Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

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Martin Johnson
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Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2010 7:41 am

Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Martin Johnson »

Nice interview with Soul, Jazz and Funk's Charles Waring but I have to take issue with Rumer's assertion that "surprisingly few" singers have recorded whole albums of Bacharach material. Off the top of my head and after a token glance at my record and CD collection, here's a list of no less than 18 solo artists or vocal groups who've recorded Bacharach or Bacharach & David albums:

Gals and Pals
Connie Francis
Anita Kerr Singers
Sheila Southern
The Dells
Rita Reys
Stephanie Mills
Tony Mansell Singers
Trijntje Oosterhuis (2)
Michael Ball
Ron Isley
Yeongene
Steve Tyrell 
Ronan Keating
Karima
Thomas Stafford
Carol Duboc
Valerie Joyce

Although there are a number of 'Dionne Warwick Sings Bacharach & David' compilations, I don't think she ever quite managed an original album made-up exclusively of their material. Another artist who has had all her recordings of Bacharach songs compiled into a 'Sings Bacharach' album is of course Dusty Springfield.
Sara D
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Sara D »

Martin, I wasn't aware of half of the albums on the 'Sings Bacharach' list and some of these artists' names are totally new to me as they would no doubt be to Rumer. I remember in the late 60s and early 70s it was common to see in record shops orchestral albums of Bacharach hits by the likes of Ron Goodwin, Ronnie Aldrich and even Tony Hatch. Probably the most bizarre of these instrumental albums was entitled 'Bacharach Baroque' by the 18th Century Corporation and here's 'I Say a Little Prayer' from that album, a vinyl copy of which I still own.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G6PAQBgxZrk
Nicko
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Nicko »

A sampler of the album has been posted by Rumer


https://youtu.be/cxhgXnOde1o
Martin Johnson
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Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2010 7:41 am

Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Martin Johnson »

Thanks Nicko. Listening to the brief excerpts it's the versions of the two least known songs, In the Land of Make-Believe and The Last One to be Loved, that sound the most intriguing. A couple of early reviews of the album in the UK press have been fairly non-committal, both giving 3 stars.
Nicko
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Nicko »

pljms
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by pljms »

Here's the official video of What the World Needs Now Is Love and I really like Rob Shirakbari's arrangement. It's been a long wait but the album is finally released in two weeks' time:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oZVwkeoW_Xs
Paul
Sara D
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Sara D »

There's been a tendancy in recent years for performers to treat 'What the World Needs Now' almost like a lament and that's certainly the case with Rumer's version, aided by the beautifully mournful brass arrangement. I love it.
Martin Johnson
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Martin Johnson »

pljms wrote:Here's the official video of What the World Needs Now Is Love and I really like Rob Shirakbari's arrangement. It's been a long wait but the album is finally released in two weeks' time:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oZVwkeoW_Xs
Bacharach and David's message songs (What the World Needs Now is Love, Be Aware and All Kinds of People) are not among my favourites of theirs but I think this rather somber version is a beauty and works a treat. From what I've heard so far it's Rob Shirakbari's arrangements that are going to be the making of this album as much as Rumer's vocals.
pljms
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by pljms »

Another fine review of the soon to be released album.

http://www.popmatters.com/review/rumer- ... s-in-love/
Paul
pljms
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Location: London

Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by pljms »

I first became aware of Rumer when I heard 'Am I Forgiven' on the radio about the time when her debut album was released and I immediately made the Bacharach connection, not only with his undoubted influence on the song and arrangement but with her very subtle vocal style, tailor-made for his music. Six years later the inevitable has happened and she's about to release her Bacharach and David album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z7Uxo625w


Here's another well-written and intelligent review of the new album.

http://renownedforsound.com/index.php/a ... -songbook/
Paul
Nicko
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Nicko »

The making of This Girls in Love.


https://youtu.be/R8FqWrMh86k
Sara D
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by Sara D »

A review just published on All Music:

After trying her hand at writing her own vintage-inspired material with 2014's Into Colour, singer Rumer returns to her core inspiration of covering classic '60s and '70s pop with 2016's sophisticated This Girl's in Love (A Bacharach & David Songbook). Produced by her husband and longtime collaborator Rob Shirakbari at Capitol Studios, This Girl's in Love finds Rumer applying her supple vocals and soft-focus aesthetic to songs written by the legendary team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. While Rumer has most certainly sung many of these songs in live settings, it's surprising, given her association with the time period, that she's never actually recorded any of this material in the past. Here, we get renditions of such beloved songs as Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love," the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You," and Dionne Warwick's "Walk on By." We also get to hear a sweetly gruff-voiced Bacharach sing the intro to the album's title track, a rewording of the Herb Alpert hit "This Guy's in Love with You." Thankfully, Rumer and Shirakbari don't simply stick to the best-of hits and additionally pepper the album with some well-curated, lesser heard choices like the poetic "Balance of Nature," the heartbreaking "Are You There (With Another Girl)," and the harmonically nuanced "The Last One to Be Loved." As with past Rumer albums, these are gorgeously rendered productions featuring orchestral-tinged arrangements from Shirakbari that capture the golden era of soft pop without falling into garish pastiche. While the album is technically one of Rumer's most faithfully old-school, it still sounds fresh, and the analog production aesthetic only works to magnify the purity, lyricism, and expressiveness of her voice. If Rumer has consistently drawn favorable comparisons to the late Karen Carpenter in the past, This Girl's in Love (A Bacharach & David Songbook) will do nothing to diminish them. Ultimately, it serves to reinforce the idea that Rumer stands as one of the brightest torchbearers for the easy listening AM pop that Carpenter, and more specifically, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, helped make such an indelible part of 21st century pop history.

Matt Collar
pljms
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by pljms »

For me the tracks that work best are Close To You and What the World Needs Now because Rumer and arranger/producer Rob Shirakbari have reimagined two very familiar songs and managed to put their own stamp on them and to stunning effect, and The Balance Of Nature and The Last One To Be Loved because they made me re-evaluate songs I'd previously not been over-keen on. Most of the other tracks including The Look Of Love, One Less Bell To Answer, Are You There, A House Is Not A Home, Walk On By and This Girl's In Love are a joy to listen to without offering anything radically new in terms of arrangement or vocal interpretation. The two tracks that fall slightly short in my opinion are You'll Never Get To Heaven and In The Land Of Make Believe, the former because the song's chorus sounds flat and lacks richness and the latter simply because I still don't think it's one of Bacharach and David's most memorable collaborations, no matter who's performing it. Rob Shirakbari's personal involvement with and deep understanding of Bacharach's music gives the album real authenticity while Rumer keeps to within her limitations and sings with warmth and with a real empathy for the material.
Paul
nowmedical
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Re: Update on Rumer - This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach & David Songbook

Post by nowmedical »

Not sure about Close To You - what have they done to the chords?
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