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The sophisticated complexity and cosmopolitan éclat of Burt Bacharach’s music forever changed the world of pop with its initial rush of jazzy twists, subtle theatricality, and bold bridgework. Bacharach’s melodies, pinned to the equally layered immensity of Hal David’s lyrics, certainly turned Elvis Costello around. As a burgeoning pub-rocker-turned-young-punk on the earliest of Stiff label tours, Costello found himself as a ready, brusque interpreter of Bacharach’s music—an entrée that led to an epic collaboration starting with songs to score the 1996 film Grace of My Heart, their duo recording from 1998, Painted by Memory, and tracks penned by the twosome for an intended Broadway musical with Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre.
That all of this is now part of a two-vinyl, four-CD package is a marvel—one starting with a cool remaster of the pair’s 1998 symphony to God and love, and one that ranges from Costello’s live rendition of “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself” in Norwich from 1977, to rarities such as a Costello/Nick Lowe duet on “Baby It’s You,” a Bacharach vocal on the 007-inspired, “Lie Back and Think of England,” and a 1999 live Royal Festival Hall showcase featuring Costello croon-cackling the Bacharach/David classics “Make It Easy on Yourself,” “My Little Red Book,” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart.” Meanwhile, the reevaluation process of Painted by Memory, a longtime favorite, will break your heart with each spin.
“Rarity” is a special word when it comes to The Songs of Bacharach & Costello because, save for Elvis keeping this sound alive in such an impactful way (the box set’s 10,000-word book is worth its price alone), future interpreters of Burt without empathetic ears may miss the nuance, romanticism, and smarts of such intricate melodies, bridges, and choruses. From the arching poignancy of “God Give Me Strength” to the set’s supplest spins on chamber pop musicality (the previously unreleased likes of “You Can Have Her,” “Taken From Life,” and “Look Up Again”), Costello—as a singer—had never created a warm, fleshy vocal sound as tender and considered as he did with Bacharach. And as a lyricist, never crafted words and phrases so spare, so to-the-heart-of-every-matter-and-melody as he did with this composer. And that’s saying something.
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