Stuff is so easy to miss these days. I am working on scenery for a new model train layout, and decided I needed some Bacharach music to soothe my tired nerves, so I first went to YouTube and clicked on what I thought was that best-of compilation that A&M did a hundred years ago, but what I got instead was probably the worst version of "What the World Needs Now" I've ever heard -- it had Burt singing, but it was like a horrible demo that should have been left on the cutting room floor. So I got specific and found the Classics 23 album from even longer ago. But, when I played that, there were political ads in between almost every song..... the heck with that!
So I did what I should have done first and went to Amazon Music, where upon doing a Bacharach search, found that there was a new EP by him along with singer Daniel Tashian released in July, called The Blue Umbrella. It's very good -- Daniel sounds quite a bit like Peter Yarrow, who sang "The Young Grow Younger Every Day" on the Futures LP. Definitely classic style Bacharach melodies and arrangements, unmistakable. The title tune and another called "Bells of St. Augustine" are just terrific. The only "criticism" I might have is that at least some of the drums on the songs are obviously computer-programmed, which is too bad -- it can make the beats sound too artificial. But the melodies, the piano and orchestrations are so good that that's a very minor quibble.
He also has just released a new "socially conscious" tune (not on The Blue Umbrella) called "The Great Divide" which is also pretty good, and would have fit right in on his At This Time LP.
Neither of these matches the glory of his efforts from his salad days, but The Blue Umbrella is probably almost as good as his collaboration with Elvis Costello, which I enjoyed very much.
Here's a link to an article about the new EP.
So I did what I should have done first and went to Amazon Music, where upon doing a Bacharach search, found that there was a new EP by him along with singer Daniel Tashian released in July, called The Blue Umbrella. It's very good -- Daniel sounds quite a bit like Peter Yarrow, who sang "The Young Grow Younger Every Day" on the Futures LP. Definitely classic style Bacharach melodies and arrangements, unmistakable. The title tune and another called "Bells of St. Augustine" are just terrific. The only "criticism" I might have is that at least some of the drums on the songs are obviously computer-programmed, which is too bad -- it can make the beats sound too artificial. But the melodies, the piano and orchestrations are so good that that's a very minor quibble.
He also has just released a new "socially conscious" tune (not on The Blue Umbrella) called "The Great Divide" which is also pretty good, and would have fit right in on his At This Time LP.
Neither of these matches the glory of his efforts from his salad days, but The Blue Umbrella is probably almost as good as his collaboration with Elvis Costello, which I enjoyed very much.
Here's a link to an article about the new EP.
At 92, Burt Bacharach is back with a new album – and new musical partner
"Blue Umbrella" is a new EP representing Burt Bacharach's first work with Daniel Tashian, a Grammy Award-winning writer and producer known for his work with Leann Womack, Billy Currington, Josh Turner and especially on Kacey Musgraves' "Golden Hour" album. It's also Bacharach's first release...
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