What’s New, Bacharach? Whoa—o-o-O-o-o-o

Anne Hosier

Friday, May 8, 1998 | 9:30 a.m.

What the world needs now is love.

But what it wants is Burt Bacharach, the musical mastermind behind that decades-old anthem "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and a slew of other hits once indelibly associated with elevators and hotel lobbies.

Just as Bacharach's music appeared to be nearing extinction, however, it has been rediscovered, not only by its original baby boomer fans, but by members of the retro-minded Generation X who regard it as the definition of cool.

Burt is back -- and he's bigger than ever.

In Great Britain, groups such as Massive Attack, The Cranberries and Oasis are suddenly covering his songs. In Australia, fans of all ages mob his concerts, reciting the lyrics to compositions so obscure that some band members aren't even familiar with them. In the U.S., his music is turning up in Hollywood movies, in jazz tribute albums and on Broadway.

On the silver screen, Bacharach's music has been featured even more prominently than in previous decades, with characters at a bridal luncheon in "My Best Friend's Wedding" performing a memorable rendition of "I Say A Little Prayer," and the defrosted spy in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" reclaiming his "Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits" album after so many years. The film's writer and star, Mike Meyers, honored the legendary composer with a cameo role in the movie and reportedly told USA Today that Bacharach's song "The Look of Love" inspired the project.

Musicians -- including members of REM, Pizzicato Five, Stereolab, Grenadine and Combustable Edison -- have been paying homage to Bacharach like never before, both in interviews and new versions of his old hits.

At the April 8 filming of the tribute special "Bacharach: One Amazing Night," which aired on Turner Network Television (TNT) the following week, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Dionne Warwick, Chrissie Hynde and a host of other stars took turns onstage performing Bacharach hits. During a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall, Oasis' Noel Gallagher joined Bacharach onstage to sing "This Guy's in Love With You."

"People keep revisiting his material," says Howard Kramer, assistant curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, noting that Naked Eye's version of "There's Always Something There To Remind Me" is "still an incredibly requested song on the radio.

"It's hard to stay on top of your game that long, whether you're an athlete or a songwriter. But he seems to have done it."

Everywhere he goes these days, it seems that Bacharach is greeted by adoring fans of all ages.

"It's almost like being a rock star," says Dennis Wilson, a Las Vegas-based woodwinds musician who has toured with Bacharach for the last nine years. At a concert for the BBC in London last July, Bacharach earned a standing ovation from the audience "before he even did anything," Wilson says. "And every time he touched a keyboard, they would just go nuts."

Few people are as puzzled by the latest wave of what one critic has dubbed "Burtmania" as the man himself.

"I'm very surprised," Bacharach confesses. "You never know when when you write the songs. But maybe the songs were durable ... maybe the songs had a certain urbane sophistication."

Tonight, when Bacharach appears at Harrah's with his 10-piece band, audiences will get a chance to hear that timeless quality firsthand.

The group will play more than 40 of Bacharach's original compositions -- everything from songs made famous by Dionne Warwick to those less commonly associated with Bacharach, such as the theme songs from the Steve McQueen film "The Blob" and "Arthur," starring Dudley Moore.

Burt and Elvis

They'll also play "God Give Me Strength," a song Bacharach and Elvis Costello wrote together via telephone and fax machine for the movie "Grace of My Heart." The song earned a Grammy nomination and provided the impetus for Bacharach's and Costello's current joint project, an album due out next fall.

"We don't have a name for it yet," Bacharach says during a studio break from writing the orchestrations for the album. "We start recording in June."

In many ways, the pair seem an unlikely combination. "It's very interesting because not only is there, age-wise, a distinct difference -- Burt's in his 60s and Elvis is in his 40s -- but they come from seemingly different worlds, Burt being very Hollywood and Elvis coming to popularity during the punk explosion of the late '70s," Kramer says. "But the fact is, Elvis is a skilled songwriter and so is Burt Bacharach ... and if you examine Elvis' career (their partnership) seems logical."

Since the late '70s, when Costello appeared onstage singing "My Funny Valentine" and performed "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" during a tour with the Attractions, the rocker has openly claimed a debt to Bacharach, Kramer says.

"It's not a mismating or that much of a contrast," Irv Lichtman, deputy editor and columnist at Billboard, agrees. "Elvis Costello many people think harks back to an earlier time, and some people have likened his lyric style to that of Cole Porter, believe it or not."

Still, Bacharach, who claims to have been a fan of Costello's before their first project, concedes: "We're an interesting combination, us two."

Bacharach has never been one to bow to public opinion or follow predictable routes, however. "You have to write by your own standards and what feels acceptable to you as a person sitting in a room, writing," he says. "If you start second-guessing your audience -- I don't. Never did. That's not the way to go about it."

In fact, when Bacharach started out in the late '50s, much of his music seemed to go against the tide. His time signatures strayed far from the typical measures, Kramer says, and his melodies emerged clear and strong. "(Bacharach) knew in his head, like a lot of great geniuses, it may not look great on paper, but when it came out it would sound right."

"A lot of songs you hear are just typical four- or three-quarter time -- boom, boom, chicka boom," Wilson says. "Burt doesn't write that way ... it's all written for one grand expression."

"There's no question he was different from what came before him, or what was being done at the time," Lichtman says. "Rhythmically, I think he was very fresh, and he had a great melodic sense. I think that combination enabled him to crack into the pop charts without being overtly a rock and roll writer."

Name that tune

And crack into the charts Bacharach did. With his longtime lyricist Hal David, he wrote hit after Top 10 hit for Dionne Warwick, including "Walk On By," "Anyone Who Had A Heart," "Do You Know the Way To San Jose?" and "Promises, Promises."

"He and Hal David -- you can't talk about Burt Bacharach without talking about Hal David, his lyricist," Kramer says. "Together they quickly became the standard by which other songwriters were measured."

The compositions were picked up by many artists, including Tom Jones, who made famous "What's New Pussycat?," Help Albert, who put down his trumpet to croon "This Guy's In Love With You," and Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, hitting gold with "The Look of Love." And who could forget the Carpenter's version of "(They Long To Be) Close to You"?

The music of Bacharach and David also turned up in movies. "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," from the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," proved a No. 1 hit for B.J. Thomas and earned Bacharach two Oscars and a Grammy. A decade later, Bacharach teamed up with Carole Bayer Sager, whom he later married, Peter Allen and Christopher Cross to write the theme song for the movie "Arthur" ("Arthur's Theme: Best That You Can Do"), which won an Academy Award for Best Song.

In Bacharach's opinion, much of the music's success was based on its strong melodies. "A lot of music is very select machine-drive, a lot of big sounds coming out of synthesizers and drum machines," he says. "And when it's all said and done, you might say, 'Do we have a melody here?' "

The music's unique sound was also the result of an endless process of fine-tuning. "He meticulously dissects every song that we do," Wilson says. "He's an incredible composer, extremely focussed and extremely particular."

Bacharach is no less talented as a conductor, however. During a rehearsal for a concert in Alabama several years ago, Wilson and his bandmates struggled in desperation to get the local musicians hired for the performance up to par. "In a three- or four-hour rehearsal, we barely made it through half the music, the band was so bad," Wilson remembers. "I personally thought, 'There's not going to be a show -- there's no way.' "

The next day, Bacharach showed up, and "very politely, without intimidating anybody, and without insulting anybody, basically whipped all these young players into shape. And we had a wonderful concert," Wilson says.

"He's just almost with blinders on, single-minded about getting the job done and putting on the best performance that he can."

"I work really hard," Bacharach says, recalling how, even when he's not working, he wakes up in the middle of the night, turning over melodies in his mind.

But the racetrack fan and sometime gambler adds: "I've been very lucky, very fortunate, very blessed."

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