The world doesn't lack Burt Bacharach collections and this one is effectively a compilation of a compilation — a 50-track double CD distilling the 75-track triple-disc box-set of a few years back.
It's a comprehensive collection and also a reminder that Bacharachand longtime lyricist Hal David are — like Lennon and McCartney — a partnership who don't particularly need a "revival" as their songs still endure beyond their times (apart from the awful That's What Friends Are For and Christopher Cross' Arthur's Theme).
And listening to this all in one go, you can't help but be reminded that Bacharach wrote for women's voices so much better than men's, whether it was, among others, Dionne Warwick, who has the majority shareholding on the songs here, Aretha Franklin (I Say A Little Prayer), Dusty Springfield (The Look of Love, Wishin' and Hopin') or Sandie Shaw (Always Something There to Remind Me).
