BachtoBacharach wrote:Tony Hatch was the driving force behind Petula Clark's comeback in the mid-sixties and is responsible for her hits Don't Sleep in the Subway and Downtown among many others. Hatch was married to Jackie Trent.
I wasn't around for the sixties, seventies, or and the first half of the eighties but man one thing those times weren't lacking was good music. Downtown and Don't sleep in the Subway are my two favorite Petula Clark songs. They have that Brill Building style to it. From what I heard of him so far he seems to be worthy to be mentioned on this forum.
Growing up in the youtube era I have learned alot about music by referral from forums and comments so I am very appreciative of any kind of discourse that leads me to come across anything that I may very well never have heard. I discovered Laura Nyro, Jimmy Webb, Charles Stephney(very recently), and many others that way.
Someone help me out. 4:41-4:46 of Rainy Day in Centerville has the exact melody of one of Burt Bacharach's song. I can't figure it out and it is bugging me.
Hank wrote:Yeah - a post of mine has been resurrected !!
Thanks Geoff85 !
Didn't know that Charles Stephney worked with the Dells ...and The Love We Had Stays on My Mind is a classic.
Another branch of his career to explore is Rotary Connection....some quite wacky psychedelic stuff here. My personal faves:
I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun
If I Sing My Song
...both sonic masterworks....
One of the things I notice about Stephney's work is the focus he places on parts of the songs other than the verses and choruses.
I am The Black Gold of The Sun- I have never heard Psychedlic Soul before( I don't know if Fifth Dimension qualifies as either Psychedelic or even Soul). Really cool. Once again this sounds like something Jimmy could have written. Very Age of Aqarius.
If I Sing My Song- I liked this one better. I have an obsession with songs that sound like Burt Bacharach wrote them even if he didn't. Simply because he was so intricate that his style is hard to duplicate. There is something magical about that Bossa Nova sound. It's like paradise for the eardrums. I hear elements of Promises Promises, Living Together Growing Together, and I'll Never Fall in Love Again. This could have been on the Lost Horizon soundtrack and would have fit right in.
I noticed that as well. Many songwriters wouldn't want to put that many good motifs in one song when they could save it for another. That shows his confidence in his talent in that he felt he had so many ideas he could be very liberal with them. Keep the links coming.
Do you ever feel like some songwriters and artists just get it? The ones who do seem to just get it everytime. Thanks to you Hank I am now a huge Rotary Connection fan. Just perusing through random songs of theirs online so far I have not been dissapointed. Are you familiar with these?
Love is- The melodies and harmonies in this are almost too much to take in. To harken back to something you said before about Minnie Ripperton's album come to my garden. How can music be this beautiful? 2:38- 3:19 is so ethereal I can't stand it. Man god bless you Minnie Ripperton and Charles Stephney.
Minnie Ripperton " Memory Band"- All of my favorite female singers have a silent power to their voice. They float on top of the instrumental melody and don't compete with it. Minnie does it really well on this song. She almost reminds me of Dionne here. 0:36- 0:46 if Cissy Houston heard that part she would have said " Hey that's my niece".