[.ca] Sometimes Late at Night

Sometimes Late At Night:
Words and music are wonderful. Owned this in the 70's on vinyl, happy to see I can finally get the CD!!

Not Essential Listening:
I remember being captivated by this album when it was released in 1981. Burt and Carole created the ultimate in sophisticated adult pop music with this grand song-cycle on the meditations of love found, lost, and reexamined. Yet upon hearing this album over 20 years later, it doesn't hold the same appeal. Save for the heartbreaking "You and Me," and the devastatingly honest "Somebody's Been Lyin'" many of songs, although luxuriously produced and arranged, seem fleeting and kind of half baked. I would compare this album to cotton candy: its oh so sweet, but you can get sick of it real quick. I would no longer classify this album as essential listening,

Listen To The Love:
I vividly remember when this album came out as a mere teenager. Handsome Burt and Carole where being inter- viewed on some talk show. I believe she sang "Easy To Love" and "Stronger Than Before" on that show. Wow! That said, this is just a wonderful album. Carol is not much of a vocalist but somehow she pulled this one off. Strangely, she's never made another one. Hmmmm!

Japanese print is now available:
I just received my Japanese "Victor" print of this album today and it is indeed without the glitch that is mentioned in the other reviews. Haven't had time to check the rest of the album in detail but I'm glad to have it after waiting all these years. The album comes with a combined Japanese-English song-book.

CBS: Bacharach's Bitter Pill:
I was turned on to this album by a friend who used to play "Stronger Than Before" in cover bands during the early '80s. At the time, I knew this as a Chaka Khan song and was eager to hear the original. For a Burt Bacharach project, the album's production and arrangements are gorgeous-I fully agree with the fellow from Hong Kong who likened it to the celebrated Elvis Costello collaboration. Bayer-Sager's voice, however is another matter. Why a sonic connoiseur like Bacharach allowed her access to the sound booth is anyone's guess. Sounding like the love-child of Mrs. Miller and Macy Gray, she croaks and cracks her way through the 13 tunes on the album, with generous assistance from the backing vocalists (including an unusual match in Michael Jackson) with only her finesse as a songwriter to save her. So do I hate this album? Absolutely not! The transitions from song to song are exquisite and the enthusiasm of everyone involved is charming with near-camp appeal. "Turn the radio up loud." This is a feel-good, laugh-out-loud, love-that-melody kind of affair.

• I Won't Break
• Just Friends
• Tell Her
• Somebody's Been Lying
• On the Way to the Sky
• You and Me (We Wanted It All)
• Sometimes Late at Night
• Wild Again
• Easy to Love Again
• Stronger Than Before
• You Don't Know Me
• Reprise
• Reprise