The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

The linked article: http://theseconddisc.com/2013/01/07/bur ... -mcdonald/ discusses a movie project which was a little edgy but involved Burt and Paul Anka... So a little symmetry going on there: but thanks to Sony a new Burt CD

David

Just want to say I have this on CD and it's an amazing album. I've been listening to it over & over, Such an overlooked gem, I prefer it to Woman & Futures, it's in the same sophisticated musical mould, but it's tighter, more focused maybe due to the short duration of the LP...Imagine this beautiful music coming out in the middle of disco & punk...Jackie Deshannon is brilliant, Michael McDonald too...for me this is a must have Bacharach record.

I've had the LP for years and will look out for the CD. It's strange but it wasn't until I heard Karima's recent BB arranged and produced version of 'I've Got My Mind Made Up' that I fell in love with the song, and that's coming from a real Michael McDonald admirer!

Yes Martin, it's like the hearing the song anew. What a wonderful tone Karima has to her voice, not too dissimilar to our old friend Trijntje Oosterhuis. Incidentally, I found it a little surprising that neither of these two ladies merited a mention in Bacharach's book considering that one gave him his first Top 10 single anywhere for over twenty years as a composer/arranger/producer and the other has recorded two complete albums of his songs, again with his involvement.

That song.........


"blue"

Martin,
Very sorry, I didn't know you had already posted it.

My sincerest apologies,
"blue"

I am not a fan of the Karima cover, it's very well sung, but the original is very special, unbeatable & sounds incredible on CD. The combination of the sax, McDonald's voice & the female singer makes it a real winner.

Dear spanisheyes, the female vocalist on "I've Got My Mind Made Up" is Mortonette Jenkins. Additional background vocalists: Venetta Fields, Maxine Willard, Julia Tillman, Jackie De Shannon and Paul Anka.

I was surprised to see Paul Anka listed as co-producer, I wonder how that actually worked in the studio, did they both actually work together in the studio?
And also, was this the first collaboration between Mr. Bacharach and Jeremy Lubbock joining forces as orchestrators?
One last question: David Gest is listed as "Public Relations". Wasn't he once married to Liza Minnelli? Was Mr. Gest a publicist for Burt Bacharach at that time?

My suspicion is that many of the credits for this dodgy project were legal fictions. I seem to recall that Gest, in particular, was a sleazy piece of work.
Perhaps someone with more intimate knowledge (Joe?) can illuminate some of these questions.