A Killer Salute to Bacharach/David

[javero]

Posted: 9/12/12 at 11:41pm

One of my fave female vocalists today is the extraordinary Trijntje Oosterhuis of the Netherlands. At the link is footage of her concert in which she presented the best of Bacharach/David backed by the Metropole Orquestra. I've always been fond of her unique & contemporary vocal styling of the material so the singing doesn't sound stilted or dated, without imitating an AI-contestant imitating 60's-era Dionne. There's over an hour and a half of concert footage.

Enjoy!


Trijntje Oosterhuis Best Of Bacharach/David Live Full Concert

[fflagg]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 12:05am

She is great. She has released a few CDs of Bacharach/David songs and a live CD. I do not know if the DVD is available in the States. One quibble: the arrangements can be a little "soft" at times but her vocals are wonderful, especially "I'll Never Fall in Love Again."

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 4:34am

Thanks for that--I had never heard of her, but just played the full concert. Terrific vocals. I agree the arrangements at some points are a bit too soft (it's sometimes a bit too smooth jazz for me), but still some of the best recent takes on Bacharach/David I've heard.

Interesting she includes Stronger than Before, which is from the concept album Sometimes Late at Night which Burt wrote with then wife Carole Bayer Sager (Dionne later recorded it, unfortunately in her fairly muzaky phase). Bacharach himself was slipping into muzak by that stage, and Sager was certainly no Hal David, but I have a soft spot for that entire album despite Carole's fairly limited vocals--one of the better things Bacharach did in the late 70s/early 80s (along with the soundtrack to the Italian film Forever). I also like her version of Love's the Answer which he wrote fairly recently for that Ron Isley sings Bacharach album.

Not to mention one of my fave 60s gems Bacharach did without David--Waiting for Charlie to Come Home (first recorded with Etta James) written with Bob Hilliard.

Thanks again

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 4:36am

(Oh and I meant the soundtrack to the Italian film Together? which has a Jackie DeShannon gem, I Don't Need You Anymore, not Futures which is a pretty dull album...)

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 3:41pm

Thanks for the link, javero. She's got a sweet voice, and definitely easy on the eyes! I saw one of her albums on iTunes the other day and was thinking of getting it. I was actually going to ask on this board if anyone could recommend a good recording of the Bacharach hits, as the ones I've seen in iTunes or Amazon are either old recordings which engineering-wise don't sound so good today, or the albums are pretty much muzak recordings. But I think her album might just do it. Now if I could only figure out how to pronounce her name...

[morosco]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 3:44pm

Thanks for posting this. I just bought the MP3 after hearing it.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 4:48pm

HoldThatThought, you really owe it to yourself to get the Rhino 3 disc, remastered box set. I think the recordings from 1964 on anyway, sound terrific, and it's a great primer with the definitive version of most of the hits, as well as a few rarities (ie gems like Dionne's Check Out Time, or Lou Johnson's Last One to Be Loved--he was being groomed as the male Dionne but never had much success.

WHen it came out it was a godsend, because back then (when i was just getting into Bacharach) the only Best Ofs you could find were the muzaky albums he recorded himself. Now you can find several good best ofs and rarity collections, as well as all 12 of the albums Bacharach produced for Dionne from 62 to 72 which obviously aren't a great place to start for a beginner, but I find flawless.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Look-Love-Bacharach-Collection/dp/tracks/B00000DGR0/ref=dp_tracks_all_2#disc_2

And annoyingly it looks to be out of print (who let that happen--Rhino must have lost their license), though there are import 2 disc versions... Still, it's really the best place to start to hear how he intended the songs (and they've rarely been topped).

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 7:36pm

Thanks for that link EricMontreal22! I would much prefer to have the original sound of his songs than the newer versions. The newer recordings just aren't the same. Every time I hear the original recordings, I feel transported back to the 60's. Plus you can't beat some of those artists in that box set. But I have to laugh at the song "The Blob", recorded by the "The Five Blobs." Can't say I know that one! There's got to be an interesting story there somewhere.

I just finished listening to the Oosterhuis concert. While it's "nice", a little more edge and dynamics in the arrangements overall would have made it really great. But since the originals have been remastered, that will do just fine.

[romantico]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 8:02pm

Never heard of her before but I am in love! Thank You SO MUCH for posting. I love Bacharach! No clue as to how to pronounce her name. I would love this concert on Blu-Ray. Hopefully,someday it will available.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 8:20pm

The Blob is included because it was Bacharach's first hit, LOL. A novelty tune, done for the movie (I'm sure you guessed that The Five Blobs never recorded again...)

I think it's true that nobody arranged his music as well as the man himself did back in the 60s. I get the desire to do more soft jazz takes on them--they lend themselves well to it, but it also sometimes robs the songs of the rather pure drama they actually have (even going back to an early hit like Anyone Who Had a Heart--the original is gut wrenching--many later versions, including ones Bacharach has done himself, sound like the singer is lounging in a bubble bath).

[javero]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 10:54pm

I still don't know how to pronounce her name

Right after Luther Vandross passed away a friend from me across the pone sent me an mp3 of her performing 'So Amazing' live and I was blown away. What most amazes me about her is that English in not her first language and the amazing command she has over her voice which I consider an instrument. I read once that she prefers jazz to standards but she's quite versatile. Bacharach even played on 2 of her albums.

It's not fair to compare but why can't Xtina Aguilera (and countless Whitney/Mariah/Celine spawns) rein it in and put the focus back on the song(s), not their image or vocal ability?

Trijntje adds a touch of her personal flare without going overboard. I was so disappointed that Whitney didn't move into this space post-Bodyguard.

The link is to her recording of 'People Get Ready'.

PS: The fact that she's very easy on the eyes, with meat on her bones, is a definite bonus.




Trijntje Ooseterhuis 'People Get Ready'

Updated On: 9/13/12 at 10:54 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 11:11pm

Another voice of thanks for sharing these links.
I've never heard of her before, but LOVE her vocals.

I adore this music, and was hooked from the first trumpet note in the concert link.

I'm going to search for her available recordings. Such a pleasure to listen to her this evening.

Thank you!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 11:18pm

I'm a big fan of Laura Fygi, a jazz singer from Holland too, and can only very rarely detect her accent, though she speaks English in conversation with a very strong one, often getting words wrong. (She also suffers sometimes from too soft arrangements IMHO).

(Not to threadjack, but here she is doing a Michel Legrand song in concert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbqnyaS6qNY&feature=related )

[javero]

Posted: 9/13/12 at 11:32pm

Thanks for sharing, Erik. I like Laura's voice and sense of musical timing. There must be something in the Dutch water.

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 9/14/12 at 10:14am

javero - I found the pronunciation on the web - her name is pronounded "Trayntjuh" or "Traincha" "Ow-ster-hoise". The link for more details is here:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dutch-2355/2010/7/Pronounciation-singer-Trijntje-Oosterhuis.htm

Eric - re: Laura Fygi, great video and song! I usually don't listen to a lot of jazz singers, I'm more into the non vocal jazz, but I'd like to check out some of her albums. Any particular one that is a stand out?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/15/12 at 5:45pm

I would recommend starting with her album she did with Michel Legrand (where the track is from). Legrand suffers the way Bacharach has in that his own arrangements sometimes can become too lush, but overall it's a great album. http://www.amazon.com/Watch-Happens-Laura-Michel-Legrand/dp/B0000047E4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347745586&sr=8-1&keywords=laura+fygi+watch+what+happens

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 9/15/12 at 7:27pm

Will do, thanks!