I probably shouldn’t admit to this but I’m sitting here listening to Perry Como singing Magic Moments. Rob lent me his copy of ‘The Look Of Love – The Burt Bacharach Collection‘. If someone had’ve told me ten years ago I’d love listening to this CD I would have cranked up New Order even louder and laughed myself silly.
Yes, Burt Bacharach is the most talented composer of his generation, and possibly of all the second half of the 20th century. I was exposed to his A&M (solo) records when I was a child, and it shaped my appreciation for the nuances of music. When I identified some of the distinguishing features of many of Bacharach’s works I learned what most of the other songs I liked had in common. It often has to do with a latent yearning that they have, and the feeling they inspire to the effect that something is about to change — and the expectation for the transition and for what lies on the other side. You are kept on your toes, and when it comes, it doesn’t disappoint you. Not all Bacharach songs are like that. Many of the best known ones aren’t. That inner momentum is also present in many disco songs, in which one thing seems to lead to another as if the song were going to take off. Some Paul Weston arrangements work that way, through synchophanted, fast interventions of violins. Bacharach seems to have more resources, especially as he can build everything into the composition.
Either way, sometimes, even if the song doesn’t become louder and/or picks up the pace, after that, the latent, potential change that we did sense, can help make what follows into something very special.
Dad’s comments – I am very pleased at last you have seen the musical light.