Some sweet ear candy. Perfect pop concoctions from Bacharach and, on most tracks, lyricist Hal David. Interestingly, Bacharach wasn't the best interpreter of his material -- vocalists like Dionne Warwick, Sandie Shaw, Gene Pitney, Dusty Springfield, and the Shirelles were. Those popular versions are the ones included here. Most songs are from the '60s with 2 from the '80s. Since this is a Rhino issue, you can be assured the liner notes are first rate. People my age grew up listening to these songs because it was pop music our parents would enjoy. A fantastic compilation, highly recommended for aging hipsters like myself.
Tracks: It's hard to pick the best and those might vary from listen to listen, but today I'm digging Dionne Warwick singing Walk On By, I Say A Little Prayer For You, and Do You Know The Way To San Jose? Also, Jackie DeShannon singing What The World Needs Now Is Love and Tom Jones wailing What's New Pussycat? (a favorite of my sons). Dusty Springfield singing The Look Of Love just melts me. Wow, what a voice. I've never been a fan of Alfie or That's What Friends Are For, so they don't get played much, if at all.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Not long after I bought this CD, my wife and I piled into a minivan with 2 other couples to go out to dinner. I popped this in the CD player and soon there were 6 adults singing along, myself included.
Tracks: It's hard to pick the best and those might vary from listen to listen, but today I'm digging Dionne Warwick singing Walk On By, I Say A Little Prayer For You, and Do You Know The Way To San Jose? Also, Jackie DeShannon singing What The World Needs Now Is Love and Tom Jones wailing What's New Pussycat? (a favorite of my sons). Dusty Springfield singing The Look Of Love just melts me. Wow, what a voice. I've never been a fan of Alfie or That's What Friends Are For, so they don't get played much, if at all.
| Song | Year | Hot 100 | AC | R&B |
| Baby It's You - The Shirelles | 1961 | 8 | - | 3 |
| Only Love Can Break A Heart - Gene Pitney | 1962 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| Anyone Who Had A Heart - Dionne Warwick | 1963 | 8 | 2 | - |
| (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me - Sandie Shaw | 1964 | 52 | - | - |
| Walk On By - Dionne Warwick* | 1964 | 6 | 7 | - |
| What The World Needs Now Is Love - Jackie DeShannon* | 1965 | 7 | - | 40 |
| Alfie - Dionne Warwick* | 1967 | 15 | - | - |
| What's New Pussycat? - Tom Jones | 1965 | 3 | - | - |
| I Say A Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick | 1967 | 4 | - | 8 |
| The Look Of Love - Dusty Springfield | 1967 | 22 | 31 | - |
| Do You Know The Way To San Jose - Dionne Warwick | 1968 | 10 | 4 | 23 |
| Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head - B.J. Thomas* | 1969 | 1 | 1 | - |
| I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Dionne Warwick | 1969 | 6 | 1 | 17 |
| One Less Bell To Answer - The 5th Dimension | 1970 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross | 1981 | 1 | 1 | - |
| That's What Friends Are For - Dionne & Friends | 1985 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
*Grammy Hall of Fame |
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Not long after I bought this CD, my wife and I piled into a minivan with 2 other couples to go out to dinner. I popped this in the CD player and soon there were 6 adults singing along, myself included.
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