Burt Bacharach: A Life in Song

Filmed live at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2015, this celebration of the life and work of Burt Bacharach, a key contributor to the Great American Songbook during the last half of the 20th century, interweaves a live onstage interview of the 87-year-old composer by Michael Grade between performances of many of Bacharach's signature songs by British artists mostly unknown to American audiences. The charming, urbane Bacharach genially responds to Grade's generic questions concerning major influences (jazz), favorite song (“Alfie”), and fruitful relationship with lyricist Hal David, although aside from some reminiscences about childhood, Bacharach says almost nothing about his personal life. The questions are all keyed to segue into songs, starting with Rebecca Ferguson's rendition of “Walk on By” and Laura Mvula singing “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”—both popularized by Dionne Warwick in the 1960s. Although technically a 14-song set, one of those numbers is a movie medley of 10 tunes, including “Arthur's Theme,” “What's New Pussycat?,” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head,” some of which are sung in frail voice by Bacharach (who was never a strong vocalist to begin with). Viewers will likely recognize the Moody Blues's lead singer Justin Hayward (“What the World Needs Now”) and white soul sensation Joss Stone (“In Between the Heartaches”), but fewer will know Michael Kiwanuka, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, or Shaun Escoffery. Backed by an orchestra, all of the singers offer up serviceable renditions of Bacharach's hits, but no performances are especially fiery (although, to be fair, the music itself—with beautiful, timeless melodies—falls more into the easy listening area). Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include three bonus songs. A strong optional purchase. (R. Pitman)