Rumer has it
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 4:16 am
Read what Rumer had to say about our Burt: (this is from Rumer's own site at http://www.rumer.co.uk/store/products,r ... mas_19.htm)
A special one-off release, together with the legendary Burt Bacharach and acclaimed American playwright Steven Sater.
‘Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas’ will feature a brand new Bacharach composition, ‘Some Lovers’ – not featured on her debut album, ‘Seasons Of My Soul’ - together with her beautiful take on the classic ‘Alfie’. It will be released on a limited edition 7” vinyl, designed by Rumer herself, and will also be available to download and buy on CD from December 13th. Rumer will headline London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on December 17th, which has now sold out, ahead of further live dates and her next official single in early 2011.
‘Some Lovers’ is Burt Bacharach’s first new recording in five years. His work with Rumer began in March, when, for a brief time, she found herself stranded in America as a result of the relentless volcanic ash. It was then that she got the phone call: Burt Bacharach had heard her songs, and wanted to meet her. She describes it as the happiest moment of her life, and days later, made her way alone to Mr Bacharach’s Californian home. Rumer was shown into the drawing room where, as she aptly describes him, “the greatest living composer of the twentieth century” was sitting with Steven Sater; perhaps best known from the award-winning Broadway and West End musical, ‘Spring Awakening’. Sater and Bacharach were working on songs for a brand new musical, ‘The Gift of The Magi’, based around a love story set across several Christmases. Rumer, armed with Sater’s lyrics, then sang one of these numbers as Burt played along on the piano: an incredible – thought understandably intimidating – experience, which she quite literally took away with her. For Bacharach gave Rumer the sheet music to the song she had sung, and invited her to work on it back in England with her own producer, Steve Brown.
The end result, ‘Some Lovers’, is pure magic; a soaring love song, lyrically inspired by that first flush of feeling, and the blossoming of a new romance. Though Christmas is very much at the roots of the song, it is not, as such, a seasonal song. There is, for instance, that classic Broadway swing that, Rumer confesses, is totally out of her comfort zone, but feels right at home amidst the classic movie musicals that inspired her as a child. At the song’s heart, though, is the timeless melodic flair and instant, comforting familiarity that could only come from Burt Bacharach. Somewhat ironically, Rumer had woken her boyfriend the morning she visited Burt – thrilled at the prospect of meeting her hero - by jokingly exclaiming, “Wake up! It’s Christmas!” Hours later, she found herself singing a song written about that same sense of excitement. The release comes backed with a live cover of ‘Alfie’, a personal favourite of Rumer’s, which she debuted during her spellbinding set at London’s Tabernacle
Discussing the project, Burt Bacharach affirms that “It’s so nice to have a singer just sing a song without the frills or the diva tricks. Rumer really delivers the goods!” Sater, too, observed the distinct emotional mark that Rumer made on the pair’s production: “what I always hear in Rumer is the struggle of her heart. And that’s what moves me in her songs. When she sings, “Some lovers are dreamers”, I believe her.” The experience and, indeed, this one-off release caps off an astonishing 2010 for Rumer: she has become the fastest selling new artist of the year, having already sold over 100,000 copies of ‘Season Of My Soul’ (only released November 1st). “When Burt Bacharach gives you a song to sing,” she says, “it is simply a dream come true. We wanted to honour that by making something really special for Christmas.”
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There's an article in the new issue of Mojo magazine where Rumer also talks about the thrill of meeting and working with Burt. I can't wait to hear this new song!
.
A special one-off release, together with the legendary Burt Bacharach and acclaimed American playwright Steven Sater.
‘Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas’ will feature a brand new Bacharach composition, ‘Some Lovers’ – not featured on her debut album, ‘Seasons Of My Soul’ - together with her beautiful take on the classic ‘Alfie’. It will be released on a limited edition 7” vinyl, designed by Rumer herself, and will also be available to download and buy on CD from December 13th. Rumer will headline London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on December 17th, which has now sold out, ahead of further live dates and her next official single in early 2011.
‘Some Lovers’ is Burt Bacharach’s first new recording in five years. His work with Rumer began in March, when, for a brief time, she found herself stranded in America as a result of the relentless volcanic ash. It was then that she got the phone call: Burt Bacharach had heard her songs, and wanted to meet her. She describes it as the happiest moment of her life, and days later, made her way alone to Mr Bacharach’s Californian home. Rumer was shown into the drawing room where, as she aptly describes him, “the greatest living composer of the twentieth century” was sitting with Steven Sater; perhaps best known from the award-winning Broadway and West End musical, ‘Spring Awakening’. Sater and Bacharach were working on songs for a brand new musical, ‘The Gift of The Magi’, based around a love story set across several Christmases. Rumer, armed with Sater’s lyrics, then sang one of these numbers as Burt played along on the piano: an incredible – thought understandably intimidating – experience, which she quite literally took away with her. For Bacharach gave Rumer the sheet music to the song she had sung, and invited her to work on it back in England with her own producer, Steve Brown.
The end result, ‘Some Lovers’, is pure magic; a soaring love song, lyrically inspired by that first flush of feeling, and the blossoming of a new romance. Though Christmas is very much at the roots of the song, it is not, as such, a seasonal song. There is, for instance, that classic Broadway swing that, Rumer confesses, is totally out of her comfort zone, but feels right at home amidst the classic movie musicals that inspired her as a child. At the song’s heart, though, is the timeless melodic flair and instant, comforting familiarity that could only come from Burt Bacharach. Somewhat ironically, Rumer had woken her boyfriend the morning she visited Burt – thrilled at the prospect of meeting her hero - by jokingly exclaiming, “Wake up! It’s Christmas!” Hours later, she found herself singing a song written about that same sense of excitement. The release comes backed with a live cover of ‘Alfie’, a personal favourite of Rumer’s, which she debuted during her spellbinding set at London’s Tabernacle
Discussing the project, Burt Bacharach affirms that “It’s so nice to have a singer just sing a song without the frills or the diva tricks. Rumer really delivers the goods!” Sater, too, observed the distinct emotional mark that Rumer made on the pair’s production: “what I always hear in Rumer is the struggle of her heart. And that’s what moves me in her songs. When she sings, “Some lovers are dreamers”, I believe her.” The experience and, indeed, this one-off release caps off an astonishing 2010 for Rumer: she has become the fastest selling new artist of the year, having already sold over 100,000 copies of ‘Season Of My Soul’ (only released November 1st). “When Burt Bacharach gives you a song to sing,” she says, “it is simply a dream come true. We wanted to honour that by making something really special for Christmas.”
============================================
There's an article in the new issue of Mojo magazine where Rumer also talks about the thrill of meeting and working with Burt. I can't wait to hear this new song!
.