I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach is one of those lucky songwriters who's had his tunes recorded by so many performers over the years, it must be hard for his accountant to keep track of them all. I've discovered that a surprising number of folks who've been in & around music for a long time really enjoy Bacharach's songs. I guess they've been part of the landscape for so long that I just... walked on by.

Apparently, the power poppers at the now defunct Big Deal label dug them some Burt too. So much, that back in 1998, they assembled a tribute album with contributions from bands signed to Big Deal at the time. There's plenty of good versions of Burt classics like "Close To You", "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "Make It Easy On Yourself" & a dozen others. I also have to give props to whoever contracted legendary Mad magazine artist, Jack Davis, to do the cover art. I'll bet that's where most of the project budget went. (Click on the pic to enlarge.)

The standout track is this gear-shifting take of "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" by Splitsville. It starts off with an authentic 60's lounge-pop feel for a verse or two, then jumps into a diesel-powered Liverpool groove for the bridge. At about the 2:00 mark, there's an unexpected nod to a 'sweet' power pop classic! Can you guess the song? The fade out provides one more tip of the hat to a groundbreaking 80's hit that'll make you smile.

This excellent tribute CD is well worth picking up at Amazon. It's out of print, but super cheap. If you like Bacharach at all, then I know you'll really dig it. There's several CD's available from Splitsville too.