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The first time I interviewed Burt Bacharach, in 1995, his opening words to me were, "You realise our backs are up against the wall, right? Let's do this."
Whether he had a studio date or writing session that day, I don't know, but it was clear, as it would be each of the eight times we spoke over the years, that Bacharach, who died on February 8 at the age of 94 from natural causes, didn't enjoy revisiting his musical legacy. In conversation, he could seem preoccupied, like he was working out some melodic puzzle in his head. Ask him about the inspiration for "A House Is Not A Home" or "The Look Of Love," and he might come across as impatient or frustratingly brief. Of the latter, he told me, "I watched the scene of Ursula Andress dancing in Casino Royale and the melody came to me."
What mattered most for Bacharach was the now, the next, the new. "I like the present and the future," he said.
That restless, forward-looking energy was at the heart of his world-conquering melody writing. That several of his songs had cities in the titles — "Do You Know The Way To San Jose," "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" among them — makes poetic sense, because his tunes often felt like living skylines. With elegantly constructed architecture that yearned upwards, their dynamic push and kinetic leaps always seemed in quest of sky-scraping emotion.
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