Burt Bacharach

Classically trained and phenomenally industrious, Burt Bacharach began writing hits in the '50s for performers as various as Perry Como, Marty Robbins, and Gene Pitney, after having honed his arranging skills as conductor for Marlene Dietrich. With lyricist Hal David, he went on to deliver an astonishing series of '60s pop singles for Dionne Warwick. Combining Tin Pan Alley craft, Gershwinesque jazz flourishes, and daring offbeat rhythms, his songs became Muzak staples -- a sad but inevitable fate.

On his own, he made albums that featured lush, symphonic versions of his work for other artists. He sometimes sang (very poorly); more often, he assembled dreadful choirs who crooned like jingle hacks. If you can get beyond this, his arrangements still pack punch and surprise. Overfond of whimsical instru-mentation (harpsichords, bossa-nova guitars), he still comes off as a distinctive musical intelligence -- he does "light" with more class than almost any other AOR composer. Woman, a semiclassical epic, is his most ambitious work, but nonobsessives will be much more interested in his greatest-hits sets, which contain such ubiquitous singles as "Alfie," "I Say a Little Prayer for You," "Promises, Promises," and "What the World Needs Now Is Love." In the late '90s, Bacharach appeared alongside Elvis Costello in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me as a living embodiment of slightly kitsched-up elegance, and a new generation of indie rockers took Bacharach's soft, orchestrally rich pop in arty (and sometimes ironic) new directions. Bacharach and Costello also teamed up for 1998's Painted From Memory, which showed that Bacharach's gift for melody remained undiminished; Costello added a layer of hip credibility. Bacharach's new trendiness also spurred some terrific best-ofs, the best being Rhino's The Look of Love, and the all-star tribute album One Amazing Night. The latter underscores Bacharach's wide appeal -- check out Wynonna's killer version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and a nifty take on "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" courtesy of Ben Folds Five. (PAUL EVANS)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide