Costello song on new Bacharach album

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 2:20 pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/n ... 227326.stm

Stephen Smith's interview with Burt Bacharach will be shown on Newsnight on Thursday, 8 September at 10.30pm.

Bacharach still calling the tune
By Stephen Smith
BBC Newsnight

The lore of Tin Pan Alley has it that legendary song-writer Burt Bacharach reduced a young Cilla Black to tears in the sanctified studios of Abbey Road.

He was insisting on take after take in the sessions which eventually yielded Cilla's classic version of Alfie.

It's also said that the title of one of the hits he penned for Dionne Warwick, Don't Make Me Over, was lifted word for word from her bitter reproach after he gave another singer a tune she thought was rightfully hers.

They say you should never meet your heroes because they'll only disappoint you. What nobody warns you against is the danger that you'll disappoint them. All in all, it was with some trepidation that your correspondent awaited the ruthless tunesmith on the terrace of a luxurious hotel suite.

Barely an hour overdue, a blink of an eye by the standards of showbiz royalty, the whip-thin figure of Bacharach emerged onto the patio in a pristine tracksuit - he finesses sportswear as if it were Armani - and I discovered that my apprehensions had been right. Or at least half-right.

Bacharach ("Call me Burt") is geniality itself in person, happy to chat about soccer and generous about a new generation of performers who idolise him and crave his approval.

Perfectionist

But the veteran composer did own up to tormenting the nation's Scouse sweetheart. "I think I made Cilla do 31 takes," he recalled matter-of-factly. "We had Sir George Martin sitting in the booth and I think we wound up with take number one... I was just looking for 100%. From everybody, the orchestra and Cilla... All that mattered was the record came out the way I wanted it to come out."

Bacharach is comfortable with the label of "perfectionist", though this scarcely does justice to his steely micro-management, and it's clear that shelves groaning with Oscars and Emmys have come at considerable cost.

His muse has been a minx.

"It's like this jukebox in my head at night. It's taken me a while to accept it, that this is the price you pay. I remember working on Alfie and trying to finish it. I went to see a play. And I'm watching this play, but I'm still working on Alfie, so I'm not watching the play. So I lose on both. I don't enjoy the play and I don't finish what I'm working on with Alfie.

"The fastest song I ever wrote was I'll Never Fall In Love Again because we were out on the road on a Broadway show called Promises Promises and it had to go in the show as quickly as possible. I'd been in a hospital for five days with pneumonia. And that's where that line came from - 'What do you do when you kiss a girl - get enough germs to catch pneumonia - after you do - she'll never phone you.' Wrote that in one afternoon flat."

Charts come first

But coughs and sneezes, and even distracted evenings in the stalls, have been the least of it. Bacharach, now 78, has had more marriages than most stars his age have had plastic surgery. Even now, those charts come first. "It can lead to pretty self-centred behaviour. I don't get up in the morning with the kids. I should."

His new album, released at the end of next month, sees Bacharach reunited with sometime co-worker Elvis Costello, for an uncharacteristically "political" song entitled Who Are These People? It reflects a disillusion with world leaders.

Bacharach says he's not afraid of a possible backlash against him in the United States - "I'm not afraid of anything" - and is excited that the CD sees him in the unlikely company of Dr Dre, Eminem's producer and purveyor of beats to the quality.

"With me, it's a whole sponge-like absorption of all these influences and a chance to express them," he explains.

End on a song?

Finally, just how tough is he - as tough as James Brown, perhaps, who famously fines his musicians if they play bum notes?

"You know what, I had a great message on my Ansaphone from James Brown! It was shortly after Elvis and I had been presented at the Grammy presentation, at New York, Madison Square Garden. James Brown called me up and said 'Burt, we got to work, we gotta do something, we gotta make a record. And just remember this - don't make me over!' I wish I still had that message."

At This Time by Burt Bacharach is released in October.

Stephen Smith's interview with Burt Bacharach will be shown on Newsnight on Thursday, 8 September at 10.30pm.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Title: AT THIS TIME
Track Listing:

1. Please Explain
2. Where Did It Go?
3. In Our Time
4. Who Are These People?
5. Is Love Enough?
6. Can't Give It Up
7. Go Ask Shakespeare
8. Dreams
9. Danger
10. Fade Away
11. Always Taking Aim
Release Date: 09-27-05
Label: Columbia
Selection #: 097734 (1C97734 )

Branst · Post by **Branst** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 3:34 pm

Yes!! New Bacharach!!

verena · Post by **verena** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:25 pm

Well I'm gonna make a note to get that cd.

I loved to listen to "don't make me over" when I was 2 years old and I think it was a source of strength all through my childhood (which happened to be quite shitty !

)

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 6:19 pm

Now this really makes my day. And

"Who Are These People?" -- Now THAT could be a real zeitgeist catcher if the stars allign properly somehow. People are starting to get angry here -- once thing to #$@#$#@ up a foreign land, we've been doing that for several decades but, well, you know..... Anyhow, has a real Jerry Seinfeld ring to it.

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:02 am

From listserv -

Burt Bacharach's new solo album (At this time) is released next month.
He
was on the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2 this afternoon ( Tuesday, Sept. 13th) , and one of
the
tracks played was "Who are these people" which features vocals by BB
and
(briefly) EC.

If you want to hear this track (and Burt's appearance on the show) you
can
listen again here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks ... wright_tue#

(needs realplayer) Burt comes on about 2 hours 30 minutes into the 3
hour
long show. Thankfully, you can advance forward 15 minutes at a time,
to get
to where you want to start (just after the Coldplay track - Fix you).

Nick

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:07 am

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/musi ... 312673.ece

Burt Bacharach: What the world needs now

Once the world's smoothest crooner, Burt Bacharach is now collaborating with Dr Dre and attacking President Bush. He tells John Walsh why he's swapped easy-listening for tough-talking

Published: 15 September 2005

( extract)

Check out the lyrics on the new album, At This Time - the first on which he's supplied most of the words - and you find a sustained lament for the modern world. On "Who Are These People?" there's a line about "this stupid mess we're in" and Costello sings: "Seems like these liars will inherit the earth." Were the liars the Bush administration or al-Qa'ida? "I've always had a problem with people who couldn't tell the truth or admit a mistake and say they're wrong. And wouldn't it be great if Bush said, 'I fucked up, I misjudged, it was my mistake'... I think Bush is just about the poorest president we've ever had. You'd have to go back before I was born to find a worse one. If you're not in agreement with whatever he wants, well, he's not the smartest guy in the room, and his reaction process is pretty much what we saw at 9/11, when they told him in the classroom about the towers and he went on reading the kids' book, and then disappeared for a day in the sky." Bacharach's face creases in pain. "If he'd said just once: 'Boy. I hope you accept my apology as a country,' or showed some humanity..."

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:01 am

johnfoyle wrote:http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/musi ... 312673.ece

Burt Bacharach: What the world needs now

Once the world's smoothest crooner, Burt Bacharach is now collaborating with Dr Dre and attacking President Bush. He tells John Walsh why he's swapped easy-listening for tough-talking

Published: 15 September 2005

( extract)

On "Who Are These People?" there's a line about "this stupid mess we're in" and Costello sings: "Seems like these liars will inherit the earth." Were the liars the Bush administration or al-Qa'ida? "I've always had a problem with people who couldn't tell the truth or admit a mistake and say they're wrong. And wouldn't it be great if Bush said, 'I fucked up, I misjudged, it was my mistake'...

I wonder if this is where Elvis' new ending to Scarlet Tide came from.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:47 am

apologies to bobster, but I thought it was a pretty bad song. as in sometimes bad is bad.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:29 am

Did you guys see that??? Moody dissed bobster!!

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:33 am

I think my man is gonna have to come back strong with the pimp hand here to keep things in line.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:59 pm

oh, hush. If it came down to it, I'd pretend to like the song for bobster.

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:37 pm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 38-8929454

At This Time
Burt Bacharach
Audio CD (October 18, 2005)

Label: Sony
ASIN: B000BF0E5A

http://bacharachonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE
MUSIC/LYRICS: BURT BACHARACH

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE
THAT KEEP TELLING US LIES
AND HOW DID THESE PEOPLE GET CONTROL OF OUR LIVES
AND WHO’LL STOP THE VIOLENCE CAUSE IT’S OUT OF CONTROL
MAKE THEM STOP

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE
THAT DESTROY EVERYTHING
AND SELL OFF THE FUTURE FOR WHATEVER IT BRINGS
AND WHAT KIND OF LEADERS
CAN’T ADMIT WHEN THEY’RE WRONG
MAKE THEM STOP

( Sung by Elvis)
THIS STUPID MESS WE’RE IN JUST KEEPS GETTING WORST
SO MANY PEOPLE DYING NEEDLESSLY
LOOKS LIKE THESE LIARS MAY INHERIT THE EARTH
PRETENDING TO PRAY AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:56 pm

and it's even worse with music!!

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:58 pm

Yes, truly one of the lamest lyrics Elvis has been associated with.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:43 pm

Really awful. Sounds like something a high-school student might have written.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:04 am

mood swung wrote:and it's even worse with music!!

Where/how did you hear it? I'm a confused little technopeasant.

But, yes, my enthusiasm would have been somewhat muted had I realized that Burt would actually be writing the lyrics. And now I know why, though there have been days when I mentally ran around chicken-with-head-cut-off-style with my hands over my ears yelling "make them stop!"

Oh well, there goes my hope of an adult-contemporary protest song for the ages. Guess I'll have to be content with "Windows on the World."

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:51 am

well, I'm a technopeasant too, but I clicked on this, which Mr. Foyle provided

If you want to hear this track (and Burt's appearance on the show) you
can
listen again here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks ... wright_tue#

(needs realplayer) Burt comes on about 2 hours 30 minutes into the 3
hour
long show. Thankfully, you can advance forward 15 minutes at a time,
to get
to where you want to start (just after the Coldplay track - Fix you).

Nick

it's the tuesday 9/13 show and I think it will soon be gone.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:35 pm

Did I mention I was also a lazy technopeasant?

verena · Post by **verena** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:34 pm

Wellcome to the club !

And No Coffee Table · Post by **And No Coffee Table** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:30 pm

MusicTAP.net says the US release date is November 1.

Bad Ambassador · Post by **Bad Ambassador** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:50 pm

Not heard it yet? Have a Click

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 1:03 pm

God, that really is a pile of poo. And those cheesy keyboards?

Ouch. Not Burt's best effort.

Bad Ambassador · Post by **Bad Ambassador** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 1:04 pm

T'is rather shit. Not as bad as the woeful thing poor old Rufus Wainwright ended up lumbered with.

And No Coffee Table · Post by **And No Coffee Table** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 3:07 pm

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/artic ... 1001219531

Bacharach Spends 'Time' With Costello, Dr. Dre

By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Burt Bacharach gets assistance from Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Dr. Dre on his first solo album since 1977, "At This Time." Due Nov. 1 via Columbia, the 11-track set finds the 77-year-old songwriter deviating from the love songs for which he is best known on tracks like the anti-violence ode "Who Are These People," which is sung by Costello.

"I had to express myself, not only musically but lyrically," Bacharach says. "It was time for me to ask, 'Who are these people who are taking control of our lives and how do we stop the violence?' I've got two little kids and a 19-year-old son and I wonder what they're going to do with their lives. It's so personal to me that I even decided to do some of the singing."

Wainwright takes the mic for "Go Ask Shakespeare," while trumpeter Chris Botti performs on and co-wrote "Dreams." And while Bacharach and Dr. Dre's planned more extensive collaboration never came to fruition, the rap pioneer wound up contributing drum loops to three cuts on "At This Time."

"I feel it is the most important album I have made and I am very proud of it," Bacharach says. "I'm pleased that Columbia is joining me in this journey, because these times require passion and emotion."

Among the other vocalists represented on the new album are John Pagano, Josie James and Donna Taylor.

Here is the track list for "At This Time":

"Please Explain"
"Where Did It Go?"
"In Our Time" featuring Chris Botti
"Who Are These People?" featuring Elvis Costello
"Is Love Enough?"
"Can't Give Up"
"Go Ask Shakespeare" featuring Rufus Wainwright
"Dreams" featuring Chris Botti
"Danger"
"Fade Away"
"Always Taking Aim"

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:01 pm

Reviews and coverage of Burt Bachrach's new album have mentioned Elvis. However , in this interview in The Times ( done by Rufus Wainwright) Burt seems to be a little confused....

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... _2,00.html

(extract)

BB. Listen, the album I did with Elvis Costello, Drawn from Memory, never even got played on the radio over there. Will working with Dre help this album? I’m sure it will, but that’s not why you work with Dre. His drum loops served as an inspirational springboard. I’m very passionate about this album, and I’m so glad we’ve got you on the album, Rufus, because people gravitate to your particular track, Go Ask Shakespeare. I wish you were on another track.