The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

To me, there's not much better pop tune than "You Better Come Home" by Petula Clark, written by Tony Hatch. ... To me it's up there with Burt's most dramatic and most musical best like "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself." This tune, recorded either end of 1964 or early 1965, about the same time as "Downtown."

The reason of this post, is that I've finally listened off YouTube to that song after many years of this song drifting around in my head. Wow.

The melody of each verse is the same, but each each of the first two resolve in different keys. (Petula singing the "6th" the first time which was hanging her out there a little!) Then a little coda finally takes it at the end to the tonic. You finally feel a musical resolution. But then, and wonderfullly so, back to the opening theme and all its drama. That's fine songcraft. This song contains one of my favorite ever B-sections, that's on the edge-of-a-cliff high drama - punches you in the gut - Petula pleads and it's wrenching to hear the shades of her pleading here, both times... . Plus Petula's nice phrasing in the fadeout, Dionne-like. I would ask everyone to listen to the end of this song again if you didn't remember Petula's little phrasing at the end..

OK Forget all I said above and just listen again:



From WSJ interview in June: ""I was a big admirer of Burt—and at times I found it difficult not to copy him," Mr. Hatch said. "A lot of my songs have a Bacharach influence, but with 'Downtown' I realized I had to break the habit. That was pure me."

I'm surprised that Tony Hatch is a dozen years younger than Burt. He must have got a real early start, like Jimmy Webb.

If there were essences of what is missing today in pop music, it would be a tune like this as a standard. I don't think young people - listeners that is - or even the best of young musicians, songwriters, appreciate what is going on here. Can they hear it? I don't think so. That scares me.

Thank you Burt and thank you Tony.

Bumping my own post.

I hope the following great songwriters get together for a confab soon:

Burt: age 85. Tony Hatch: age 73. Paul McCartney: age 71 (yes, can you believe it).

Maybe Elvis Costello on the lyrics ... once again (and am I right that the last, best, McCartney was "My Brave Face"?)

Oh no sorry another bump.

Many of you guys/girls have heard Marilyn McCoo's "Loves Lines Angles and Rhymes" but

Just to bump this wonderful tune. Written by Dorothea Joyce, who nowadays is a spiritual woman in New Mexico, active in finding your spiritual stuff if you are looking for it. Go see her and you may get as good a buzz as this wonderful tune she wrote for Fifth Dimension/Marilyn McCoo. I wish it was on the radio as much as it should be. What a beautiful exciting tune:

Sorry everyone, if you've been reading my long post here, well let me correct:

I got it wrong. The best youtube version of this song: in-sync, best quality vid and audio, I recently found under "Fifth Dimension" instead of Marilyn McCoo. Enjoy:



And once again for those that missed: all of the Scepter Dionne Warwick records are still on MySpace for a listen. We should all send them a little loot.

But as long as I'm rambling: The most overlooked Dionne AND Burt confluence of genius but sadly unheard anonymity neglected etc. LP .. is 1972's "Dionne" on Warner Brothers. Great tunes, she sings wonderfully.

It is, as it has been for years, on MySpace, for free. A colossal album.

It's one of my favorite LPs by the two ever. As someone who tries to write music in my own mind, maybe "The Balance of Nature" is the best, but Side One at least is all good. The bridge especially of that tune, in my opinion, is among the most exhilarating Burt. And one IMO he fought several ways on, melodically.

Another apology, I wanted to edit post from a few minutes ago, edit not available on this board apparently. But because this post is at the top of the forum, I don't mind so much redacting or retracting (which is it, the words sound the same?)

Long as my replies are at the top of this board, and my beer supply holds out ...

So I was thinking about B.J./BJ Thomas. "Raindrops" is great. But ...

His best is, IMO, "Mighty Clouds of Joy." If you are not religious, you are almost religious by the end of the song. Written by Buie/Cobb.

One of the greatest songwriters/teams not vaunted from those days, is Buddy Buie/JR Cobb. These are the guys that wrote all the Dennis Yost (the sadly recently late Dennis Yost - what a singer ..) ... These two guys, as you know, went on to be the Atlanta Rhythm Section.

These were the Classics IV songs. "Traces" "Every Day with You,"

So great.

But since it's Halloween today, let's give it up for Buie/Cobb's songs: "Spooky" and "Stormy" ... both hits, beautiful melodies, also with the Dennis Yost vocal.

Better, here are Buie/Cobb singing those songs acoustic on stage, at a songwriters convention. You will enjoy it.