The songwriter Elvis Costello said was made for the greatest singers: “Amazing discipline and attention to detail”
The Paddington-born songwriter Elvis Costello got to work with artists from all genres, but when he crossed paths with Burt Bacharach, his imposter syndrome flared up.
Although Costello marked the 1990s music scene by writing some of its most moving songs, such as the Notting Hill soundtrack ‘She’, he confessed to learning a lot under Bacharach’s mentorship.
The unlikely duo came together to write the 1998 album Painted From Memory, which resulted in damn-near unanimous critical acclaim. They brought together very different styles of music, but they were hailed for their masterful blend of Bacharach’s signature smooth, orchestrated pop style with dark, romantic themes.
“Burt has been sung by some of the greatest singers ever, many of them probably more secure vocalists than I am, less fallible than I am, in some cases smoother, singing with less stress,” Costello revealed in a 1999 interview with Paul Freeman. Bacharach’s ‘Walk on By’ was indeed sung by the likes of Isaac Hayes, the Stranglers and Gloria Gaynor – while his music remains the most highly coveted for cover singers until today.
The Kansas City songwriter had been writing music since the 1950s, from movie masterpiece soundtracks, notably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to music for artists such as Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. Some of his classics include ‘(They Long To Be) Close to You’ and ‘I Say A Little Prayer For You’.
Although Costello’s voice on the album may not be at the level of some former collaborators in Bacharach’s portfolio, the British singer gives it a new tone: “there’s a tension and, I hope, something thrilling about reaching for something that is on the edge of your ability.” Bacharach’s thorough musical education was a source of constant learning for Costello, who “occasionally would make an error when we were working on a song… But usually, when I took a step back, I realised he was right.”
The songwriters met while working on the soundtrack to ‘God Give Me Strength’, from the 1996 film Grace of My Heart. “Some people look at this as a real odd couple,” said then 70-year-old Bacharach during the Freeman interview, “but we’re not coming from such different places. If you trace Elvis back to his bad-boy days as a punk artist and view me as the king of soft, middle-of-the-road pop, the perceived disparity is understandable. But it’s not really that way. He’s a guy who did an album with the Brodsky String Quartet. He’s an adventurer. So this isn’t so far out, is it?”
Although Costello had some training to catch up on and spoke frankly in the presence of his “thoroughly schooled” counterpart, the American songwriter was able to sit Costello comfortably under his wing. “It’s been fascinating to see the way he thinks musically, his amazing discipline and attention to detail.”
Their album is a beautiful melange of soft jazz and transcendent rhythms, exploring musical avenues from both writers’ epochs. One thing’s for sure: this historic collaboration reminded the ’90s pop scene that it didn’t take any singer to write a song – songwriting is an art in itself.
