The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Sad to hear that the great jazz and blues singer Ernestine Anderson passed away a few weeks ago. Here she is with that most untypical Bacharach song (lyrics by Sydney Shaw) 'Out of my Continental Mind'. Maybe we should start a thread titled 'Songs written by Bacharach that sound nothing like him'. This song along with Lisa are two prime examples:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2x3Yk0hrzUY

In fact, only a handful of songs composed by Burt prior to the early `60s sound anything like him. There are three or four multi-disc sets containing that early material, including Always Something There, First Book of Songs, and this bargain that includes many of those on the pricier labels:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... Caps%2C170
(This is from the US Amazon site, but it`s an import and doubtless available at least as cheaply in the UK).

I'm sure most of us are aware, Blair, of Bacharach's early stuff before he developed his own unique style, but I was thinking more about the songs of his of obvious quality but which sound like they were written by entirely different writers, like the afore mentioned 'Lisa' and 'Out of my Continental Mind'. Another one of these is 'In Times Like These', sung here by Gene McDaniels:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AYRTOjbHFhU

OK, how about the title track from Painted From Memory?
He has written a number of songs from the `80s onward that I would never have attributed to him without seeing the credit. Most of the Bayer-Sager material was unrecognizable as being of his composition. At This Time was (to me) a shocking disappointment, and a good two thirds of Some Lovers is (again, to my ears) un-Bacharachian.
I`m still holding hope for the Po soundtrack and would really like a recording of the NYA songs.

Featured on a new (2016) 24 track compilation, "Saint Etienne Present Songs for the Carnegie Deli", a quite amazing collection of many lesser known tracks, is this great song from Irma Thomas, "Live Again". I've never heard this song before by anyone else, did Dionne Warwick originally do this?? Who else has covererd this "hidden gem"?

https://youtu.be/oEbpjQwtJ04

And, yes, this cd is a "jukebox soundtrack" for the (justly) famous eatery in New York.

grooverider wrote:Featured on a new (2016) 24 track compilation, "Saint Etienne Present Songs for the Carnegie Deli", a quite amazing collection of many lesser known tracks, is this great song from Irma Thomas, "Live Again". I've never heard this song before by anyone else, did Dionne Warwick originally do this?? Who else has covererd this "hidden gem"?

https://youtu.be/oEbpjQwtJ04

And, yes, this cd is a "jukebox soundtrack" for the (justly) famous eatery in New York.

No, as far as I'm aware Irma Thomas is the only major artist to record 'Live Again'. Bob Stanley from Saint Ettiene who compiled this album is well known for being a man of taste and discernment and writes a weekly blog on the BBC's Sounds of the 60s webpage.

I absolutely LOVE "Live Again" and I've had it on my ipod for many years now. That song is more proof of Burt's genius. I love the piano playing on that record, too... and I don't think it's Burt's playing either. We discussed this song here a number of years ago also. I don't know why it hasn't been covered time and again either, as it's a stunning song. And Irma Thomas is one of the great singers and she owns this song.

An Enormous BB Fan wrote:I absolutely LOVE "Live Again" and I've had it on my ipod for many years now. That song is more proof of Burt's genius. I love the piano playing on that record, too... and I don't think it's Burt's playing either. We discussed this song here a number of years ago also. I don't know why it hasn't been covered time and again either, as it's a stunning song. And Irma Thomas is one of the great singers and she owns this song.

I love how this song suddenly shifts into full-on 'Bacharach mode' at 00:29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cddtuS0g3Wg

'blue'

blueonblue wrote: I love how this song suddenly shifts into full-on 'Bacharach mode' at 00:29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cddtuS0g3Wg

'blue'

Absolutely! And I love what the backup singers are singing -- so integral to the song itself! (And that piano playing!)

Dear pljms, Yes, I concur about Bob Stanley and I have really enjoyed his group, St. Etienne for a while now. Another great compilation from him and Bob Wiggs is the 2 cd set, "The Trip", Created by st. Etienne (2004), including songs from Spanky & our Gang, Scott Walker, Dusty Springfield, Marvin Gaye, Carl Carlton, Ennio Morricone, The Isley Brothers and others. It is...a trip!

blueonblue wrote:

An Enormous BB Fan wrote:I absolutely LOVE "Live Again" and I've had it on my ipod for many years now. That song is more proof of Burt's genius. I love the piano playing on that record, too... and I don't think it's Burt's playing either. We discussed this song here a number of years ago also. I don't know why it hasn't been covered time and again either, as it's a stunning song. And Irma Thomas is one of the great singers and she owns this song.

I love how this song suddenly shifts into full-on 'Bacharach mode' at 00:29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cddtuS0g3Wg

'blue'

I think Burt is the arranger of the song and not the composer so it would be interesting to see how much liberty he took with interpreting the original melody.

geoff85 wrote:

blueonblue wrote:

An Enormous BB Fan wrote:I absolutely LOVE "Live Again" and I've had it on my ipod for many years now. That song is more proof of Burt's genius. I love the piano playing on that record, too... and I don't think it's Burt's playing either. We discussed this song here a number of years ago also. I don't know why it hasn't been covered time and again either, as it's a stunning song. And Irma Thomas is one of the great singers and she owns this song.

I love how this song suddenly shifts into full-on 'Bacharach mode' at 00:29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cddtuS0g3Wg

'blue'

I think Burt is the arranger of the song and not the composer so it would be interesting to see how much liberty he took with interpreting the original melody.

One thing that is beyond dispute, geoff85, is that Bacharach definitely composed ‘Live Again’, and indeed it has been included on more than one Bacharach compilation CD. May I suggest you purchase the book ‘Burt Bacharach: Song by Song’ by Serene Dominic. It will be an education for you.

More of a great voice, Irma Thomas "Long After Tonight Is All Over":

https://youtu.be/ueSchBlfVqE

I saw Irma Thomas perform at London's Barbican a few years ago and mighty impressive she was too although, alas, she didn't perform any of the three Bacharach songs she's recorded over the years ('Live Again', Long After Tonight is all Over' and 'What Can I do'). It's been posted here before but here's the least known of the three songs and it's from Her 2008 'Simply Grand' album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAdwwO6tBOA

From "Dusty (Springfield) Day", 2013, here's one of Ms. Springfield's premier background vocalists, Madeline Bell, "The Look of Love":

https://youtu.be/9PKq4t9dI4w


And, from Dusty Day 2014, here she is with "A House Is Not A Home":

https://youtu.be/o0lRVS8O0OI