No comments about Burt Bacharach Anthology [Songbook].

No comments about All Time Favorite Burt Bacharach Classics.

No comments about Bacharach & David Song Book [Songbook].

No comments about Bacharach and David - American Classics.

1 comments about The Songs of Bacharach and David.

1. Sheet music for 23 B&D songs. Piano arrangements are on the simple side, guitar chords are adequate (doesn't overdo it by attempting to follow every voicing in the piano part -- but does do this to some extent). Song selection: generally good, with a few odd choices (where's "What's New Pussycat"?): Alfie, Always Something There to Remind Me, Anyone Who Had a Heart, April Fools, Close to You, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, Don't Make Me Over, House is Not a Home, I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself, I Say a Little Prayer, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, Look of Love, Magic Moments, Make It Easy on Yourself, Message to Michael, One Less Bell to Answer, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head, This Guy's in Love with You, Trains and Boats and Planes, Walk on By, What the World Needs Now is Love, Wishin' and Hopin', Wives and Lovers.

2 comments about Burt Bacharach: Anthology.

1. What can I say! I love Burt and I love this book



2. This has all the right songs, best combination for the money.

4 comments about Burt Bacharach: Song By Song.

1. Serene Dominic has written the book that anyone interested in Bacharach (or popular music of the 20th century) has been waiting for. This amazingly complete discography is written in such a breezy, amusing style you won't be able to put it down. Reproductions of period graphics, such as record jackets and sheet music covers help readers place the songs in the context of their times. Burt Bacharach himself vouches for the book's accuracy on a cover blurb. Well-researched, informative, colorful, and fun to read, this is sure to become a classic of pop music literature.



2. In an amazing feat of research and Bacharach fandom, Dominic Salerno traces the maestro's every songwriting move, from 1952 to the present. Going in, I considered myself a knowledgable Bacharach fan, but there I was, surprised and delighted by some new fact or tidbit on nearly every page. As Burt admits in a back-of-the-book interview, Dominic knows more about the back catalog than he does himself. Highly recommended!



3. I found this book fascinating but flawed. Author Dominic has done a great service to those interested in the music of Burt Bacharach. Via this tome, I discovered several Bacharach tunes previously unknown to me. I also found that the original versions of certain songs were not the hit versions.
   There is more trivia than a person could ask for scattered throughout this book. If it were written more seriously, with less attempts at puns, cutdowns, shaggy dog stories and quips, I think it would be a far stronger work. Dominic just cannot resist any opportunity to make a funny. At times, his quips are amusing, but more often, they invalidate his critical voice.
   Another problem I had with the book was its organization. Dominic groups the Bacharach songs into periods of two to three years. Within those periods, the songs are presented in chronological order, as they were first recorded and released. This is fine, and I salute Dominic's scholarship.
   But [and you knew there would be a 'but'!] there is no other way to cross-index the songs. Thus, eyestrain and brainstrain set in as the reader scans pages and paragraphs in search of a certain song. Many readers are not going to have this chronology in their heads. Had Dominic included an alphabetical song index in the back of the book, he would have made his work easier to access and more usable.
   The post-1970s chapters are rough going, as Bacharach sinks into MOR mire, and Dominic struggles to find something of value to say about this work. He perks up considerably when Elvis Costello's collaboration occurs in the 1990s.
   This book is loaded with interesting memorabilia--record sleeves, labels, etc.--and is well worth owning and reading. I just wish the tone had been less jocular and more refined. Sometimes I could hear the voice of Groucho Marx narrating the book as I read it. Comedy is a fine thing, but it is a strange bedfellow of scholarship.
   This book is a valuable resource for anyone else attempting to write a 'song by song' volume for other composers. I appreciate the groundwork Dominic has achieved with this book.



4. So promises the cover. "For fans, serious record collectors, and music critics." Song by song, we presume.
   
   What we get, instead, is snarky rock-style journalism--to be sure, many of Bacharach's early titles are trashed for (among other crimes) not being rock and roll. (What were they supposed to sound like??) Not that anyone ever went broke critiquing music from a rock-good/pop-bad perspective, but shouldn't there have been some warning that this was the same cliched, mean-toned prose to be found everywhere else?
   
   Song analysis is next to none, and what little we get is occasionally bizarre. Ferrante and Teicher made a career of contrary-motion glissandos, claims the author, for example. I make a point of avoiding such inane, reductive journalism, and I had every reason to expect something more from this volume. Otherwise, I'd happily give it two or three stars, just for the fun photos and facts. Because of the false advertising, one star.

No comments about Burt Bacharach: Easy Piano.

1 comments about Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach: Painted from Memory : Piano/Vocal/Chords (Essential Groups & Artists).

1. I cannot believe that there is not a review for this album posted! I LOVE this album. I love the sound of Elvis Costello's vocals backed by Bacharach. And the background vocals! Oh sensory overload. Great production. Soulful vocals. Melodies to die for. And those arrangements...oh man! What are you waiting for? Go get it!

1 comments about Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now.

1. Even though they were one of the greatest songwriting teams of the 1960's, there's never been a book written about Bacharach and David. "Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now" is the first. It is full of strong archival material and includes Platts' interviews with Burt and Hal, plus many artists, including Dionne Warwick, Gene Pitney, and B.J. Thomas. The book is a detailed wealth of information of this songwriting team's body of work. A must read for Bacharach/David fans, musicians and music historians. The book tells the complete story of Bacharach and David's songwriting partnership, from the 1950s to their reunion in the 90s. The book includes color photos of record sleeves, a detailed discography, chart information and a comprehensive list of every song Bacharach and David wrote together. Robin Platts' style of writing is comfortable and concise. As a songwriter myself, I was inspired by this book.