Is this guy the shit or what. I love this guys writting, sneaking in the odd bar of 5/4 & 7/4 is one of own traits

God bless

Lewis

burt bacharach is genius.
listen to "tower of strength"

Very Important Composer back in the day together with Hal David.He understood Lyrics quite well IMHO.

Ill never fall in love again.

Walk on by

Burt Bacharach is a legend! U'd b surprised how many songs this guy has had on his pinky in...

"Walk On By" by Dionne Warwick.Man,I LOVE that song!!

"I just can't get over losing you,so if I seem broken in two,Walk On By...Walk On By...Foolish pride is all that I have left so let me hide the tears and the sadness you gave me when you said good-bye...Walk On By (don't stop)

DavidEye said:

listen to the 12 minute version of that song by isaac hayes. a mindblower. stanley turrentine's version aoint too band either

soulpower said:

Oh yes,I know about the Isaac Hayes version! I have the Isaac Hayes CD 'Hot Buttered Soul',which has only FOUR SONGS on the entire record! Each song is incredibly LONG!!

DavidEye said:

"by the tiiime I get to phoenix..."

On the "Shaft" soundtrack,the song "Do Your Thing" is like 21 minutes long!! Isaac would jam a song into the ground...lol...

DavidEye said:

FYI I used to date his daughter. thats the way I got to meet him. he's real cool, kicks back in his houses in atlanta and hollywood and gets high all day.

Burt Bacharach is extremely talented...

I can't believe that nobody has mentioned his brilliant collaboration with the absolutely brilliant Elvis Costello.

---

October 1, 1998

Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach - Painted from Memory (Mercury)
It's about time Burt Bacharach got his due. Long unjustly sneered at by a younger generation for representing an old- school establishment -- due mainly to his mistimed prominence for hit pop songwriting during the '60s age of rebellion -- his masterful craftmanship is now finally coming to light for a new generation, and rightly so. Anyone who respects melody cannot overlook his contributions to the pop pantheon -- among them such elegant wonders as "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "Walk On By," and "I Say a Little Prayer," all hits for his main '60s mouthpiece, Dionne Warwick.

But Bacharach has found a new champion in longtime fan Elvis Costello, and a finer pairing could not have been dreamed up. As much as Bacharach's most famous lyricist partner, Hal David, fit words to melodies like an old shoe, he is not the wordsmith Costello is. David's philosophy was this: less is more, say it quick, and get the hell out of the way of those gorgeous melodic twists and turns.

Costello, on the other hand, works on several levels at once: subtlety, irony, alliteration, and good ole this- line- just- sounds- great- so-let's- leave- it- in playfulness. And that's the exhilarating part: on his side, Bacharach himself works on just as many musical levels, constructing melodies that rise, fall, and turn unexpectedly, ignoring the usual verse/ chorus/ bridge rules and setting his own (there are bridges inside of bridges), yet somehow polishing his mini- symphonies so that they end up as three-minute pop songs that sound simplistically, magically elegant. Combine the two sides and the result is an album of exquisite, almost perfect pop songs.

Almost because they lack one thing -- heart. That's the odd part. Certainly both writers have left the most personal sides of themselves on countless works in the past, yet both feel slightly restrained here -- on paper, this is a perfect marriage, but on record, it's a first date. Costello sings a little too politely, perhaps trying to emulate Warwick. And despite the lush orchestration -- sweeping strings, backup singers, tinkling pianos, etc. -- one senses too much tentativeness. Ballads this beautiful require a dose of emotion to truly pierce, yet those moments are too few.

The exceptions: a fleeting line in "The Sweetest Punch," where Costello seems to lose himself in jealousy ("Then you better go to him"); most of "Toledo," a sad reflection of a dreamer's dull life in Toledo, Ohio, who idealizes the city of the same name in Spain (think Paris, Texas); and all six-plus minutes of "God Give Me Strength," the song that started this partnership, which originally appeared in the Allison Anders film Grace of My Heart, and which simply bursts with the thrill of discovery -- of Bacharach's comeback and of this duo's potential -- as well as sinewy melody, and even plenty of pain.

But even if, at its weakest points, it feels like an exercise, it's always a delicious listen. In the end, both songwriters are such accomplished, detailed craftsmen that they refuse -- especially in collaboration -- to sign their names to anything that doesn't represent their best efforts.

John Bitzer

Copyright © 1994-1999 CDNOW, Inc. All rights reserved.

Yeah, the Elvis Costello- Burt Bacharach album was probably my favorite album of 1998.

DavidEye said:

yeah he would.You better make Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner,&a Midnight Snack by the time He was done with His Song.lol!!!

damn...i have spent many-o-nights listening to God Give Me Strenght...a modern classic completly ignored by the public...

IceNine said:

check my profile. one of my all-time favorites.

Aaron said:

I checked your profile and you have once again proven that you are cool! It is in there!!!

There is also a picture of a horrible sea creature... possibly the mythological creature, The Kraken.

Goddamn, that is one UGLY bitch!