The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Burt Bacharach, At This Time (* * * ½) What the world needs now, more than ever, is love sweet love. That's the repeated message of this album, which finds one of pop's greatest composers also expressing himself as a singer and lyricist. Dr. Dre, Rufus Wainwright and trumpeter Chris Botti are among the diverse admirers featured on this collection of wistful melodies enhanced by lithe arrangements and words that convey a passionate pacifism. There also is a pair of haunted, jazz-inflected instrumental tracks, In Our Time and Danger, and previous Bacharach collaborator Elvis Costello turns up on Who Are These People?, a plaintive highlight. —Elysa Gardner