Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I have to surrender........, June 7, 2001
As a huge McCOY fan for many years I must admitt that I was skeptical to this CD when I first heard about this project. BUT, after repeated listening I have to surrender.Yes , the music sometimes are very close to "cocktail lounge music" but it never goes that far.What touches me is the way McCoy plays through those tunes, it is with deep respect for Bacharachs muisc, all added with McCoys own emotional playing, which often is quite "funky". The music is ideal for contemplation, and I don t think anyone can listen trough this CD without being touched in one way or the other, Perhaps Coltrane and Burt Bacharach have more in common that you would think of.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Takes time to grow on you, May 2, 2005
It took a number of listenings for me to really get into this album, even though I am a HUGE McCoy Tyner fan. John Clayton did an excellent job with the orchestrations. There is a great deal of variety. It is both harmonically challenging, yet accessible.
A big band (at least some of whom have played in McCoy's own big band)joins the orchestra on "You'll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart." They get a good groove going, and my one regret is that they do not appear on more of the tracks.
McCoy has excellent rapport with both Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. I'm not sure if this was his working trio at the time or if they had just gotten together for this recording. Anyway, it sounds like they had been playing together for a quite some time.
There are times when McCoy's wordless vocals get in the way as he takes off on a solo. I used to find this a total distraction, but I am coming to appreciate the fact that it is simply a part of his music and that there is a place for it.
McCoy's playing has become more refined, elegant, and reflective since his Milestone recordings of the 70s. I love his playing from that era, but it was time to evolve some more. That is a good thing! Here is an elder statesman of jazz who still can deliver the goods.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Nice Moments, But Overblown Overall, August 10, 2009
As a teenager in the '60s who worshipped Bob Dylan, idolized the Beatles, and was seduced by the "San Francisco Sound," I must confess that I also had a soft spot in my heart for the soft sounds of musicians such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Tony Bennett, Jimmie Webb, and yes, even Burt Bacharach, whose music was given flight by singers such as the pre-psychic Dionne Warwick. And in the 60s, pianist McCoy Tyner was most noted for his work with John Coltrane.
Things sometimes evolve, but things sometimes fall apart, and this recording, is evidence for the latter assertion. Here is McCoy Tyner accompanied by Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash on drums plus a small orchestra. Everything about this production seems overblown, almost laughable. And had they put just one more picture of Tyner in the liner notes--the Tyner notes--I think I would have completely lost it. There are some nice moments, as in "The Windows of the World," where the orchestra fades into the background and Tyner plays with a reflective touch, but overall, the whole thing seems like an overblown vanity production.
Maybe someday Tyner will go into the studio with just his trio--forget all the strings!--and rework these tunes into something with real heart. Until then, if you really want to hear Burt Bacharach's music, stick with Dionne.
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