"Knowing When to Leave"--A veritable handbook for bolting, this Bacharach/David classic nails down the importance of "getting a clue" in a wilting relationship. Don't worry: We've got ya covered!🎵💘
I wasn't aware of this Burt/Hal tune before, but then again, I haven't ever seen or heard "Promises, Promises" as a whole (but of course Dionne had to record it)- but I am a fan of its straight drama source so it might be worth looking into.
The song’s “non-popularity” is one of the things that struck me, along with, of course, it’s sheer unusual beauty! In that Capenters medley, it’s like, all of sudden, there it is….sticking out like a gorgeous thumb amid all these Carpenters songs we knew by heart!
You just made me think I gotta find which Carpenters album that was on! One of the few things my brother (10 ½ months older than I) and I could bond over was music (he loved Carpenters, Chicago, and 5th Dimension back around that 1970 era (I was 15). So, I must’ve heard the song then, but it probably went over my head (certainly the message)! Thanks, as always, David!
"Promises, Promises" was the first live musical I ever saw. It was probably 1980, the touring edition with Ken Berry giving a flawless performance. It's stuck with me for decades.
That's pretty good, Todd, with that being your first live musical! Cool that Ken Berry was the lead...my memory of him, mostly, is from the late-'60s color eps of The Andy Griffith Show! I'm not sure I knew of his musical prowess. He may have sung some on TAGS (they always had lots of music'n'singing)!
It wasn't my first, but about two years after you saw Berry in "Promises," I saw Jennifer Holliday on Broadway in one of the first performances of "Dreamgirls":
Thanks again for subscribing, Todd! If you're game for a Tune Tag, I'd be happy to have you join me in one! A new one drops tomorrow, and feel free to peruse past Tags, as well (they're tagged at the top of the FR&B main page)! If you're interested, please DM me, and I'll follow with process deets for ya!😁👍
Thanks for this discussion. I've always liked the Carpenters inclusion of the song in their medley from their 1971 self-titled album. It would have been cool for them to record a full version!
Speaking of Promises, Promises, I saw the revival several years ago starring Sean Hayes. A friend of ours, Brian O'Brien, also had a significant featured role in the show. Hayes is originally from Glen Ellyn, Illinois which is the next town over from where Frank and I live. My friend Lauren knew him when he was younger. Also, The Apartment is one of my all-time favorite movies.
Thank you, Dan....loved your deep dive (from the high dive, too, and in your new blue Speedo!👀).....
Well, that's a question I was gonna try and have answered, and you did it! So, Carpenters never recorded the song (in full)! So, I'm guessing the medley they did on the Sullivan show is verbatim from the album? I just figured they fashioned that out for a tour or something, or even just for the Sullivan show! But, there's so much that went into that arrangement, including those stunningly tight harmonies, it would've been a shame to just lose it after one TV appearance!
And, their live perf of the medley sounded so studio-crisp already!
I love Sean Hayes ("Just Brad!"), and really only know him from his Will & Grace turn! What a talent! Cher: "Follow your bliss, Jack!" Jack, grabbing the hand of a scantily clad, be-winged "angel, "My bliss is this way....." exit, stage right! What fun that must've been to see him in the stage production!
Yes! The Bacharach/David medley on the Sullivan show sounds almost exactly like the version they recorded for the album, minus the "Close to You" opening.
Boy, between this and "Calling Occupants" you are helping me rediscover some of the less obvious Carpenters tracks!
That means a bushel, Dan! As we say here in the halls of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE, “we play what radio wouldn’t”! Happy you’re tuned in to KBRD….K-BRAD Radio! “Grow Bigger Ears”!
Ha! Love Wayne's comment. Yes, finally we put a face to the name. Nice to see you Nick. Good work gents. Brad, you made the right call on this, going with Nick. I appreciate how you pulled this together. My favorite version was Dionne.
Thanks, Taz! I'm glad you enjoyed this! As for "squeezing" Nick a bit to get that rare photo, I figured there HAD to be more than our Nick @ Nite cartoon Nick! The power of Tune Tag....I can't tell you how many "exclusive" pix I've gotten outta folks to help adorn their Tune Tag visit! And, there's more coming....a couple have even now taken to asking me if I'd like any more for future Tags!
As Bugs would say, "Dey don't know me vewy well, do dey?"🤣The answer is always, "YES!"
Brad did most of the work; I had the appealing role of getting to offer some thoughts without feeling any burden of expectation.
Dionne's version is great; I don't know if it would have been my favorite if I had listened to it first; but the Eydie Gormé stuck in my head when I heard it.
Thanks, Nick....you're beyond generous and kind.....whatever the "work load," I almost never like solo-ing on posts, anymore! Not when I've seen the magic that can come together when I collab with my best 'Stack buds (and bud-ettes!)! The fact that you showed an interest was all I needed to hear!
Desire is the mother of inspiration. Did I just make that up? That almost sounds good! You know how I appreciate you, Nick.
You guys! My mother always said to me, "Cool is not cool!" But my folks were Broadway mavens and Burt always was the coolest of the cool. So we always agreed on that. He and Hal (my piano playing and singing father's name listen on LFTV soundcloud.com/stevegabe) were the coolest cats! We were never cool like that in any of our Rock and Roll dreams. They outlasted hip. Bambi is a revelation! Why this was not on the hits CD I'll never know.
His Close to You LP is always on our turntable "Mexican Divorce" all the way to the end. Same hopeful vibe.
You guys had me at Bacharach and David. I don't know why, maybe because I grew up on their music, but it's almost a religious experience for me. I saw Burt on a double bill with the hoofer and choreographer Tommy Tune in Honolulu back in the early 90s while on vacation. Burt played all their hits, singing and playing the piano, no other instruments, and I was in absolute heaven.
I'm going to go against the crowd here. Of course I love the Dionne version, and I like and appreciate all the rest, but the one that got me personally was Sue Raney. Imho, she didn't just sing it, she actually performed the meaning of it. Everyone else sang it, even Dionne I'm afraid. Big difference for me.
That Karen Carpenter! Who else could sing like that and play the drums (other than Phil Collins, who's also a marvel). She was a phenomenon. Another one besides Dionne singing Burt and Hal who can always bring me to tears.
Thanks so much, Ellen! Nick, as usual, is a champ, and came up big on this one with his picks, and his unique POVs on his tracks!
Raney was an early fave for me, too, Ellen....and I really appreciate her performance....I had (only barely, granted) heard of her before, but when I ran into Bambi and her performance, it really resonated, helped, I'm sure, by the "who on earth is SHE?" element! But, it IS reassuring to have found so many worthwhile performances of this song...not only a song too few knew so little about (including ME!), but a song that's so unusual and devilishly crafted (and again, those lyrics....who's gonna think to go there!)!
While doing this piece, I kept noticing (and hanging on to) Karen's long note-holds...never quavering, and with a nice, controlled vibrato. And, you're right....the list of "crying shames" that have passed too soon, and we'll never know the magic that was never created....that list may have at its top....Karen.
And, as I'm also elevating Richard to a world-class arranger (with Manilow, and of course, Bacharach) the more I hear him, I keep thinking of that element that both Barry and Burt don't/didn't have....that familial element. Richard was so enamored of his talented sister, he was all about lovingly enveloping her precious instrument with the music he knew backwards and forwards! The Carpenters' medleys....those are the prizes! Richard was so in his element on those....I heard one where he started a familiar hit in the same key as the previous hit (in the medley) ended....."Hey, that song's not in that key!" Given a couple measures, he modulates INTO that new song's key! But, to even THINK of that song to follow took guts...."what? Not in the same key? No prob!"
This isn't it, but still a stunning medley (the Bacharach/David one that leads with our "Knowing When to Leave"...this time, on BBC)....oh, the harmonies! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9DyuPFxy8M
I'll keep looking for the one I described above, and will pass along if I find it! Thanks again!
Thanks for that link, Brad. Have to agree that Richard appears to be a brilliant arranger, and it's great to see how much he and Karen are enjoying performing with one another. She's on some other planet with her singing, other-worldly. Of course we wish she had stayed longer, but she gave us so much wonderful music while she was here. So we were blessed.
Bacharach's music is always worth a deep dive, this was great! And about a song I've heard but did not know well.
I have to go with Dionne's version as my favorite, but I agree with Brad & Andres about Bambi McCormick, that's a great one too. Interesting that she doesn't have a Wiki page and Discogs only lists the one album. Looks like she did a little musical theater & then more or less became a Vegas lounge singer. I wonder what happened to her?
Thank you, Hugh! Mad props to Nick for helping to fill this thing out, too! It got us way more peeks into other arrangements than I'd have covered!
You're right....Bacharach/David's work is always worth deeper digging, but, with that Carpenters medley that leads us off....after "Close to You," it just grabbed me....as if it was the first time I'd heard it! That's another thing that fascinates me....a song plays at one point in our lives, and it's...."eh, OK." Weeks, months, or decades later, it plays again, and it's....."What?!? What was THAT? And, why didn't I care before?!?"
Cut to early-'80s: Fairly new to SoCal, having moved from Houston to L.A. in '80 (I was 25). Driving down the Ventura Freeway to someplace in the Valley, The Beatles' "Don't Bother Me" comes on (George's first song, I believe, to make it onto record). Of course, I'd heard it many times before, with nothing other, really, than "Oh, nice song, sure....I love The Beatles!" This time, though, behind the wheel, for whatever reason (I think it was the chord structure/changes!), I noticed tears were rolling down my cheeks! I can so easily be moved by simply the music (and its inherent beauty and ability to move the💘) than ever the words (it may be well known about me, by now)!
And, Bambi....yes, I noticed the same dearth of info on her on the 'net! I just really took to her voice (obviously my first time hearing it) and the arrangement, and how uniquely she interacted with it! Thanks again, Hugh!
Thank you!! I fell in love with this tune thanks to Julius Wechter, and I'm beyond pissed that the BMB album "Those Were the Days" has never seen a domestic CD release. I've tried for a decade to get the Japanese edition, with zero luck. Bacharach could do no wrong (well, except when he sang himself; the tunes far outshine the voice).
Thank you, Todd....great to see you here! That's amazing how unavailable the BMB album has become! I wouldn't have believed that. As for Bacharach singing, I think ego takes a part in that for some songwriters who "force" themselves to sing. I think about the Brill Bldg songwriters, and that's really all they were...or, at least started out to be!
Carole King and Neil Diamond broke out, but Jeff Barry, I think, knew his limitations, so never bothered trying (as far as I know), but carved out a production career which also involved finding and signing new singers and songwriters (Lisa Hartman being one singer, who brought with her two fellow Houstonians, a songwriting pair....Brad Berg and Dene Hofheinz-Mann), and, with package deal in hand, landed a record deal, for Lisa, with Kirshner/CBS, mid-'70s!
Thanks again, Todd.....see you Tuesday, in the Tune Tag comments!
What a strange song. Definitely an acquired taste! From a technical perspective, Bambi knocked it out of the park. Her vocal control impressed me. I was expecting to really like Eydie Gormé’s version, but she’s either a bit flat at times or quite heavy on the notes. I’m impossible, I know! Great work, guys!
I love your perspectives, Andy! I'm glad you liked the Bambi....we're in harmony, there!
If you don't know Eydie G's history, it might help to know (for getting the note-heaviness, which I get) that, since the '50s (and for decades thereafter), she and hubby Steve Lawrence were a quintessential Vegas big-room act, and were forever guesting on chat shows, both together and separately, quite often singing those big, show-bizzy/B-way-type songs!
That's why this arrangement, for her, was (for me) a bold breakaway into a tamer arrangement, where she tried to calm things down a bit...and, in that way, I think she succeeded. But, you're not wrong in hearing what you're hearing. The girl can't help it!
In a foreshadowing to our upcoming VR, a Dad joke: Think of Eydie as the gorilla in this analogy: Gorilla walks up to the first tee of the golf course and easily smacks a 500-yard drive right onto the green! He's handed a putter for this easy 3-footer, and danged if he doesn't just hit another 500-yarder!!
"Here, Eydie....we'd like you to ballad this one a bit, OK?"
Thanks, Andy....your presence on FR&B, always? Works a treat!💪😁👍
That’s fair. I remember at the time I was listening having the feeling that, for my tastes, with some of the more technically precise singers the melody overshadowed the words.
I still think that’s true to some extent but listening to Bambi’s recording now I’m really impressed, and think she finds a really good balance.
Fantastic survey of this great song, guys! I think my fave is Dionne, only because i associate her so strongly with Bacharach, but Bambi is a close second and the rest in a three-way tie
Great call, Emm! Two of the most stunning and satisfying musical "marriages" in pop history is Dionne'n'Bacharach/David, and the fabulous twinning of Petula Clark and Tony Hatch'n'Jackie Trent! I'm glad you liked the Bambi, too....just fell in love with it and her....and, what on earth ever happened to her....and why?!🤷♂️Thanks, Emm!
Brad. Reading this reminded me of my college years when I’d go down rabbit holes with my music geek friends. That was when along with Jobim’s body of work as bossa Nova, I immersed myself in Burt Bacharach music.
Primarily the Dionne Warwick years and the Carpenters collaboration.
This was a fascinating read thank you for all this background and stories.
Thank you, Ali! I’m glad you enjoyed Nick’s and my contributions to a great song and songwriting duo! This was certainly a fun rabbit hole to venture into with all the terrific arrangements and performances we dug up!
I wasn't aware of this Burt/Hal tune before, but then again, I haven't ever seen or heard "Promises, Promises" as a whole (but of course Dionne had to record it)- but I am a fan of its straight drama source so it might be worth looking into.
The song’s “non-popularity” is one of the things that struck me, along with, of course, it’s sheer unusual beauty! In that Capenters medley, it’s like, all of sudden, there it is….sticking out like a gorgeous thumb amid all these Carpenters songs we knew by heart!
You just made me think I gotta find which Carpenters album that was on! One of the few things my brother (10 ½ months older than I) and I could bond over was music (he loved Carpenters, Chicago, and 5th Dimension back around that 1970 era (I was 15). So, I must’ve heard the song then, but it probably went over my head (certainly the message)! Thanks, as always, David!
"Promises, Promises" was the first live musical I ever saw. It was probably 1980, the touring edition with Ken Berry giving a flawless performance. It's stuck with me for decades.
That's pretty good, Todd, with that being your first live musical! Cool that Ken Berry was the lead...my memory of him, mostly, is from the late-'60s color eps of The Andy Griffith Show! I'm not sure I knew of his musical prowess. He may have sung some on TAGS (they always had lots of music'n'singing)!
It wasn't my first, but about two years after you saw Berry in "Promises," I saw Jennifer Holliday on Broadway in one of the first performances of "Dreamgirls":
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/force-of-nature-1982-seeing-jennifer?utm_source=publication-search
Jaw-dropping, that!
Thanks again for subscribing, Todd! If you're game for a Tune Tag, I'd be happy to have you join me in one! A new one drops tomorrow, and feel free to peruse past Tags, as well (they're tagged at the top of the FR&B main page)! If you're interested, please DM me, and I'll follow with process deets for ya!😁👍
And Neil Simon writing the book!
Thanks for this discussion. I've always liked the Carpenters inclusion of the song in their medley from their 1971 self-titled album. It would have been cool for them to record a full version!
Speaking of Promises, Promises, I saw the revival several years ago starring Sean Hayes. A friend of ours, Brian O'Brien, also had a significant featured role in the show. Hayes is originally from Glen Ellyn, Illinois which is the next town over from where Frank and I live. My friend Lauren knew him when he was younger. Also, The Apartment is one of my all-time favorite movies.
Anyway, just thought I'd do my own deep dive!
Thank you, Dan....loved your deep dive (from the high dive, too, and in your new blue Speedo!👀).....
Well, that's a question I was gonna try and have answered, and you did it! So, Carpenters never recorded the song (in full)! So, I'm guessing the medley they did on the Sullivan show is verbatim from the album? I just figured they fashioned that out for a tour or something, or even just for the Sullivan show! But, there's so much that went into that arrangement, including those stunningly tight harmonies, it would've been a shame to just lose it after one TV appearance!
And, their live perf of the medley sounded so studio-crisp already!
I love Sean Hayes ("Just Brad!"), and really only know him from his Will & Grace turn! What a talent! Cher: "Follow your bliss, Jack!" Jack, grabbing the hand of a scantily clad, be-winged "angel, "My bliss is this way....." exit, stage right! What fun that must've been to see him in the stage production!
Yes! The Bacharach/David medley on the Sullivan show sounds almost exactly like the version they recorded for the album, minus the "Close to You" opening.
Boy, between this and "Calling Occupants" you are helping me rediscover some of the less obvious Carpenters tracks!
That means a bushel, Dan! As we say here in the halls of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE, “we play what radio wouldn’t”! Happy you’re tuned in to KBRD….K-BRAD Radio! “Grow Bigger Ears”!
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/grow-bigger-ears-7-the-audio-autopsy?utm_source=publication-search
Ha! Love Wayne's comment. Yes, finally we put a face to the name. Nice to see you Nick. Good work gents. Brad, you made the right call on this, going with Nick. I appreciate how you pulled this together. My favorite version was Dionne.
Thanks, Taz! I'm glad you enjoyed this! As for "squeezing" Nick a bit to get that rare photo, I figured there HAD to be more than our Nick @ Nite cartoon Nick! The power of Tune Tag....I can't tell you how many "exclusive" pix I've gotten outta folks to help adorn their Tune Tag visit! And, there's more coming....a couple have even now taken to asking me if I'd like any more for future Tags!
As Bugs would say, "Dey don't know me vewy well, do dey?"🤣The answer is always, "YES!"
The Dionne cover was a fave of mine, too!
Brad did most of the work; I had the appealing role of getting to offer some thoughts without feeling any burden of expectation.
Dionne's version is great; I don't know if it would have been my favorite if I had listened to it first; but the Eydie Gormé stuck in my head when I heard it.
Thanks, Nick....you're beyond generous and kind.....whatever the "work load," I almost never like solo-ing on posts, anymore! Not when I've seen the magic that can come together when I collab with my best 'Stack buds (and bud-ettes!)! The fact that you showed an interest was all I needed to hear!
Desire is the mother of inspiration. Did I just make that up? That almost sounds good! You know how I appreciate you, Nick.
You guys! My mother always said to me, "Cool is not cool!" But my folks were Broadway mavens and Burt always was the coolest of the cool. So we always agreed on that. He and Hal (my piano playing and singing father's name listen on LFTV soundcloud.com/stevegabe) were the coolest cats! We were never cool like that in any of our Rock and Roll dreams. They outlasted hip. Bambi is a revelation! Why this was not on the hits CD I'll never know.
His Close to You LP is always on our turntable "Mexican Divorce" all the way to the end. Same hopeful vibe.
So many thanks for this one. A keeper!
I loved “There’s a Place I Go” and “Tiki Bar”! Great guitar sound, Steve!
Yes….Burt & Hal were the cool cats, for sure! Thanks for diggin’ it, and for commenting!
You guys had me at Bacharach and David. I don't know why, maybe because I grew up on their music, but it's almost a religious experience for me. I saw Burt on a double bill with the hoofer and choreographer Tommy Tune in Honolulu back in the early 90s while on vacation. Burt played all their hits, singing and playing the piano, no other instruments, and I was in absolute heaven.
I'm going to go against the crowd here. Of course I love the Dionne version, and I like and appreciate all the rest, but the one that got me personally was Sue Raney. Imho, she didn't just sing it, she actually performed the meaning of it. Everyone else sang it, even Dionne I'm afraid. Big difference for me.
That Karen Carpenter! Who else could sing like that and play the drums (other than Phil Collins, who's also a marvel). She was a phenomenon. Another one besides Dionne singing Burt and Hal who can always bring me to tears.
Thanks, Brad and Nick. Great post.
Thanks so much, Ellen! Nick, as usual, is a champ, and came up big on this one with his picks, and his unique POVs on his tracks!
Raney was an early fave for me, too, Ellen....and I really appreciate her performance....I had (only barely, granted) heard of her before, but when I ran into Bambi and her performance, it really resonated, helped, I'm sure, by the "who on earth is SHE?" element! But, it IS reassuring to have found so many worthwhile performances of this song...not only a song too few knew so little about (including ME!), but a song that's so unusual and devilishly crafted (and again, those lyrics....who's gonna think to go there!)!
While doing this piece, I kept noticing (and hanging on to) Karen's long note-holds...never quavering, and with a nice, controlled vibrato. And, you're right....the list of "crying shames" that have passed too soon, and we'll never know the magic that was never created....that list may have at its top....Karen.
And, as I'm also elevating Richard to a world-class arranger (with Manilow, and of course, Bacharach) the more I hear him, I keep thinking of that element that both Barry and Burt don't/didn't have....that familial element. Richard was so enamored of his talented sister, he was all about lovingly enveloping her precious instrument with the music he knew backwards and forwards! The Carpenters' medleys....those are the prizes! Richard was so in his element on those....I heard one where he started a familiar hit in the same key as the previous hit (in the medley) ended....."Hey, that song's not in that key!" Given a couple measures, he modulates INTO that new song's key! But, to even THINK of that song to follow took guts...."what? Not in the same key? No prob!"
This isn't it, but still a stunning medley (the Bacharach/David one that leads with our "Knowing When to Leave"...this time, on BBC)....oh, the harmonies! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9DyuPFxy8M
I'll keep looking for the one I described above, and will pass along if I find it! Thanks again!
Thanks for that link, Brad. Have to agree that Richard appears to be a brilliant arranger, and it's great to see how much he and Karen are enjoying performing with one another. She's on some other planet with her singing, other-worldly. Of course we wish she had stayed longer, but she gave us so much wonderful music while she was here. So we were blessed.
Bacharach's music is always worth a deep dive, this was great! And about a song I've heard but did not know well.
I have to go with Dionne's version as my favorite, but I agree with Brad & Andres about Bambi McCormick, that's a great one too. Interesting that she doesn't have a Wiki page and Discogs only lists the one album. Looks like she did a little musical theater & then more or less became a Vegas lounge singer. I wonder what happened to her?
Thank you, Hugh! Mad props to Nick for helping to fill this thing out, too! It got us way more peeks into other arrangements than I'd have covered!
You're right....Bacharach/David's work is always worth deeper digging, but, with that Carpenters medley that leads us off....after "Close to You," it just grabbed me....as if it was the first time I'd heard it! That's another thing that fascinates me....a song plays at one point in our lives, and it's...."eh, OK." Weeks, months, or decades later, it plays again, and it's....."What?!? What was THAT? And, why didn't I care before?!?"
Cut to early-'80s: Fairly new to SoCal, having moved from Houston to L.A. in '80 (I was 25). Driving down the Ventura Freeway to someplace in the Valley, The Beatles' "Don't Bother Me" comes on (George's first song, I believe, to make it onto record). Of course, I'd heard it many times before, with nothing other, really, than "Oh, nice song, sure....I love The Beatles!" This time, though, behind the wheel, for whatever reason (I think it was the chord structure/changes!), I noticed tears were rolling down my cheeks! I can so easily be moved by simply the music (and its inherent beauty and ability to move the💘) than ever the words (it may be well known about me, by now)!
This was clearly an offshoot of that experience: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/beatle-royale-dont-bother-me-and?utm_source=publication-search
And, Bambi....yes, I noticed the same dearth of info on her on the 'net! I just really took to her voice (obviously my first time hearing it) and the arrangement, and how uniquely she interacted with it! Thanks again, Hugh!
Thank you!! I fell in love with this tune thanks to Julius Wechter, and I'm beyond pissed that the BMB album "Those Were the Days" has never seen a domestic CD release. I've tried for a decade to get the Japanese edition, with zero luck. Bacharach could do no wrong (well, except when he sang himself; the tunes far outshine the voice).
Thank you, Todd....great to see you here! That's amazing how unavailable the BMB album has become! I wouldn't have believed that. As for Bacharach singing, I think ego takes a part in that for some songwriters who "force" themselves to sing. I think about the Brill Bldg songwriters, and that's really all they were...or, at least started out to be!
Carole King and Neil Diamond broke out, but Jeff Barry, I think, knew his limitations, so never bothered trying (as far as I know), but carved out a production career which also involved finding and signing new singers and songwriters (Lisa Hartman being one singer, who brought with her two fellow Houstonians, a songwriting pair....Brad Berg and Dene Hofheinz-Mann), and, with package deal in hand, landed a record deal, for Lisa, with Kirshner/CBS, mid-'70s!
Thanks again, Todd.....see you Tuesday, in the Tune Tag comments!
What a strange song. Definitely an acquired taste! From a technical perspective, Bambi knocked it out of the park. Her vocal control impressed me. I was expecting to really like Eydie Gormé’s version, but she’s either a bit flat at times or quite heavy on the notes. I’m impossible, I know! Great work, guys!
I love your perspectives, Andy! I'm glad you liked the Bambi....we're in harmony, there!
If you don't know Eydie G's history, it might help to know (for getting the note-heaviness, which I get) that, since the '50s (and for decades thereafter), she and hubby Steve Lawrence were a quintessential Vegas big-room act, and were forever guesting on chat shows, both together and separately, quite often singing those big, show-bizzy/B-way-type songs!
That's why this arrangement, for her, was (for me) a bold breakaway into a tamer arrangement, where she tried to calm things down a bit...and, in that way, I think she succeeded. But, you're not wrong in hearing what you're hearing. The girl can't help it!
In a foreshadowing to our upcoming VR, a Dad joke: Think of Eydie as the gorilla in this analogy: Gorilla walks up to the first tee of the golf course and easily smacks a 500-yard drive right onto the green! He's handed a putter for this easy 3-footer, and danged if he doesn't just hit another 500-yarder!!
"Here, Eydie....we'd like you to ballad this one a bit, OK?"
Thanks, Andy....your presence on FR&B, always? Works a treat!💪😁👍
That’s fair. I remember at the time I was listening having the feeling that, for my tastes, with some of the more technically precise singers the melody overshadowed the words.
I still think that’s true to some extent but listening to Bambi’s recording now I’m really impressed, and think she finds a really good balance.
Fantastic survey of this great song, guys! I think my fave is Dionne, only because i associate her so strongly with Bacharach, but Bambi is a close second and the rest in a three-way tie
Great call, Emm! Two of the most stunning and satisfying musical "marriages" in pop history is Dionne'n'Bacharach/David, and the fabulous twinning of Petula Clark and Tony Hatch'n'Jackie Trent! I'm glad you liked the Bambi, too....just fell in love with it and her....and, what on earth ever happened to her....and why?!🤷♂️Thanks, Emm!
I ask questions like that about all kinds of artists. Sometimes, I find the answers, sometimes not. And sometimes, the answers are kind of sad.
The real rarity here is the headshot of NickS! Hi, Nick.
Hello!
I use Tune Tag to extract exclusives out of my guests! It works a treat!😁
Brad. Reading this reminded me of my college years when I’d go down rabbit holes with my music geek friends. That was when along with Jobim’s body of work as bossa Nova, I immersed myself in Burt Bacharach music.
Primarily the Dionne Warwick years and the Carpenters collaboration.
This was a fascinating read thank you for all this background and stories.
Thank you, Ali! I’m glad you enjoyed Nick’s and my contributions to a great song and songwriting duo! This was certainly a fun rabbit hole to venture into with all the terrific arrangements and performances we dug up!