More of the Music of Burt Bacharach
More Records with Advice on What to Listen For
We played a good-sized stack of these recently, but not many of them sounded the way we wanted them to.
The majority of copies had a tendency to be bright, which is MURDER when the horns start blaring at the levels we play our records at.
In addition there are plenty of copies out there that lack energy, while others suffer from transient smearing, clearly audible on the brass.
And while we’re at it, what would a vintage A&M record be without a healthy amount of Tubey Magic? The best copies have loads of it, without ever becoming thick, fat, or overly smooth, or losing bass definition.
What to listen for? This list of problems that plague the average copy:
- Brightness,
- Blare,
- Lifelessness,
- Smear,
- Tubey Magic.
It takes a special copy to make these easy listening numbers sound as fresh and invigorating as they no doubt did in the studio, and that’s what the best Hot Stampers are all about.
Above all, this is simply a fun album of pop tunes, cleverly arranged and played with gusto. (I would be very surprised if these West Coast sessions weren’t Wrecking Crew to a man, or woman as the case may be. Bacharach is known to be a stickler so the best of the best session guys and gals are probably the only ones he would consider.)
When it sounds this good the music is positively wonderful. There are tons of Burt Bacharach hits here — The Look Of Love (sounding in some ways even better than it does on Casino Royale!), Message To Michael, Alfie, What The World Needs Now, I Say A Little Prayer and many more.