Thursday, June 01, 2006

Turn me on Bacharach

Switched-On Bacharach - Christopher Scott
Well, you've probably heard Switched On Bach,
now it's time to give Bacharach the treatment...



The title says it all really, and the switch is connected to an electric chair, in which Mr. Bacharach is slumped, heavily sedated...
The cover image is a high point of this unforgiving recording, but even that looks like a fire hazard. The back cover text of my copy has been damaged and is mostly illegible, but the surviving last paragraph is worth retyping:

"Burt Bacharach is going to enjoy hearing this album because, like his songs, it is done with taste and artistry and real feeling.
And, electronic or no, switched-on or turned-down, you just don't hardly get that kind of musical integrity anymore these days.
This is a today album that will be around tomorrow and quite a few days after".

Well there's no information on whether Burt ever did enjoy hearing it but my gut feeling is NOT!
After spending the time and effort preparing this recording for posting I should add something positive at this point: It is a prime example of how the synthesizer can be deployed: taking beautiful and sensitive music and transforming it into relentlessly unemotional muzak for robots (and they will surely enjoy it -provided they have a warped sense of humour- especially track 10). As such it should be in every self-respecting music lover's time capsule, if only to ensure that it will indeed "be around tomorrow and quite a few days after".
As they say, you just don't hardly get that kind of musical integrity anymore these days...

tracklist:
01 The Look Of Love
02 Alfie
03 Walk On By
04 This Guy's In Love With You
05 Wives And Lovers
06 Do You Know The Way To San Jose?
07 What The World Needs Now Is Love
08 I Say A Little Prayer
09 The April Fools
10 What's New Pussycat?


flick that switch now!

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

A title like that just had to have an album made to go with it....!

However I think I'll just enjoy the cover rather than download the music!

1:21 am, July 06, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have this album on vinyl, and it truly ruins the name of the Moog Synthesizer. As a keyboardist myself, I found that this album totally underused the capabalities of the synthesizer.

9:03 am, April 22, 2007  

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