Sensitive and thrilling readings from Burt Bacharach’s iconic songbook

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Last night in the Eventim Apollo, some of history’s finest pop music was performed. Instantly hummable but with deceptive complexity, Burt Bacharach’s melodies, paired with the lyrics of Hal David, helped the likes of Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black, and Dusty Springfield achieve commercial success. With a full orchestra and guest vocalists, Bacharach performed songs from his iconic songbook to open the venue’s Summer Nights series. At 91 years old, and clearly quite frail, Bacharach still plays mellifluously.

British soul darling Joss Stone joined Bacharach on stage as his special guest. Having recently been deported from Iran in a valiant attempt to complete her world tour, Stone was in great spirits, bantering with the pop maverick throughout. She was assigned the crème de la crème of Bacharach’s songbook including ‘Walk on By’, ‘I Say a Little Prayer’, and the sweeping ‘A House Is Not a Home’. There was a delightful tension to Stone’s delivery, her voice flicking between feathery pianissimo and her throaty, piercing belt. Perhaps the transitions were too jarring for some, but Stone was a fine choice in this writer’s view as an interpreter of this hallowed catalogue. Against a piano-driven arrangement, she rendered ‘I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself’, a hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964, as a pained torch ballad. For ‘The Look of Love’ – which Bacharach attributed to his fascination with the ‘magnificent‘ looking Ursula Andress – Stone was paired with a sultry bossa nova guitar. She tackled the Herb Alpert hit ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’ with abandon.

Stone did not do all the heavy lifting, however. Always with a fine ear for matching his material to the right voices, Bacharach drew heavily upon his regular trio of touring vocalists – John Pagano, Josie James, and Donna Taylor. Pagano lent his rich, pitch-perfect tenor to ‘This House is Empty Now’ and gave weight to the syrupy power ballad ‘With a Voice’. Taylor approached ‘Falling Out of Love’ – released by Aretha Franklin in 2003 – with deft gospel inflection. Josie James’ expertly paced rendition of ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ encouraged the first standing ovation of the evening. It was a shame she was not offered Dionne Warwick’s breakthrough single ‘Don’t Make Me Over’ – the only disappointing omission from the set – as a second solo number.

Admittedly, Bacharach’s more recent compositions – influenced by the sorry state of American politics – were the less impressive moments of an otherwise exquisite evening. The structure of the show could also have been finessed with Stone sashaying on and off the stage somewhat irregularly.

After being heckled by an audience member desperate to hear ‘Alfie’, Bacharach delivered the song himself in his weathered voice in perhaps the most touching moment of the evening.

(Image taken from Ticketmaster Facebook Page)