Burt Bacharach - A Life in Song
Any list of the great
songwriters of the 1960s have a certain group of usual suspects
Lennon/McCartney, Dylan, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon. Right up at the top
of that list is the songwriting and arranging team of Burt Bacharach and Hal
David, whose smooth and surprisingly complex music and arrangements pretty
much created an entire musical style.
Bacharach and David may
have been a little less visible than some of those names, because they did
not sing their own songs, preferring to use a revolving stable of singers
including Tom Jones, The Carpenters, BJ Thomas, Herb Alpert, Jackie De
Shannon and particularly Bacharach's muse, Dionne Warwick. Together, they
put together some of the most melodically complex and yet
spectacularly evocative singles of the decade as well as putting
together an original sound which was unmistakable.
Their songbook includes
some of the most perfect songs of the decade, including "Walk On By," "I Say
A Little Prayer," "Always Something There To Remind Me," "What's New
Pussycat," "The Windows of the World," "(They Long To Be) Close To You," "Do
You Know the Way To San Jose," "Promises, Promises," "The Look of Love,"
"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "This Guy's In Love With You," and
many, many more. Bacharach also continued to have hits periodically over
the decades later with other lyricists, including Carole Bayer Sager and
Elvis Costello, including such classics as "That's What Friends Are For,"
"On My Own," "God Give Me Strength," and "Arthur's Theme - The Best That You
Can Do."
This televised British
special, filmed in late 2015, has Bacharach answering questions reminiscing
about his career music in between live performances by a diverse stable of
British singers including Joss Stone, Moody Blues front man Justin Heyward,
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Laura Mvula, Shaun Escoffery, Rebecca Ferguson (X-Factor)
and even the maestro himself. (Bacharach's voice is a ragged instrument at
best, but years of performing these songs lends them a deep understanding
and lived-in passion that almost overcomes his
vocal deficiencies.)
Bacharach's reminisces on
his work and his method are always intriguing although I wholeheartedly
reject his perpetuating the popular myth and making the suggestion that
Aretha Franklin's version of "I Say A Little Prayer" is a better take of the
song than Dionne Warwick's near-perfect original recording and give a
little insight into the creative process of a musical savant. There are
also some surprising revelations who knew that Bacharach was an aspiring
football player before finding his way into songwriting? which make the
interview segments more than just a buffer for some spectacular music.
Musically, this is just
about perfect, some of the most perfect pieces of songcraft from the last
century being lovingly shared. Unfortunately, being a new millennium of
singers, some of the performers have the tendency to over-sing these
delicate melodies (which is, by the way, is exactly the reason that
Warwick's "I Say a Little Prayer" smokes Aretha's overblown cover), but
these are some iconic songs, mostly sung extremely well.
Occasionally the
arrangements have a little bit of a Vegas-y feel, particularly on the movie
medley in which each of the songs is worthy of a whole performance, not
being smashed together. However with a huge, iconic songbook, this special
could have gone on for hours if they tried to pay tribute to all the worthy
music which Bacharach has created. A Life in Song is a terrific
tribute to a one of the most distinctive songwriters and arrangers of the
20th Century.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2016 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 6,
2016.
