Through the looking glass with Burt Bacharach... part 4

The Burt Bacharach albums and soundtracks

If I've not lost you on the way, I'm about to share the deepest secret of my Burtoholism. So far, maybe people might say I'm going a little overboard, but who doesn't like the '60s pop charts or Dionne Warwick? I'm just taking it a little further than most. But 9 times out of 10 when I grab for some Bacharach, I'll grab one of the albums in this last section. The undiluted, full-on Burt experience. Just him and his orchestra. I let the smoothness and lush orchestration roll over me. To me this is what real emotion sounds like, you see. These records are playing at my house all the time, and so I am passing the condition on to my loved ones. We can all sing the Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid soundtrack by heart. We know no other life.

After a trial solo single in 1963, the mid-60s saw Burt branch out into soundtrack (rather than theme song) work and (mostly) instrumental collections of 'easy' versions of the hits. Two early soundtracks, 1965's What's New Pussycat and 1966's After The Fox have been released, but I've never see them in my pricerange. 1966's Casino Royale is a delightful patchwork of short thems and cues. I suppose there's not much holding it together, but since I appreciate all of the little moments I don't mind.

Meanwhile, 1965's Hit Maker is a routine runthrough of the hits of that moment. Sounds like a quick cash-in. Of all the Bacharach albums, it's the one I'm least likely to turn to. 1967's Reach Out is a great improvement. Highlights are the swinging '60s instrumental 'Bond street' and a heartbreaking performance (Burt singing!) of 'A house is not a home'.

All of 1968's efforts were tied in with the Promises, Promises Broadway musical. Burt returned to the main songs time and again, cutting them as singles for different artists, including a selection on a tie-in Dionne LP that year. Then there was the original cast recording, which is not to be overlooked. Some of the material is a little more narrative than melodic though. I admit I like the versions on the next 'regular' Bacharach album, 1969's Make It Easy On Yourself, best.

Like this one: 'Wanting things'

Of the non-Broadway songs, there's a nice composition 'She's gone away' which doesn't appear anywhere else.

The 1969 soundtrack to Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid is not only my favorite Bacharach album, it's one of my favorite albums of all time. Pure melodic bliss.

'South American getaway'

The early '70s saw more great solo albums. 1971's self-titled album has 'All kinds of people' amidst the familiar songs on side 1, while side 2 has original compositions.

'And the people were with her'

1973's Living Together has another one of my favorite Bacharach moments, 'Something big', and beautiful arrangements of a number of songs from Lost Horizon, the movie musical failure Hal & Burt saw as their last stand.

The soundtrack albums for that movie is another one of my favorites (I know, I've got a lot).

The theme song: 'Lost horizon'

After the split with Hal and Dionne, Burt set out touring. 1974's 'In concert' is a magical live album. Musically he was still on a roll. It's wonderful hearing these amazing musicians bring the material to life. I've not seen Burt in concert, but that's one of the tickets I'd love to ever see in this lifetime.

Afterwards, Burt started to drift. 1977's Futures is one of the most depressing albums I know. I can't take it, though individual songs are good. Forget about the classic breakup albums, this is the staying together for the kids, watching happiness pass you by, midlife crisis album – a very Bacharach theme. Sample titles: 'I took my strength from you (I had none)', 'We should have met sooner' (before mortgages, apparently), 'No one remembers my name', 'The young grow younger every day', (I missed you by) 'Seconds'. 'When you bring your love to me' is Burt doing a great, sleazy Steel Dan. But by 1979's Woman album Burt is on autopilot.

There are more recent albums, but the only one I've investigated is the Costello collaboration, 1998's Painted From Memory. I like it a lot. 'God give me strength' is one of the best songs of the '90s.