always something there to remind me

What's come to be known as "lounge" music was quite important in my formative years. Growing up in an early 1970s household really only previously used to classical music and hymns, "easy listening"--as it was called then--meant that it was possible to play pop music on the living room dansette record player in a less raucous, more family-friendly form than most of the chart hits of the day. As a result the first few Carpenters albums were played to death for a good few years.

Listening more recently to the music of Burt Bacharach brings this all back to me. You never know, but at eighty years old (that's him not me), it's likely I'll never get to see him live now but his recent concert in the BBC's Electric Proms season--which I've just finished listening to on the (now indispensible) BBC iPlayer for the third time--was a reminder of those great songs with their sweeping melodies, great arrangements and unusual harmonies.

Shame that he never really got to admit that, great composer and arranger as he is, he never really cut it as someone who can sing in tune. This is a great performance from Dusty but you really need him NOT to join in at the end...



Must dig out that old Dionne Warwick cassette...