Wishin' and Votin' - the BURT BACHARACH SONGBOOK Poll Results

ok, NOW that's the end of the ties

I thought about giving "Magic Moments" a few points and demured in the end. There are bits of the melody that are really pleasing but it's too much goo in the end. Wd've gone with it in a different mood i guess.

I can not get over the length of this guy's career. Hits going back to 10" 78s, jeez.

i've been surprised at how quickly he found his voice, some of his biggest tunes were written 4 or 5 years earlier than i'd've guessed

I thought about giving "Magic Moments" a few points and demured in the end. There are bits of the melody that are really pleasing but it's too much goo in the end. Wd've gone with it in a different mood i guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tabHi6EdA_Q
A little Lev-it-y for the nonce

The biggest revelation for me was learning the amount of overlap between his gig with Marlene Dietrich and his songwriting career. I had assumed there wasn't any, but he was still touring with her until '62 at least.

I was off on the timing of that as well, couldn’t quite put it together.

Also have to admit again that it is a lot easier to listen to multiple versions of the tunes without the pressure of putting together a ballot.

42. Rain From the Skies — 94 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Samantha Martin & the Haggard, 2011, 46 points — https://open.spotify.com/track/5DQz9eykQP8u2K0K93suva?si=jVW2SH6ESzWLyCjnRrvC_w (no youtube that I can find)
Alton Ellis, 24 points — https://open.spotify.com/track/2pXkO915qAfRPqCYVUzH19?si=0O5VncQIRqSrZrwZGIOb1A (ditto)
Delroy Wilson, 24 points — https://youtu.be/0NXVuflHh4g
Original version: Adam Wade single, Jan. 1963 — https://youtu.be/3mxtqhqbSZA

The Alton Ellis and Delroy Wilson versions are so close together -- same music track and different vocals?

41. That's Not the Answer — 100 points, 2 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1965, 100 points — https://youtu.be/T-8wXJ99lbY

I'm a big Samantha Martin fan, this must be the first time she's ever been mentioned on ILM. I voted for the Delroy Wilson version of Rain From The Skies, but cheers to whoever voted for Samantha .

I never heard of her until she showed up in this thread, but yeah, that version is really nice.

40. The April Fools — 100 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Aretha Franklin, album cut on Young, Gifted and Black, 1972, 70 points — https://youtu.be/trNhaxZvFVk
Dionne Warwick, 1969 single, 30 points — https://youtu.be/UuNMlfYvmuc

Aretha version was my #27.

I also like the Rufus Wainwright song of almost the same title.

I've given "That's Not the Answer" three listens in the last hour and I'm baffled that it's this high.

Don’t really know that one and didn’t make an impression on me just now.

Here’s another April Fool’s performance I dig:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=756327181053549&id=188873394595276&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fhugh.aylward.9%2Fvideos%2F756327181053549%2F&refid=52

Hadn't heard "That's Not The Answer" before. It's nice; like the vibe pattern hook and the jangly guitar break (I guess Burt had heard the Byrds by then).

OK, my big work thing has come in, so here comes probably the last one for today and I may not deliver any more until Thursday.

39. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) — 100 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Carol Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross, Peter Allen
Christopher Cross, 1981 single, 100 points — https://youtu.be/qqGWOxu_H4I

Mandatory:

[Removed Illegal Image]

Gah,see it here: is it just me, or does that Midnight Special DVD set look kinda cool?

Dionne Warwick's voice is just

Totally dropped the ball on voting in this but glad that means I'll get a clearer idea of other voters' faves. Would've taken too long to decide anyway.

*(TIE) 43. Magic Moments — 90 Points, 4 Votes*
Lyric: Hal David
Perry Como, RCA-Victor 78RPM 10-inch fucking shellac, 1957, 90 points — https://youtu.be/xcImlxojThY🕸

I wish I could share some eyewitness quotes on the creation of "Arthur's Theme"...

Como was my mother's favorite singer.

I've given "That's Not the Answer" three listens in the last hour and I'm baffled that it's this high.

listen, i had this ranked pretty high and i think there's something about the simplicity and the directness that was refreshing in the context of a lot of burt songs with their unusual meters, convoluted melodies, and complex chord changes. it just kinda reached out and grabbed me.

that and the arrangement is so delicate and breezy and the background vocals are downright angelic.

I totally goofed missing the Shirelles' "It's Love That Really Counts"--I once had that high on a Top 100 list.

Aaah, "Everybody's Out of Town" and "Things I Will Not Miss" placed with several votes each, but without comment, just after I went to bed. Hadn't heard either before this exercise and they feel like they might be classed as 'minor' works, but I was incapable of extracting either from my ballot.

Found myself creating a Spotify list of the highest ranked versions while catching up. :)

https://open.spotify.com/user/empeecee/playlist/18x6FTdwYDmEwtEAgs2Tpd

are u there with another poll?

I'm taking a breakfast break from work, so here comes another result or two.

38. Knowing When To Leave — 107 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1970 b-side to "Make It Easy On Yourself", 68 points — https://youtu.be/3Kzw70otb1w
Jill O'Hara, 1968 Promises, Promises Broadway cast LP, 39 points — https://youtu.be/uKRmQhotpCQ

listen, i had this ranked pretty high and i think there's something about the simplicity and the directness that was refreshing in the context of a lot of burt songs with their unusual meters, convoluted melodies, and complex chord changes. it just kinda reached out and grabbed me.

that and the arrangement is so delicate and breezy and the background vocals are downright angelic.

― budo jeru, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 5:03 PM (yesterday)

Thanks for your take on this -- my comment came across too much as "this song is unworthy" instead of "I need someone else's insight."

37. The Story of My Life — 126 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Marty Robbins, 1957 single, 80 points — https://youtu.be/BrHZCmVQnNA
Michael Holliday, 1958 single, 46 points — https://youtu.be/Gzk0bdlDr3Y

ok, back to work, might be back today, might be tomorrow

I voted for the Broadway version of "Knowing When to Leave." #20 of 20-song ballot) In fact, I once spun it on WFMU.

(that was shortly before it appeared on the Rhino box; I also played the cast version of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again")

"Story of My Life" was the one that I really had no clue was Bacharach/David, for obvious reasons i think. I've always loved it anyway. Could've voted for either of those versions but my inner cowboy won out.

are u there with another poll?

"Story of My Life" was the one that I really had no clue was Bacharach/David, for obvious reasons i think. I've always loved it anyway. Could've voted for either of those versions but my inner cowboy won out.

it was my number 13, which was too high but i voted in the moment. i say i had "no clue" but i must've known and forgotten, i've got a fairly comprehensive BB CD compilation somewhere still in the house.

re: "Knowing When To Leave", i wish they'd written more musicals

Yeah, it was a littler high on my ballot too, but it’s kind of impossible to get the ranking just so.

um, like Lost Horizon? xp

Littler

lol Morbs this is why musicals should start life on the stage

well Promises was a decent-sized hit, and it was an adap of The Apartment

This I did not know

there are quite a few Bacharach/David songs that have this interstitial quality to them - they feel like they start mid-story and they don't really resolve anything at the end, especially melodically - and that's a good trick for musical theatre where as many of the songs need to be building blocks as they do show-stoppers