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Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach and Ronald Isley “Here I Am: Isley meets Bacharach”
(Dreamworks)
Review by Matt Robinson
 Though
two wrongs may not make a right, two smoothes apparently do make a smooth.
Or so it would seem with this latest duet set from timeless songwriter
Burt Bacharach. In teaming up with Soul Brother Ronald Isley, Bacharach
brings new shadings to his classic compositions. On the theme to “Alfie,”
Isley’s broad range enhances Bacharach’s signature strings. Dust-ing off
“The Look of Love,” Isley brings gentle syncopation to Springfield’s
classic hit. He adds a bit of Southern twang to “Raindrops Keep Falling on
My Head” and even makes The Carpenters’ chestnut “Close to You” seem cool
again! And though Bacharach’s own voice may fail on “Windows of the
World,” the cracked pain of the song is lifted up to heaven by Isley’s
soaring choruses. More than another duets album, “Here I Am” is a reminder
of what songcraft can be and what can happen when two legends combine
forces in the name of music.
- Matthew S. Robinson
c. 2004, M. S. Robinson, ARR
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