Once I'd heard 'Bells of St. Augustine' a few times I felt the urge to share the song with family and friends. I don't feel the same urge with 'Midnight Watch'.
We don't appear to be enjoying 'Midnight Watch' quite so much and perhaps it's because that while 'Bells of St. Augustine' had Bacharach's stamp as a composer all over it, this doesn't.
Musical collaboration is something Bacharach has been engaging in on and off since the early 80s, long before he started working with Elvis Costello or indeed Daniel Tashian. In his songwriting partnership with Carole Bayer Sager many of the songs had an additional writer and some of these were exclusively composers, like David Foster, Marvin Hamlisch and Bill Conti Jr., or in the case of Peter Allen, Bruce Roberts and Neil Diamond could contribute both music and lyrics. In her autobiography Carole Bayer Sager explains that for 'Heartlight' Neil Diamond composed the song's chorus while Bacharach was responsible for the verses. In encouraging Bacharach to collaborate musically early on in their relationship Carole Bayer Sager apparently wanted him to be less precious and more relaxed about his music and maybe it's indicative of a certain loss of confidence on his part after several hitless years since the split with Hal David that he was prepared to give some ground. Forty years later he still appears to be happy to compromise.
This is a controversial opinion, but I think that Carole was the worst influence on Burt. Yes, pop music had changed by the eighties, but he should have let her write lyrics while he went ahead and composed the way he always had done. Does anyone think - seriously - that stuff like "Love Power" is any good? Burt needs to re-assert himself.
I don't think it's that controversial, Blair. Looking at it on purely artistic grounds, I think the partnership with Carole Bayer Sager represents the nadir of Bacharach's career. To my knowledge, no one has yet to record a 'Sings the Songs of Bacharach and Bayer Sager' album and I can't imagine that anyone ever will, despite them writing, with the help and assistance at various times of Peter Allen, Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond and Bruce Roberts, several US Top 40 hits.
Martin Johnson wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 2:00 am
I don't think it's that controversial, Blair. Looking at it on purely artistic grounds, I think the partnership with Carole Bayer Sager represents the nadir of Bacharach's career. To my knowledge, no one has yet to record a 'Sings the Songs of Bacharach and Bayer Sager' album and I can't imagine that anyone ever will, despite them writing, with the help and assistance at various times of Peter Allen, Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond and Bruce Roberts, several US Top 40 hits.
I agree with most of what's been said, but in her defence I consider Carole's album 'Sometimes Late at Night' to be a Masterpiece !
Absolutely agree with the Carole Bayer Sager masterpiece 'Sometimes Late at Night'. It has always remained over the years one of my very favourite albums along with: Stephen Bishop 'Careless' (1976); Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' (1966); Kenny Loggins 'Leap of Faith' (1991); Billy Joel 'The Stranger' (1977); Michael Ruff 'Speaking in Melodies' (1993); Alan Bergman 'Lyrically' (2007); San Sebastian Strings 'The Complete Sea' (1969); Richard Harris 'The Yard Went on Forever' (1968); and Melody Gardot 'My One and Only Thrill' (2009). Okay, I haven't forgotten Burt with 'Futures' (1977)
Having read Carole Bayer Sager's autobiography I think no one will be more surprised than her to see the 'Sometimes Late At Night' album written about in such glowing terms. She apparently didn't enjoy making it, thought that some of the orchestrations were too opulent for her limited singing voice to cope with and it helped to persuade her to give up on her career as a recording artist. I personally think it contains some of Bacharach and Bayer Sager's strongest material as a writing team and certainly his most brilliant and imaginative arrangements and orchestrations during all the years of their partnership. In fact I don't think he was to write for an orchestra again until the 'Painted From Memory' album seventeen years later.
We have to remember that ALL songwriters want to write hits and as Bacharach couldn't buy a hit in the years before his partnership with Carole Bayer Sager, nor in the thirty years since their breakup, he probably looks back on those days of three US No.1s, an Oscar win and a Grammy award with a lot of fondness and not a little disbelief!
I think the nearest there's been to a tribute album to the Bacharach and Bayer Sager partnership was by the Dutch singer Anita Meyer who included no less than six of the songs they wrote together and with additional writers on her late 80s collection entitled 'Close To You - The Beautiful Songs Of Burt Bacharach'.
Tashian is the son of Barry Tashian, who led a group in Boston in the '60's called Barry & The Remains, later just The Remains. I used to see them at the Ratskellar in Boston and they were terrific. They opened for The Beatles at Suffolk Downs in Revere, MA. They made a little noise nationally, but not much.
Personally,, I DO hear Burt's stamp all over this song and I quite like it.
Martin Johnson wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 2:00 am
To my knowledge, no one has yet to record a 'Sings the Songs of Bacharach and Bayer Sager' album and I can't imagine that anyone ever will, despite them writing, with the help and assistance at various times of Peter Allen, Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond and Bruce Roberts, several US Top 40 hits.
I was half expecting "and Uncle Tom Cobley".
I used to imagine Carole Bayer Sager indulging in fantasies of multiple collaborations, something along the lines of; "What if I get Burt to compose the verse, Marvin the chorus, David Foster the bridge and Bob Dylan can help me with the lyrics...........". For the song 'Maybe' recorded by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson, Bacharach and Marvin Hamlisch dutifully obliged and according to her very readable autobiography she did indeed get to write some lyrics with Bob Dylan.