Interview with EC&BB, and review of Painted From Memory
CNN Interactive, 1998-10-08

Transcript from CNN Newsstand Entertainment Weekly

UPN Under Fire; Antz: the Real Story; Burt & Elvis
Aired October 8, 1998 - 10:00 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS
FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLOW BAY, CO-HOST (voice-over): UPN under fire. A new
sitcom that pokes fun at slavery.


           *       *       *


JUDD ROSE, CO-HOST (voice-over): Talk about an odd
couple.

Burt Bacharach, musician from time's past.

And the king of punk rock, Elvis Costello.

ELVIS COSTELLO, MUSICIAN: I did think it was little
vansful (ph) that he would want to work with me.

ROSE: An unlikely pair teaming up to make beautiful music
together.


           *       *       *


ANNOUNCER:    *       *       *
But next, Elvis is back, Costello that is. And he is
teaming up with Burt Bacharach. We'll sit in on a
session, and review their new release, when CNN &
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSE: When we think of the music of the late '60s and
early '70s, we tend to think of the Beatles and the
Stones or even the early days of disco. But think again,
about a group of pop songs from that time, lush, romantic
tunes with irresistible melodies and words we remember to
this day.

Now, the man who composed all of that memorable music has
returned, and in a most unusual way. Join us now as we
show you how "Mr. Mellow" got in tune, this time, with an
angry young man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIONNE WARWICK, SINGER (singing): My foolish pride;
that's all that I have left. Left behind. The tears and
the sadness you gave me, when you said good-bye. You said
good-bye. So walk on by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE (voice-over): He's made Dionne divine, and Wynonna a
winner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WYNONNA JUDD, (singer): Anyone who had a heart would take
you in his arms and love me, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: He's made Tom terrific.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM JONES, SINGER (singing): What's new pussycat? Wow,
wow, wow. What you get, pussycat? Wow, wow, wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: And he's made Stevie wonderful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVIE WONDER, MUSICIAN (singing): Well you came and
opened me and now there's so much more I see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: How does he do it?

BURT BACHARACH, COMPOSER: I've got this little guy. I
keep him in the closet, I shovel food underneath and he
writes the music. But don't tell anybody. Nobody knows
this.

ROSE: OK, it's our little secret. OK, but it's no secret
that now, at 70, Burt Bacharach is back. After composing
41 Top 20 hits, most in the '60s and '70s, he and his
songs seemed to fade away. He re-emerged briefly in the
'80s, with his AIDS anthem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLADYS KNIGHT, SINGER (singing): That's what friends are
for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: Then, two years ago, he was rediscovered by
Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "My Best Friend's Wedding," From
Tri-Star Pictures)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR (singing): I run for the bus, dear.
Well, why didn't I think of us, dear?

CHORUS: I say a little prayer for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: "My Best Friend's Wedding" got the revival rolling,
followed quickly by an affectionate spoof in the hit
comedy, "Austin Powers."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "Austin Powers")

MIKE MYERS, ACTOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Burt
Bacharach.

BACHARACH (singing): What the world needs now is love
sweet love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BACHARACH: Hey, wouldn't you do that? Just do it alone to
see the reaction of people on the street in Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "Austin Powers")

BACHARACH (singing): Is love sweet love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: Well, what was the reaction?

BACHARACH: They looked like s---t, what is going on here?

ROSE: At a tribute concert last April, a new generation
of singers embraced his golden oldies. Sheryl Crow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERYL CROW, SINGER (singing): I don't know how in the
world to stop thinking of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: Chrissie Hynde.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISSIE HYNDE, SINGER (singing): I sent a message to
Michael, message to Michael.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: And then, the singer who had so often taken
Bacharach's songs and made them her own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARWICK: Forever and ever -- Forever and ever and ever, I
love you.

ROSE: That's just one of eight Top Ten songs Bacharach
and lyricist Hal David wrote for Dionne Warwick.

WARWICK: It was fabulous that people are, again,
listening to some great music that Burt is responsible
for, with some wonderful words that Hal wrote. And I
just, I'm a lucky young lady to have been the exponent of
all of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(singing): I'll say a little prayer for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: You became, in the '60s and '70s, a certain example
of what's cool. And you know what, you're still cool.

BACHARACH: Thank you. Well, I think at that time, too, I
was married to a beautiful, beautiful woman, Angie
Dickinson. We were a good-looking couple.

ROSE: Yes.

BACHARACH: She was hot. I was hot. And, we had a good
time.

ROSE: And you were hot. Now, you're cool.

One of the reasons why is his new partner; in song, that
is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (singing): This house is empty now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: Yes, the "King of Pop" has teamed up with the
"Prince of Punk," Elvis Costello. Well, they are an odd
pair: Burt with his lush melodies.

BACHARACH (singing): People should get together.

ROSE: And Elvis with his raw, post-punk style. Two years
ago, having never met, they were asked to create a song
for the film, "Grace of My Heart." Working totally by fax
and phone, they composed, "God Give me Strength."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, From Worldwide Pants)

COSTELLO (singing): So God give me strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I got nominated for a Grammy, which was great,
you know? And we got along, you know? I got to say that I
was nominated in a category alongside Frank Sinatra,
Luciano Pavarotti, and Nat Cole, and Natalie Cole. So
that's pretty great. I think we can be excused for not
winning on that account.

ROSE: But it was a winning combination. Bacharach saw
some of himself in Costello.

BACHARACH: I'd guarantee, Judd, that I could call Elvis
up at three, four in the morning, when I'm on my second
wakeup, you know, with the jukebox in my head, spinning
around, and he'll be up. He'll be going through the same
process as me. Right to the last pimple on the face of
the record that nobody's going to see, except me and
Elvis.

ROSE: And the angry young was a life-long fan.

COSTELLO: Burt, his songs were all over the radio when I
was growing up, and they really stuck out as very
elegant, and speaking of something. When you're very
young, you don't always understand what, you know, what
they might be saying to you, because they were grown up,
but not in the sense of being off-limits for younger
people to listen to.

ROSE: So well did opposites attract that it ended up
here, in an L.A. studio, where they recorded a new record
called "Painted From Memory." Working in person this
time, Burt, who usually writes the music alone, shared
that job with Elvis.

BACHARACH: You see, he's got a very, very wide range of
musical taste, musical appreciation. And what this is
about is not whether it's a C -- just like a C chord like
this, or whether it's going to be a Major 7th. It's still
about taste, about melody, about passion, about the
statement of this album. It's a very strong statement
about relationships and love.

ROSE: Eleven new songs, backed by a 24-piece orchestra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHARACH & COSTELLO (singing): Can we still be friends,
baby?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: What can you tell us about the new one?

BACHARACH: It's good.

COSTELLO: Really. It's really good. I think we should say
that right off.

ROSE: But if you still long for Burt's vintage stuff,
next month, Rhino Records will release a three-CD set,
featuring 75 of them, from the sublime to the silly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARWICK (singing): Well now, I got lots of friends in San
Jose. Yeah, I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARWICK: "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," as a matter
of fact, is a song that I did not want to record. And I
just couldn't make any rhyme or reason or sense out of
wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARWICK (singing): Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo...

(END VIDEO CLIP) WARWICK: And I had never been to San
Jose. I finally found it, and it happens to be a very
pretty little place, too.

ROSE: And what of Burt Bacharach himself. What, from his
amazing catalogue is his personal favorite?

BACHARACH: Definitely, you'd have to put "Alfie" in
there.

ROSE: Could we coerce you into plunking out a few keys of
"Alfie" there?

BACHARACH: Well, I don't know the song. Sure, I can do
that, Judd.

(singing): What's it all about, Alfie. Is it just for --
What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie. Are we
meant to take more than we give.

(on camera): I am so gratified with what I've written,
and the acceptance, and the way it turned, I can't ever
say, "I could've, I should've" -- forget it.

(singing): And you'll find love any day, Alfie. Alfie.

ROSE: Burt and Elvis will be performing live next week at
Radio City Music Hall, here in New York, and then
Washington D.C., and L.A. And if their new record sells
well, a longer tour could be in the works. Now that, of
course, could depend on what the critics say about the
new album. So, on that note, here's "EW's" David Browne,
with his review of "Painted From Memory."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID BROWNE, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY" CRITIC: I'll be the
first to admit it. When I heard that Elvis Costello and
Burt Bacharach were making an album together, my first
reaction was to run for my Hanson records. Sure, both of
these guys are unique talents, and they both had long
stretches of uninterrupted creativity, but I can't
remember the last time I played one of their new pieces
of music all the way through. But here's a pleasant
surprise. Their first joint album "Painted From Memory"
actually makes you believe in miracles, at least once in
a while. Maybe it was Bacharach inspiration, but this
time Costello's actually written a bunch of pretty
straightforward romantic heart break lyrics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (singing): God give me strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And the combination of Costello's lyrics and
Bacharach's elegant music has resulted in a handful of
real gems: songs like "Toledo," and "I Still Have That
Other Girl." That said, the album is still a bumpy ride.
So, at times "Painted From Memory" kind of feels like a
soggy cereal. But when it works, "Painted From Memory" is
a truly old-fashioned pop record in the best sense of the
word. It recalls a time when Top 40 songwriters reached
for the sky and often grabbed it. I still wish Dionne
Warwick had sung some of these songs, so I'll give it a
B-plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (singing): I might as well.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coming up:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One by one, hurrah. Hurrah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Hold your antennas. Woody Allen and Sharon
Stone lead a convoy of ants. But we wanted to know: Do
the animated insects really have what it takes?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHARACTER: I've never seen an ant dance. Not
a line dance, not a square dance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)


           *       *       *


ANNOUNCER: When CNN & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSE: Welcome back to CNN & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. We've
got a lot more for you in this half-hour, including a
look into the new animated hit from DreamWorks; it's
called "Antz." Now, do ants really dance?

BAY: Yes, I'm sure they must.

ROSE: Well, I think they only do it to Beatles music.

BAY: No, I think they know all the words to "Do You Know
The Way To San Jose?"


           *       *       *