Motown Salutes Bacharach (A Tribute To Burt Bacharach)

It makes sense that this compilation inevitably had to happen. There are just so many renditions of legendary songwriter/arranger/composer/overlord Burt Bacharach's songs within the Motown catalog that someone at Universal (Motown's parent company) finally had the good sense to amass them for another volume in their long-running reissue series. It also shows how much respect and admiration the Motown camp had for Bacharach, entrusting a large portion of the A-list artists in their juggernaut arsenal to his style and sensibility. And much to their credit, the Motown artists take on Bacharach with full gusto. Motown Salutes Bacharach is the perfect fusion of Motown sensibility and soul with Bacharach's suave, sophisticated grace. Starting off easy with Gladys Knight's "The Look of Love," the compilation takes on the songbook without compromising either side's style. And while the majority of the compositions represented here are from Bacharach's slower standards, the results are overwhelmingly beautiful at times, most notably when Stevie Wonder goes to bat with "Alfie." And while most of these songs never placed high in the pop charts, it is an essential document for Bacharach fanatics, for Motown junkies, or just simply for the casual listener who wants to hear good music done extremely well. ~ Rob Theakston|