Burt Bacharach
1928-2023
By Terry Staunton
Burt Bacharach was something of a paradox. He and lyricist Hal David were rooted in the elegance of an earlier generation and the romantic love (but more often loss) of standards from the Great American Songbook, yet within those parameters there existed a compositional daring that was groundbreaking in terms of three-to four-minute singles.
Paul McCartney took note, applying himself to increasingly elaborate musical paths when The Beatles stopped touring and more diligently explored their craft in the studio; so did Brian Wilson, once revealing he obsessed over Bacharach's Are You There (With Another Girl)? while constructing Beach Boys songs for Pet Sounds; and Bacharach's DNA is evident in the rule-bending, tempo-shifting hits Jimmy Webb penned for Glen Campbell, Richard Harris and The 5th Dimension.
At times during his lengthy career Bacharach was tarred with the dismissive brush of "easy listening," an embodiment of the cocktails and turtleneck crowd where style invariably trumped substance, but ultimately his was music that transcended fad, fashion, or formula. Nonetheless, he was happy to send himself up via cameos in Mike Myers' Austin Powers films and took wry pleasure in seeing his name mentioned in 21st-century magazine articles on "Mad Men chic," his pristine, precise compositions musical shorthand for the urbane sophistication of the awards-laden TV series.
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Record Collector.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Record Collector.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
"THINGS CAN GO VERY BADLY WRONG"
But not too often. The Iron Maiden singer, aviator, business mogul and awardwinning everyman, Bruce Dickinson, returns with a new solo album, The Mandrake Project – Top 10 across the planet at the time of writing – and a ton of anecdotes about his extraordinarily successful career. Just don’t try and put him in a box. “I’m not a number, I’m a free man!” he warns Joel McIver.
Out Of The Darkness
Long-anticipated solo debut from Portishead singer is worth the wait
Clearing The Way
The end of an era for Bolan's glam-rock trailblazers.
SOCK IT TO ME DISC-ITS! WHEN TWO TRIBES VINYL AND CD (AND CASSETTE) WENT TO WAR
Dream, if you can, a courtyard. An ocean of violets in bloom. Alternatively, a 1984 record shop and all its pristine treasures. Close your eyes, let’s go there together. What do you see? From chest-level down – vinyl.
Steve Harley 1951-2024
As frontman for Cockney Rebel, the singer-songwriter crafted one of the glam rock era's greatest singles in Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).
The Collector
Swiss-based Icelander Sunna Margrét is a rising force in experimental pop. Having begun her career as a teenager touring with electro-pop ensemble Bloodgroup, she is about to release her debut full-length solo LP, Finger on Tongue.
She'd only Just gun
With their rapturous harmonies, the Carpenters dominated the 70s’ airwaves, selling over 100 million records with hits like Close To You and Yesterday Once More. But by 1979, lead singer Karen was seeking a new direction… Biographer Lucy O’Brien recounts her attempts to move out of the restrictive environment of the family band that had made her a star
PNEUMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
Forming in West Berlin in 1980 and achieving their greatest notoriety circa 1984, industrial noise-punks Einstürzende Neubauten have far e xceeded t he i r p ro jec ted l i fe expectancy. Founding frontman Blixa Bargeld traces the evolution of the metalbashing pioneers. Jeremy Allen is all (suitably protected) ears
FRUITS OF THEIR LABOUTES
Bananarama had their first Top 3 hit in 1984, Robert De Niro's Waiting. Rob Hughes meets lifelong friends and bandmates Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward as they look back on their career, album by album
Being Soaring.
In April 1984, the original, faster Bobby Oproduced version of West End Girls was released.
