The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

I wonder if Burt was influenced during the sixties by Alessandro Alessandroni and his choir
I Cantori Moderni..........Alessandroni and his singers did a lot of session work in Italy
during that time, and worked with many musicians and composers ...most notably
Ennio Morricone.


"blue"

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The late, great singer-songwriter Laura Nyro has been mentioned more than a few times on this forum and it was well known that she was an admirer of BB and even recorded a couple of his songs. She certainly loved extended chords and there's more than a hint of Bacharach in the lilting quality to many of her ballads, nowhere better demonstrated than in the gorgeous 'I Never Meant to Hurt You'. Incidentally, it was great to hear this on BBC Radio's Sounds of the 60s last Saturday morning (Good old Brian Matthew - still pronouncing her surname as if it rhymed with 'Biro').

It's amazing to think that Nyro was only 19 when she wrote and recorded 'I Never Meant to Hurt You'. That first album of hers that included the track also featured three songs that would go on to be big hits for other artists, 'Wedding Bell Blues', 'Stoney End' & 'And When I Die' 'I don't think the Bacharach influence is as obvious as it was with Jimmy Webb, but it's there alright .

Yes, hearing Laura Nyro last Saturday morning at 9.30 really stopped me dead in my tracks and it's not often that I'm moved at that hour, I can tell you! I've long been a fan of hers while conceding that she's not to everyone's taste as a performer. Apparently she was keen to record a whole 'Nyro Sings Bacharach' album at the time she cut the two demos of his songs, just before her fatal illnes in the mid-90s. Listening to her inimitable take on 'Be Aware' makes me more than a tad wistful for what might have been.

I`ve noted - maybe too often - that as much as I loved (especially pre-"Smile") Laura Nyro, she was not an ideal interpreter of Burt`s music. Her melodic improvisations, which she employed reflexively nearly every time she sang, were anathema to tight compositions such as Burt`s.
I doubt that she had any notion of an all-Bacharach program. She had made some "oldies" demos at the same time she was putting together the posthumously released Angel In the Dark. That project was far from complete at the time of her death and the release of those demos as an album was controversial. I was happy to hear those songs but, for me, the last "real" Nyro album was Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. That album, by the way, included a remarkably straightforward cover of "Up On the Roof" which charted in late `70 or early `71.

Yes, a Nyro sings Bacharach album does seem like pure fantasy, doesn't it? However, one songwriter paying tribute to another in this way has been done at least once before that I know of, the Nillson sings Randy Newman album. I personally don't think I would have had a problem with Nyro's improvisatory vocal style let loose on a whole album's worth of Bacharach's 'tight' compositions, as long as she didn't mess around with his chord changes!

Here's a gem from her last studio album in 1993. If you love Bacharach.......

Sara, now that we`re officially "off - topic", I agree with you regarding the Nilsson/Newman album. Too bad it never occurred to the irony-loving Newman to return the compliment. Imagine Harry`s early faux-naif lyrics being croaked out by Randy....
Oh, and I liked your link to the latter-day Nryo album. Her melodic sense and voice kept improving as her lyrics unfortunately lost their "strangeness" as well as their inventiveness and focus. She was still a charismatic performer, `though. Her Bottom Line gigs were always unique and memorable.
At this point I won`t even pretend to drag in a Bacharach connection. There just isn`t one.
Maybe if we had some idea of the nature of those TWO albums he allegedly completed last year...

Blair, I saw Laura Nyro perform just the once, in London at the Union Chapel, Islington. I think it was November '93 and as far as I can remember it was just her at the piano plus a couple of backing vocalists. She perfomed most of her famous songs plus a few covers, including 'Walk on By' and was in really good voice throughout. I remember her stage persona was more relaxed and humorous than I had been led to believe, perhaps because she knew she was among 'friends' and every song got a rapturous reception. Talking of her and 'Walk on By':

Barbra Streisand's version of Ms. Nyro's "I Never Meant To Hurt You" from the "Barbra Joan Streisand" album, produced by Richard Perry:

That Streisand album is where "Be Aware" should have appeared. I`ve forgotten (if I ever knew) why she shelved that recording. Perhaps Bachtobacharach has some insight.
As for Nyro`s stage personae...there were two: her early, dark, mysterioso period (which drew me in and held me hypnotically) and her later, pop-feminist, eco-friendly, animal-rights-promoting earth mother period (which I liked because I liked her, but was of lesser impact). Her biography, entitled (if I recall) Stoned Soul Picnic, is surprisingly informative and a must-read for fans. The paperback should be available for a song (so to speak) via Amazon or Abe.

I'm never too thrilled when someone (in this case, Laura Nyro singing "Walk On By") changes the chords and notes to one of Burt and Hal's songs, such that it almost becomes another song entirely. This is different from someone doing a different arrangement of their songs. I've always like Laura Nyro and she was a terrific singer/songwriter. But, at least as far as I'm concerned, that was neither "Walk On By" nor an arrangement of "Walk On By." This is far different from, say, the difference between Dionne's and Aretha's versions of "I Say A Little Prayer For You".

Enormous, I agree completely regarding Nyro`s take on "Walk On By". It exemplifies my initial point about her unsuitability as a Bacharach interpreter. This style of performance was of a piece with her own compositions and could be beautifully effective. Not so here or on "Be Aware", either. As always with a Bacharach melody, sing it as written or leave it alone.

With certain Bacaharach songs I don't have much of a problem with perfomers taking liberties with the melody and/or chord progression when the definitive version's been been in place for decades and is virtually impossible to improve on, especially when the performer is a fellow songwiter like Laura Nyro. Somehow I wouldn't expect her to slavishly adhere to the basic song structure and I personally would have found a Nyro sings Bacharach album a fascinating listen and I hear nothing in her versions of Be Aware and Walk on By to alter my view, quite the contrary.

Chiara Civello & Mario Biondi



Bye
Rob