2. Always Something There To Remind Me
3. Anonymous Phone Call
4. After The Fox
5. You’ll Never Get To Heaven
6. Do You Know The Way To San Jose
7. Don’t Make Me Over
8. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head
9. I Say A Little Prayer
10. Trains And Boats And Planes
11. Walk On By
Jim O’Rourke is an extremely underrated talent; a diverse and inventive musician that it is quite difficult to pin down. His work veers from quaint folk, to beautiful instrumental – then off in the direction of laptop beats and albums containing only one song (2009’s “The Visitor” consisting of only one 38 minute track that had to be listened to in full). His works usually require a certain degree of patience, but the rewards are usually more than worth it. “All Kinds of People ~Love Burt Bacharach~” then is one of O’Rourke’s more accessible listens, mainly because you’ll have heard many of these songs before. A tribute album to the songwriting legend, “All Kinds of People...” sees O’Rourke cover 11 pieces of Bacharach’s more famous numbers with guests including Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and former Bacharach collaborator, Donna Taylor.
“All Kinds of People...” generally goes down smooth. The original source material has been handled here with due respect, there are no 10 minute instrumental wig outs, and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” has not been transformed into an obscure acoustic folk number. Opening track “Close To You” gives the album a good opening; It’s a number you’re likely to be familiar with and it’s also one of the better covers on here. “All Kinds of People....” was recorded in Japan, and as such, many of the guest vocalists on here are of Eastern origin. I don’t know much of Haruomi Hosono’s background, but for a 67 year old he has an impressively smooth voice on “Close To You”; perfect for upping the croon factor.
There isn’t much wrong with the instrumentation here, the aforementioned opening track is a brilliantly upbeat piano ballad, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” manages to sound something more than just a romcom soundtrack courtesy of steel drums, “Walk On By” maintains the soulfulness of the original number without becoming bogged down in itself. Where “All Kinds of People ~Love Burt Bacharach~” fails down is on its’ questionable vocal performances, and a few numbers that are unfortunately, quite forgettable. I don’t care that “After the Fox” was written as a soundtrack to a children’s film, it’s still completely daft. The old guy singing in it just sounds like he’s coughing up over himself for most of the song. It’s quite funny, but for all the wrong reasons. “You’ll Never Get To Heaven” and “Don’t Make Me Over” are guilty of the former forgettable-ness charges, whilst “Say A Little Prayer For Me” is frustrating; gentle lounge piano and acoustic guitar are ruined when it gets to that chorus, which was just not meant to be sang in a Japanese accent. I also don’t care if you’re namechecked in one of The Flaming Lips' more famous songs, (The vocalist here is that Yoshimi) quit ruining perfectly lovely songs. It’s especially annoying being one of the catchier moments on the album, but it really is ruined somewhat.
It’s ok though. Just listen to “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”, and tell me that’s not beautiful. It’s definitely the strongest moment on here, getting the mix of instrumentation and vocals just right, Kahimi Karie’s (?) vocals lending this quieter number an air of fragility. By the time the cascading pianos and wistful trumpets come in, you’ll be sold.
“All Kinds of People ~Love Burt Bacharach~” is far from an essential listen, then, but it’s one of those ones that you can get behind, despite its flaws. The songs remain brilliant, and O’Rourke’s touches in playing all the instruments (save for the drums- left to Wilco’s Glen Kotche) are subtle and thankfully not overpowering of the original material. So give “All Kinds of People...” a listen. You’ll be surprised how many Burt Bacharach songs you’ve heard of.
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