Trains And Boats And Planes

[pljms]

One of my personal favourite Bacharach & David songs is 'Trains And Boats And Planes' and I suppose it was inevitable given the fact it was a hit in the UK a year before the US through Bacharach's own recording that the first couple of acts to cover the song were both English, namely Anita Harris and Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas. Released when Bacharach's version was about to hit the UK charts in May 1965, Anita Harris's recording was the first time the bridge was sung rather than played instrumentally and I like the way she harmonises with herself from the second chorus onwards. She was also the first and so far only artist to record the Bacharach & David rarity 'London Life'.

[Sara D]

The general rule seemed to be that only female artists sang the bridge to Trains And Boats And Planes, although I'm sure there's been the occasional exception.

You'd think a song about 'Swinging London' released in the mid-60s would catch on but I don't think that London Life was memorable enough for that to have ever happened, pleasant though it undoubtedly was.

[blueonblue]

Anita's version of 'London Life' is charming and nostalgic but I think if Burt had offered it to Barbra Streisand it could have become more popular, it seems tailor-made for her.

'blue'

[Jim Dixon]

Burt gets so much mileage out of four basic chords in this song. It's almost like some of the music on Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue", you hear it and wonder how something so simple could sound so fresh.

And the 12-bar verses and chorus feel related to the blues, even if the chord changes don't happen exactly where they would in a 12-bar blues, and the chords aren't quite those of a blues progression. The repetition of those key short melodic phrases in the over and over in the verses and in the chorus reinforces that folk-like feel. It's like a folk song written by Erik Satie.

For the Rhino box, it's one of the few places where I would have made a different call and used the Dionne version, even though the box had a delicate balancing act to make sure the set didn't turn into "Dionne's Greatest Bacharach plus Some Other Stuff".

But I do love the Wurlitzer sound on the Bacharach solo recording, maybe just because its higher in the mix and a little more gritty than it sounds behind Dionne. Interesting that Dionne took the song a step higher than The Breakaways. It seems like more often Dionne's versions were likely to be a little lower than other female vocalists.

[pljms]

The relative simplicity of 'Trains And Boats And Planes' probably explains why several country artists have gravitated towards it over the years and back in the day when such places still existed I recall being in a folk club in London and a solo female performer prefacing her rendition of the song with these words, "I bet this is the first time a Burt Bacharach song has been performed in this establishment".

Here's Laura Cantrell performing the song live and afterwards referencing The Box Tops' recording, a version that might be unique in that the lead vocalist is male and he actually sings the song's bridge.

[Jim Dixon]

....prefacing her rendition of the song with these words, "I bet this is the first time a Burt Bacharach song has been performed in this establishment".
....referencing The Box Tops' recording, a version that might be unique in that the lead vocalist is male and he actually sings the song's bridge.

Speaking of Alex Chilton and playing Bacharach in less fancy establishment, Alex would sometimes break out "The Look of Love" during rock club gigs in the 1980s for audiences who were largely there because of his Big Star and late-1970s new wave/psychobilly recordings. You can hear him so do at 21:27 in this Youtube:

Alex was 16 when he recorded "Trains and Boats and Planes". It was a filler track for the first album, rushed out to capitalize on the unexpected success of "The Letter". He doesn't sound like he's comfortable with the song yet, but also, Dan Penn, who was producing, was coaching him heavily during that record and basically giving him the exact vocal phrasing that Penn wanted to hear. I still like that version because I'm a fan of Alex's, though it sounds a little strident and lacking the charm of Dionne's record.

[pljms]

No, Alex Chilton of The Box Tops doesn't sound entirely at ease on their version of 'Trains And Boats And Planes' but it's good that he sang all the lyrics.

It's been noted how the song's simplicity attracted some country, folk and rock acts. Conversely, because the chords are so basic jazz musicians have tended to give the song a wide berth. However, that didn't stop saxophonist Stan Getz from recording it and inevitably the arranger Richard Evans couldn't resist extending one or two of those chords.

[pljms]

Singer Joanie Sommers has been featured quite a bit on here because of her involvement in the Bacharach & David TV musical 'On The Flip Side' and her version of 'Trains And Boats And Planes' features an arrangement that I think is different enough from the hit recordings by Burt and Dionne to be of interest.