Rare Bacharach songs

[Harry]

An outfit called Raven Records in Australia has put together a 2-CD set of some fairly obscure Burt Bacharach tunes recorded by some rather recognizable artists. I don's see any A&M items here, but it's an interesting tracklist:

http://www.ravenrecords.com.au/

The Rare Bacharach 1

Track Listing

Disc 1
1. I CRY MORE - Alan Dale
2. SITTIN' IN A TREE HOUSE - Marty Robbins
3. LOVE IN A GOLDFISH BOWL - Tommy Sands
4. FROM A ROCKING HORSE TO A ROCKING CHAIR - Paul Anka
5. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF - Bobby Vee
6. THAT'S THE WAYI'LL COME TO YOU - Bobby Vee
7. WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED - Linda Scott
8. TRY TO SEE IT MY WAY - Little Peggy March
9. FORGIVE ME - Noeleen Batley
10. WARM AND TENDER - Johnny Mathis
11. YOU'RE FOLLOWING ME - Perry Como
12. ROME WILL NEVER LEAVE US - Richard Chamberlain
13. FOREVER YOURS I REMAIN - Bobby Vinton
14. WANTING THINGS - Connie Francis
15. THE LOVE OF A BOY - Julie Rogers
16. ANONYMOUS PHONE CALL - Frank Ifield
17. A GIRL LIKE YOU - Adam Faith
18. COUNTRY MUSIC HOLIDAY - Adam Faith
19. I WAKE UP CRYING - Cliff Richard
20. IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE YOUNG - Cliff Richard
21. THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING - Del Shannon
22. FOOL KILLER - Gene Pitney
23. LITTLE BETTY FALLING STAR - Gene Pitney
24. THERE GOES THE FORGOTTEN MAN - Gene McDaniels
25. LONG AFTER THE NIGHT IS OVER - Jimmy Radcliffe
26. IT'S LOVE THAT REALLY COUNTS - The Exciters
27. LONG DAY, SHORT NIGHT - The Shirelles
28. SINNER'S DEVOTION - Tammi Terrell
29. I CRY ALONE - Maxine Brown
30. WAITING FOR CHARLIE TO COME HOME - Etta James

Disc 2
1. LOOK INTO MY EYES MARIA - Jay & the Americans
2. ARE YOU THERE (WITH ANOTHER BOY) - The Buckinghams
3. ANOTHER TEAR FALLS - The Walker Brothers
4. THE BREAKING POINT - Normie Rowe
5. THE STORY OF MY LIFE - Herman's Hermits
6. I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOUR PICTURE - Freddie & the Dreamers
7. AFTER THE FOX - The Hollies with Peter Sellers
8. KEEP AWAY FROM OTHER GIRLS - Helen Shapiro
9. I NEVER GET TO LOVE YOU - Marianne Faithful
10. WINDOWS AND DOORS - Jackie DeShannon
11. LONG AGO TOMORROW - B.J. Thomas
12. SEND MY PICTURE TO SCRANTON, PA - B.J. Thomas
13. SOMETHING BIG - Mark Lindsay
14. THREE WHEELS ON MY WAGON - New Christy Minstrels
15. LET ME BE LONELY - The 5th Dimension
16. I'M A BETTER MAN - Englebert Humperdinck
17. DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT - Andy Williams
18. TEN TIMES FOREVER MORE - Johnny Matthis
19. THE YOUNG GROW YOUNGER EVERY DAY - Peter Yarrow with Burt Bacharach
20. MEXICAN DIVORCE - Dan Johnson
21. ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE - Jerry Butler
22. A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME - Mavis Staples
23. I TOOK MY STRENGTH FROM YOU - Sylvester

The prices on that site are Australian dollars which are roughly 2/3 of an American dollar.

Harry
...who recognizes a few of these, online...

 

[Joe]

I have "Don't You Believe It" by Andy Williams from a nice Taragon collection called The Complete Columbia Chart Singles Collection. I know "I'm a Better Man" by Engelbert Humperdinck was a top forty hit sometime in the late '60s (Those Joel Whitburn books are treasure troves for chart positions! )

What about some other rare songs, haven't heard Burt's "Saturday Sunshine" or Doris Day's "Send Me No Flowers".

Joe

 

[jimac51]

Nice collection,Harry. The Peter Yarrow track is probably from Burt's A&M album FUTURES(SP-4622). The B.J. Thomas "Long AgoTomorrow" is a favorite and I just read that it was the last time BJ,Hal & Burt worked on a project. Sylvester doing "I Took My Stength From You"-now that I gotta hear! Raven knows the good stuff to put in-I have their collection of all the Richard Harris/Jimmy Webb stuff on one CD and they remembered to put the oddball A side single that has a non-Webb B side-a guilty pleasure but one i play more times than I would like to admit. Mac

 

[Harry]

I don't own the CD, but wanted to point it out here. Someone on a Bacharach Forum found it.

I too like "Long Ago Tomorrow", and already have it on the Reel Burt Bacharach CD from Hip-O. It also has the Mark Lindsay version of "Something Big", though I tend to prefer Burt's own recording.

Harry
NP: "Long Ago Tomorrow" - B.J.Thomas

 

[Brasil_Nut]

It also has the Mark Lindsay version of "Something Big", though I tend to prefer Burt's own recording.

You know, I'd never seen or heard of Burt's "Something Big" until I discovered a beat-up copy of Living Together in a used record store. A friend made me a cleaned-up CD-R, which I played to death. Burt's "Something Big" is a "goosebump" song for me, along with his version of "Walk The Way You Talk" -- both sensational songs. "Reflections" is also sensational. Ironically, Living Together was printed (on vinyl) for a very short period of time. Also ironic is the fact that, being the Bacharach fan I am, I'd never seen and/or heard of the album until locating a used copy many years ago. And I thought I had a complete (A&M) Bacharach collection up to that point!

Jon

 

[Harry]

I'd never seen and/or heard of the album until locating a used copy many years ago. And I thought I had a complete (A&M) Bacharach collection up to that point!

Same with me and Burt's In Concert album from the UK, recorded in Japan (AMLS 68279). I'd not known of its existence until a year or so ago when another member provided me with a cleaned-up CD-R of the album. Once I heard it, I couldn't rest until I obtained an original vinyl copy, which I found on eBay at a decent price. Burt and his orchestra and vocalists never sounded better than at this live performance.

Upon my mentioning this before, Steve Sidoruk provided some musician credits not found on the album: Dave Wells on trombone, Bernie Fleischer on woodwinds, and both Charles Chiarenza and John Pisano on guitar. Nifty troupe! No wonder they sounded so good!

Harry
NP: Burt Bacharach, In Concert

 

[Brasil_Nut]

I'll bet the In Concert album is sensational. Have you ever had opportunity to see him live? Amazing. Simply amazing.

Jon

 

[Harry]

I'll bet the In Concert album is sensational. Have you ever had opportunity to see him live? Amazing. Simply amazing.

Yes. Saw him twice recently here in Philly. Last October he performed at the Keswick Theatre. Great show as usual. Back in 2000, he played at the Mann Centre for the Performing Arts, one of the Philly area's big outdoor summer concert venues. My review of that concert is here:

http://www.amcorner.com/gallery/burtinphilly.php3

Harry
...thinking that Burt, like fine wine, gets better with age, online...

 

[venturaguy49]

I'll drop in for just a (hopefully!) short moment to mention that many of the 'Lost Bacharach Tracks', were actually album tracks for L.P.s that became 'cut-outs', and in one case, that being Bobby Vinton's cover of "Forever Yours I Remain", me thinks that it may've been recorded with the intention of going out as a single...after all, Vinton did have mucho success with another of Burt's songs ("Blue on Blue"), so my guess is that Bacharach scored the arrangement believing that it would follow suit. I'm very much a Vinton fan, and have had that album ("Mr. Lonely") in my record library for a few decades, and also now on c.d., so maybe that's one B.B. gem that will be noticed again. Also, that recording of Andy Williams ("Don't You Believe It") is another that I've had on vinyl for ages, and also now of c.d.
The irreducable fact is Bacharach songs are great! Remember that, in his own words, Herb Alpert requested of Burt a song that he had never had any success with for inclusion to a 'Brass' special...well, the obscure tune that Bacharach submitted was "This Guy/Girl's in Love With You", so one may find treasures galore in those lesser-known items!

Warm Wishes,
Steve, who now chugging down that hookah to the tune of
"Always Something There to Remind Me"...lol and I'll be reminded for hours to come cuzza the heartburn that I'll get, but gosh folks, I jest love that slop...the hookah that iz!

venturaguy48 wants not only the way to San José, but maybe the directions to the nearest E.R....lol I shoulda taken the Rudster's advice, and backed away from the stuff...oh, and F.Y.I., the definative cover of "I'm a Better Man" is by Englebert Humperdink (another item that I've had in my library for ages and ages, and with that, moldy old me will make like a banana and split... so much with my 'short moment', eh?

Oh, one last thing: can any of your recall a guy that did commercials for some wine that finished the spot with "little ole wine maker me"? Well, I saw him just last Sat. outside of a market whose name I won't give here, and he had a cardboard sign claiming that he'd 'stomp grapes for money'... Well, I'm done an' outta here 4 now...catcha L8ER!

 

[Rudy]

That set looks like a good companion piece to the 3-CD Rhino Bacharach box. I was going to make my own fourth disc to go with the set--a few are on this two-disc set ("Something Big", "Long Ago Tomorrow", "After The Fox" and a couple of others). My idea is to include songs that aren't on the box.

I recently got a 3-CD set of Bacharach songs done by other artists...I must say that most of the versions in this set aren't as good as what Rhino put on the bxo set.

Does anyone know if there is a vocal version of "April Fools"?

I keep forgetting, too, that there is a good pair of Dionne Warwick compilations that cover just about all of her Bacharach tunes...and I've misplaced Harry's e-mail that told me which ones they were!

I have an opposite view of Bacharach's recordings in most cases--I do like his versions, and they have their own unique charm, but I have actually slightly prefer the original versions as done by the artists who recorded them. To me, I can listen to a long set of Bacharach performing all of his own tunes...but I also like the variety of hearing other artists perform them too. Either way, same composer! It's a shame it took a couple of decades for many listeners to realize how underappreciated his songs were.

 

[Harry]

I keep forgetting, too, that there is a good pair of Dionne Warwick compilations that cover just about all of her Bacharach tunes...and I've misplaced Harry's e-mail that told me which ones they were!

One that I KNOW I recommended was this one:



I think it's from some part of Europe (France?), but the mastering is superb - pressed on gold.

The other one I think I bought was on Rhino. I'll have to check it out.

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[Rudy]

Yes, I think the other one was on Rhino.

I'm in a different A&M mode right now--just got a Mobile Fidelity LP pressing of the Styx classic The Grand Illusion. It easily beats the original vinyl version--it's also better than the current CD version, from what some folks are telling me. Reminds me that I should scan either this one or the Supertramp Crime Of The Century for the label gallery. It's not an A&M product, but the label does have a 70's-era A&M motif to it (the large "A&M").

Too bad MoFi isn't doing vinyl like they were in the old days. It'd be nice to hear some of Bacharach's dense orchestrations on something better than A&M's vinyl.