Burt’s new album to be released March 29

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For his latest release, Burt Bacharach has teamed up with Irish vocalist Ronan Keating for a newly recorded collection of his classic compositions. Burt and Ronan recorded the album live in the legendary Capitol Records studio with a 95-piece orchestra.

The CD was released in the U.K. on March 21 and will be released in the U.S. on March 29.

“To do these songs with a different slant and approach on them made it very interesting for me,” Bacharach said of the process. “And too be able to work with Ronan and expose these songs to maybe a younger audience as well as my fan base. Then to be able to record it in the legendary Capitol recording studio – full orchestra live. Quite a trip we were on, Ronan.”

Keating takes on 10 Bacharach classics on the album, including “The Look Of Love,” “Walk On By,” “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” “Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do),” “My Little Red Book,” “What The World Needs Now,” “Something Big,” “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,” “This House Is Empty Now,” and “Make It Easy On Yourself.”

For more information about When Ronan Met Burt , visit RonanKeating.com.

A holiday gift from Burt and Rumer

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As many of you know, Burt Bacharach has recently been busy writing songs with lyricist Steven Sater for a new musical based on the O. Henry story “The Gift of the Magi.” Burt has written 18 new songs for the project with Sater, the Tony Award-winning playwright and lyricist responsible for Spring Awakening, and the pair has also collaborated on a handful of singles for vocalists including Mario Biondi (“Something That Was Beautiful”) and Karima (“Just Walk Away”).

RumerWhile a full production of The Gift of the Magi isn’t expected until fall/winter 2011, f ans got

an early holiday gift on Dec. 13 in the form of a new Christmas EP by the British vocalist Rumer. Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas features the debut of “Some Lovers,” one of the new Bacharach-Sater songs written for Gift of the Magi. Based on this composition, I think it’s safe to say that fans of Burt’s classic pop sound have a lot to look forward to.

Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas, which also includes her recording of the Bacharach-David classic “Alfie,” isn’t yet available via iTunes in the U.S., but you can purchase it—as both a digital download and a limited edition 7″ vinyl version—by visiting Rumer’s official website.

Linda Dozoretz

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Has it really been five months (!) since my last pos

t? Wow. To repeat yet again what has become my signature phrase, sorry for the lack of updates. Hopefully over the holidays I’ll have a little more time to catch up with everything.

Linda DozoretzAs some of you might know, Linda Dozoretz passed away on Nov. 9 in Los Angeles. Linda had been Burt Bacharach’s publicist for many years, and it was in that context that I first met her. In the early days of this website, I was a little reluctant to reach out to Burt’s management because I thought the site should maintain some degree of distance. I wanted to be able to discuss Burt’s music and career without any pressure to focus only on the positive, and I guess I thought that cultivating a relationship with Burt’s publicity people would be a slippery slope toward the site becoming just an extension of their PR efforts. At some point, I contacted Linda’s office to try to get a list of upcoming concerts but was unsuccessful, and I posted something to that effect on the site. Not long after that, Linda contacted me personally, introduced herself and apologized for the miscommunication. A little while later, I received Burt’s press kit, a list of his upcoming concerts and an autographed copy of The Music of Burt Bacharach, a promo-only box set of recordings. From that point on, she and her staff sent me regular updates on Burt’s activities. She never once asked me to promote something she’d sent, she never once asked me to remove something I or a fan had posted on the site, and she and her staff always responded promptly to my requests for info. Without a doubt, this website would not be what it is today were it not for Linda’s many contributions over the years. On a personal level, Linda was always extraordinarily friendly, helpful and supportive in the interactions I had with her, and it was through Linda that I’ve gotten the chance to meet Burt a few times. My heartfelt condolences go out to Linda’s family and friends at this difficult time.

Kritzerland releases London cast version of “Promises, Promises”

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Kritzerland's reissue of the original London cast recording of Promises, Promises is limited to 1,000 copies.

Hot on the heels of its acclaimed remaster and remix of the Promises, Promises original Broadway cast album, stage and screen specialist Kritzerland is releasing for the first time on CD the original London cast recording of Promises, Promises. The London production features Tony Roberts, Betty Buckley and Jack Kruschen, who reprises his role as Dr. Dreyfuss from The Apartment, the 1960 Billy Wilder film on which Promises was based. The London production opened in 1969 at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End and ran 560 performances.

As with the original Broadway cast album reissue, the London cast album is a limited to 1,000 copies, so if you want to be sure to get one, don’t delay.

For more info and to order online, visit Kritzerland.com.

Promises, Promises cast album debuts at #60 on Billboard

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The new Promises, Promises cast album featuring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth, which was released on June 22 on the Masterworks Broadway label, debuted at #60 this week on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.

Paul Grein of Yahoo! Music points out that that chart position is actually higher than the original cast album, which peaked at #95 in 1969. Promises, Promises also currently ranks #23 in sales on Amazon.com.

And for the purists out there—the ones who can’t fathom the inclusion of “I Say A Little Prayer” and “A House Is Not A Home” on the new cast album—Kritzerland is readying for release a special two-disc reissue of the original Promises, Promises cast album.

The reissue will include a remaster of the original album in its original mix (which has not previously been released on CD) and a brand new mix of the album that fixes some of the technical glitches from the original recordings and puts the songs in their correct order from the show. There’s also a bonus track of Jill O’Hara singing the title song.

So whether you’re a Hayes-Chenoweth convert or an Orbach-O’Hara purist, there’s a lot for fans of Promises, Promises to be thankful for these days.

(Edited to add: As Bruce notes in his comment below, the two-disc version sold out quickly, but Kritzerland received permission to release an additional 1,000 copies of the remixed, pitch-corrected version, which was the main attraction  of the reissue. It’s likely to sell out as well, so the same advice applies: Get yours now if you want one.)

Happy Birthday, Burt!

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A very Happy Birthday to Burt Bacharach, who celebrates his 82nd birthday today.

Sony Masterworks presented Burt with an early birthday present yesterday with its announcement that a cast recording of the revival of Promises, Promises will be released on June 22.

You can read more about the recording in this article at Broadway.com.

Burt recovering well from back surgery

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As many of you know, Burt continues to recover from back surgery in December.

The full text of the press release on Burt’s surgery is as follows:

LOS ANGELES, January 4, 2010 – Legendary composer and conductor Burt Bacharach is recovering from back surgery at a hospital in Los Angeles, it was announced today.  Bacharach had surgery on New Year’s Eve, and his prognosis is excellent.

Upcoming Bacharach concerts in Palm Beach, Florida, Australia and New Zealand through mid-March will be rescheduled for later in the year and/or 2011.

Bacharach last performed in concert on December 19 at Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy, and returned home to spend Christmas with his family.

Promises, Promises returns to Broadway

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The first Broadway revival of Promises, Promises is scheduled to open in March 2010.

The first Broadway revival of Promises, Promises is scheduled to open in April 2010.

I know this is old news to many of you by now, but Promises, Promises, Burt Bacharach’s much loved 1968 musical, is finally headed back to Broadway.

The revival—the show’s first since its opening on Broadway more than 40 years ago—is scheduled to open at the Broadway Theatre on April 27 with Sean Hayes (of TV’s “Will and Grace”) and Kristin Chenoweth starring in the roles originated on Broadway by Jerry Orbach and Jill O’Hara.  The producers are John Gore, Thomas B. McGrath, Beth Williams, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Candy Spelling, Pat Addiss and The Weinstein Company.

Based on the 1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment and featuring a book by Neil Simon, Promises, Promises was one of the first mainstream Broadway musicals to showcase a pop music score, and it introduced a number of  Bacharach-David classics, including “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Whoever You Are, I Love You,” “Knowing When To Leave,” and the title song.

Needless to say, this is great news for fans of both Bacharach and Broadway.

I’ll post updates as I get them

(And for a fascinating insider look at Bacharach before and after the opening of Promises, Promises, visit the media archive to read the 1968 New Yorker articles Hits and Composer in Tartan Cap)