Burt Bacharach, EASY LOUNGIN' COLLECTION

[Harry]

EASY LOUNGIN' COLLECTION
Twenty Easy Listening Classics
Burt Bacharach
A&M/Polydor (540 453-2)


I just got this one in yesterday's mail. Amazon took a little bit longer to find it, but it's now here. Packaged just like the Sergio Mendes version in this set (see the thread in the Mendes forum), this one also features some unique titles to compilations, and often they turn out to be favorites, making this maybe a better compilation than most. This one too is available through that German Music Express (these ARE German compilations after all), but it can also be gotten through more typical channels. Use the CDNow link on the main page and search for Bacharach to get CDNow's price and help support A&MCorner.

Track listing:

Bond Street
Do You Know The Way To San Jose
Walk The Way You Talk
Nikki
The Look Of Love
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
Something Big
The Sundance Kid
South American Getaway
Promises, Promises
Long Ago Tomorrow
The Windows Of The World
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Monterey Peninsula
I Say A Little Prayer
Knowing When To Leave
Pacific Coast Highway
This Guy's In Love With You
Are You There With Another Girl
And The People Were With Her

For me, that's about as good a tracklist of Burt's recordings as I could ever hope to get or even compile myself. The ones that put it over the top are "Nikki", "Something Big", and "South American Getaway", plus faves like "Knowing When To Leave", "I Say A Little Prayer" and "Bond Street".

Again the sound quality is top notch (see amendment below), and it's always nice to put a new disc in the player with a nice large A&M logo.

Harry
...loungin' again, online...

 

[OceanKing]

FYI: Burt Bacharach will be appearing on next Tuesday's episode of AMERICAN IDOL on Fox. The singer/contestants, who are competing for a record contract, will apparently be performing Burt's songs in Tuesday's competition.

 

[Rudy]

"Walk The Way You Talk": which album was this from? I'm not very familiar with the tracks from Living Together or Futures.

Neat track list, though! Beats the Classics and Best Of CDs by a long shot. In fact, "Something Big" is a track I've always liked...including the non-Bacharach version on the Reel Burt Bacharach CD. Also like "Long Ago Tomorrow" as done by B.J. Thomas.

Awhile ago, I made up a prototype MiniDisc that would have been my fourth CD for the Burt Box. I had to avoid a few favorite songs (since they were already repeated in the set), but it was still cool. I ought to finalize it and finish the CD one of these days.

-= N =-
NP: Stan Kenton In Hi-Fi

 

[Harry]

Again the sound quality is top notch (see amendment below), and it's always nice to put a new disc in the player with a nice large A&M logo.

Amendment:
OK, so the sound quality is MOSTLY top notch. There's one REALLY obnoxious right-channel drop-out, sounding like a loose speaker connection at the 1:50 mark of "Nikki." Too bad too, since that's one of the tracks that made this compilation special.

Moral of the story: one should actually LISTEN to a disc before writing a review!



Harry
...red-faced , online...

 

[Rudy]

Reminds me of MCA's horrible first remastering job of Steely Dan's Gaucho. The same kind of "loose connection" dropout in one channel made me think we'd have this version for all eternity. Thankfully, this was corrected on the remastered Citizen Steely Dan box set, and on the re-remastered (as Becker put it) album releases of a couple of years ago.

It surprises me that something this obvious would get past the QC department.

-= N =-

 

[William]

The covers of these "Easy Lounging" discs are absolutely gorgeous. Does the CD credit whoever is responsible for them?


- William

 

[William]

Oh, speaking of QC -- Blue Note/EMI put out a reissue CD by Bobby Hutcherson (avant-garde vibes player) which had a tape "hiccup" on one track... as if the master tape had lagged behind, stretched, and suddenly jumped back up to speed. This was especially surprising to buyers since the CD was remastered by Rudy Van Gelder! It was a bad enough mistake that Rudy fixed the problem, pressed new discs and sent free replacements to everyone who asked for one. I guess what Blue Note lacks in quality control, they make up for in customer service.


- William

 

[Rudy]

Harry's out of town until Wednesday--he'll drop a line when he gets back and let us know who did the graphics.

About QC again--Steely Dan has had its share of gaffes. On the Citizen Steely Dan box set, the marimba intro to "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is lopped off. (And what's worse is that not only the engineers missed it, Becker and Fagen also missed it!) MCA reportedly would send out a corrected CD to anyone who sent in their original.

Someone also goofed on the most recent reissue of Katy Lied. "Your Gold Teeth II" and "Chain Lightning are switched in the order of tracks. No idea if MCA replaced that one or not. (It's ironic that this is a repeat of the box set: "Everyone's Gone To The Movies" is followed by "Chain Lightning" on the box set to finish off the disc, and the next disc starts with "Gold Teeth II".)

And this is just one artist...

-= N =-