Always Something There- A Burt Bacharach Collectors' Anthology

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Always Something There: A Burt Bacharach Collector's Anthology 1952-1969, "JOLLY GOOD"!
I first signed onto Amazon a couple years ago to expand my Burt Bacharach collection. I've seen Burt Bacharach perform live five times, talk to him twice, and own over 60 of his CD's. Last July I jumped at the opportunity to pre-order a copy of his new CD, Always Something There: A Burt Bacharach Collector's Anthology 1952-1969, when Amazon arranged to have it delivered in time to celebrate his 80th Birthday on May 12th. On Burt Bacharach's Birthday my family cooked and ate huge hamburgers while listening to his new disc. YEAH, BABY! It's a marvelous collection of rarities that are hard to find anywhere else and is a good companion piece alongside the book, Burt Bacharach Song By Song. The Amazon Product Review and first two initial Customer Reviews speak volumes. After purchasing the new Anthology, I sat down and alphabetised ten of his CD's, song by song, and count how many rarities appear on other product installments and which songs are ultra rare. Always Something There: A Burt Bacharach Collector's Anthology 1952-1969 tops the list for the largest number of hard to find recordings in one place. A big piece of the cake. A teriffic way to cut loose and have some fun. The Retro color artwork in the shape of big balloons on the front cover remind me what it felt like to celebrate his 80th Birthday. The Burt Bacharach star gets bigger and shines brighter all the time. I fail to draw any comparisons. Burt Bacharach is an original. I look forward to purchasing his new CD he recently made in Australia. Yeah! Happy 80th B-Day! BFF**

A classy collection from the classiest of composers...
Ace does it again! While Bacharach anthologies are plentiful, here's one that doesn't have "Close To You", "Raindrops" or "I Say A Little Prayer". Instead, it offers us "Move It On The Backbeat", "Gotta Get A Girl" and "Wild Honey" (no, not the Beach Boys' tune!). Confused? Don't be. ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE takes a look at the lesser-known side of Bacharach, primarily drawn from impossibly hard-to-find singles written by the Maestro in the earliest part of his career. While a few songs have appeared recently thanks to Rhino's excellent 3-disc THE LOOK OF LOVE ("So Long, Johnny", "Made In Paris", the title track), the rest are true rarities presented for the first time ever on CD, all in pristine sound. Listening to this disc while reading the copious 18-page booklet (lavishly illustrated in full color) is akin to taking a crash course in Burt. These songs might not all feature the sound associated with Bacharach, but the seeds of his genius - with and without lyrical partner Hal David - are very much in evidence here. "Rain In The Skies" features arguably Burt's first use of his famous flugelhorn intro, while "Move It On The Backbeat" has Burt making great use two unknown background singers who just HAPPEN to be Dionne & Dee Dee Warwick. For any fan or collector of Bacharach who already has the chart-toppers, this collection is a must-have. Bring on Volume Two!

Not the best of Burt or Ace
Unlike most Ace compilations, which are among the very best in their field, this one contains several tracks available elsewhere, specifically, on the 3-disc Rhino Bacharach set (a must-have); the remaining tracks are among Bacharach's weaker efforts so this one is more for completists than the average 60s pop fan.