Burt Kempfert

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Burt Bacharach collects a dozen mostly instrumental versions of some of the pop composer's best-known works, including "The Look of Love," "What the World Needs Now Is Love," and "I Say a Little Prayer." The lush '60s arrangements make this album a collection of retro mood music of the highest order, but anyone expecting a distillation of The Look of Love box set – i.e., a collection of the definitive vocal performances of Bacharach's songs – from this compilation will be disappointed. Still, the album delivers first-rate instrumental pop, reaffirming that Bacharach's music works equally well with or without vocals.

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach first collaborated on "God Give Me Strength," a sweeping ballad that functioned as the centerpiece in Allison Anders' Grace of My Heart. It was a stunning song in the tradition of Bacharach's classic '60s work and it was successful enough that the composers decided to collaborate on a full album, Painted from Memory. Wisely, they chose to work within the stylistic parameters of Bacharach's '60s material, but Painted from Memory never sounds like a stylistic exercise. Instead, it's a return to form for both artists. Bacharach hasn't written such graceful, powerful melodies since his glory days, and Costello hasn't crafted such a fully realized album since King of America. It's a testament to both that even if the album is clearly in Bacharach's territory, it feels like a genuine collaboration.

This two-fer from Dutton Vocalion features a pair of out of print Ronnie Aldrich LPs: The World of Burt Bacharach and Webb Country, originally issued in 1972 and 1977, respectively. These 21 tracks are dominated by Muzak versions of popular songs of the era written by Bacharach and Hal David and include "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," and "This Guy's in Love with You." The remaining tunes are from the songbook of Jimmy Webb and include "MacArthur Park," "Wichita Lineman," and "Up, Up and Away." This is an enjoyably relaxing reissue from Aldrich's deleted catalog on London Records.