Audio CD review:
Burt Bacharach - What the World Needs Now: Burt Bacharach Classics

Burt Bacharach - What the World Needs Now: Burt Bacharach Classics

Band: Burt Bacharach Title: What the World Needs Now: Burt Bacharach Classics Rating: Release Date: 05 August, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Something Big 2: Do You Know The Way To San Jose? 3: What The World Needs Now Is Love 4: I Say A Little Prayer 5: Walk On By (Live) 6: Nikki 7: This Guy's In Love With You 8: Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head 9: The Look Of Love 10: Message To Michael 11: (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me 12: I'll Never Fall In Love Again 13: A House Is Not A Home 14: One Less Bell To Answer 15: Reach Out For Me 16: Make It Easy On Yourself 17: (They Long To Be) Close To You 18: Trains And Boats And Planes 19: Any Day Now 20: Alfie 21: Knowing When To Leave 22: Promises, Promises 23: Medley: Don't Make Me Over/Anyone Who Had A Heart/What's New Pussycat/Wives And Lovers/24 Hours From Tulsa (Live)

Editoral Review But as this generous, 23-track compilation skillfully underscores, there was considerably more at work in Bacharach's canon than mere golden formula. Five decades strong, Burt Bacharach's songwriting career has influenced artists as diverse as Marty Robbins and Oasis and brightened stages from the Great White Way to Tinseltown, forging a body of work that rivals any of the great pop composers of the last century. Like Gershwin, Bacharach suffused his songs with jazz (and other) influences, giving their laconic rhythms and loping melodies a distinctive, yet deceptively straightforward elegance. More importantly, Bacharach's talents as a producer and arranger insured an unencumbered musical vision, as these largely instrumental arrangements (most culled from a series of 60s/70s solo albums for A&M and Kapp) of many of his biggest hits attest. While his guileless vocals charm "Something Big," "A House is Not a Home," "Close to You"and especially the cabaret drama of "Make It Easy On Yourself," it's his deft way with a studio ensemble that's center stage here. Breezy, often inflected with a Brazilian sense of jazz-cool, these tracks may have originally been intended as an easy-listening alternative during the height of the rock era; ironically, they ended up as a warm musical bridge between the generations. --Jerry McCulley .. You can see a complete list of all Burt Bacharach discography, or go back to the Burt Bacharach tabs