The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

One of the three tracks that are new to my collection on the recently released compilation 'Burt Bacharach - Make it Easy on Yourself 1962', along with Dee Dee Sharp's 'Any Day Now' and Bobby Vee's 'Anonymous Phone-Call', is Marlene Dietrich's 'Kleine Treue Nachtigall', a German language version of 'Message to Martha' (Michael). Considering how much she obviously adored and admired Bacharach it's perhaps surprising that she didn't record more of his songs:

Magic concert|

Electric Prom FULL

bye

Bob

Thanks for that, Roberto. I have a DVD copy of the concert and I never tire of it or Paul Gambaccini's remarkable opening speech! I was actually there that night and it was an extraordinary experience and the best Bacharach concert that I've attended, highlighted for me and I'm sure for many others by the climax of the movie song section, 'A House is Not a Home'. I haven't attended a concert before or since where I've seen so many people visibly moved by a musical performance. Here it is:

As you know, Sara, I was there too and it was a unique atmosphere for a Bacharach concert, no doubt influenced by the fact that the most of the audience were standing and the majority looked younger than 40! I recently got hold of a DVD of the 'Live at Edmonton' concert from 1977 and the contrast couldn't be greater with absolutely no verbal communication from Bacharach to the audience and a pretty stiff and formal atmosphere. Still, it's fascinating to see and hear performances of works which have long been out of Bacharach's regular set-list and here's 'Futures' from that concert:

Martin, thanks for the video.
I've also a copy of the Edmonton concert, it contains a unique and wonderful "extended" version
of "Monterey Peninsula" and a stunning rendition of "I Took My Strength From You" by the brilliant
Josie Armstead it's long overdue an official DVD release... and so is the London show.
I really enjoyed the London concert especially when Burt conducted the orchestra with his instrumental "For The Children"....thanks Roberto for the full concert !
And thanks also Sara for "A House Is Not A Home" that always packs an emotional wallop !

"blue"

Hi my Friends.....
Live at Edmonton ....official dvd?????

Thanks

Rob

Hi Roberto,
What I meant to say was, the Edmonton and London concerts deserve to be released officially on DVD.
Some day they might be.

"blue"

Probably little chance of that ever happening , Blue. Outside of 'Futures' and 'Raindrops', the only other item from the Edmonton concert available on Youtube at the moment is 'Charlie' sung by Sally Stevens. As we all know, she & Bacharach go back a long way and for example hers was the high soprano voice on 'South American Getaway'. The lyrics to 'Charlie' have to go down as some of the most maudlin ever set to a Bacharach melody. However, as it's Sally Stevens and probably not the worst thing Bacharach composed, here it is:

Another Great Maestro who turned 85yrs young last Sunday.


"blue"

A real anomaly in Bacharach's output is 'Out of My Continental Mind' as he wrote nothing else remotely like it. One of the few songs of his which had lyrics by Sydney Shaw, it was originally recorded by Lena Horne and went on to be covered by Ernestine Anderson in 1963 and in the 90s by the English jazz vocalist Claire Martin. Here's Ernestine Anderson's beautifully cool and understated version which I heard on Jazz FM the other night:

Thanks Martin for posting Ernestine Anderson's recording of this little gem of a song. I've been collecting recordings of Bacharach's music since the early 70s and yet I'd never even heard of 'Out of My Continental Mind' until Claire Martin sang it at a jazz club gig in London around 1997 and mentioned its composer. I managed to grab a few words with her during the interval and she told me that she had learned the song from a Lena Horne live album from the early 60s and that the lyrics were by someone other than Hal David but she couldn't remember who. Well, it took a few months but I eventually got hold of a vinyl copy of the Lena Horne album by which time I'd acquired Claire Martin's high-octane version on her 'Old Boyfriends' CD. Here's a ten minute excerpt from the Lena Horne 'Live at the Sands' album which concludes with the Bacharach/Shaw song:

It makes me smile to think, Paul, that the super sophisticated 'Out of My Continental Mind' was published just a few months after 'Three Wheels On My Wagon', proving that Bacharach has always had the wherewithal to write in any popular music idiom if he gets the commission or if the mood takes him. I've yet to hear Claire Martin's recording of 'Out of My Continental Mind' and sadly it's not available on Youtube, but here's her take on the best known and most covered Bacharach and Costello song:

Here is a Jazz pianist's rendition of "Walk On By," which proves again that Burt's music can always lend itself to a creative Jazz pianist (2-5's or no 2-5's, notwithstanding):

Saturday Night Live



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Another Spring Will Rise. Underrated, me thinks.