gem".......


"blue"

Blue,

where did you find that? I've been a Bacharachian for 10+years and I'd never heard that song.

The late Keith Burke sent me an mp3 of this song about 6yrs ago....always loved it !
Delighted to find it on youtube !
According to Serene Dominic, this song was composed by Burt Bacharach and Jene Miller in 1994
and only released in Japan.
I haven't a clue who Jene Miller is though ?
Does anyone know ?

"blue"

Thanks "blue" for sharing Jene's song with us. The whistleing in the intro reminds me so much of the whistleing in the intro of another "gem" entitled "Odds And Ends". I wonder who the whistler was on both?