Elvis Is In The Building! or This Ain't Your Mother's Bacharach!

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach put on a magnificent show on a pleasant fall evening in the Nation's capital.  From the opening chords of Bacharach’s “Baby It's You” to Elvis’ crying pleas of the jointly-penned “God Give Me Strength” to end the show, it was a magical evening.

The mix of the crowd, who unsure of their expectations, was as curious as that of  the headlining act.  The audience consisted of  Elvis fans, Burt aficionados and inquisitive onlookers but, by the end of the evening, the crowd had become unquestionably ardent fans of both Costello and Bacharach. Not since Bing & Bowie got together over Christmas in 1978, has there been such a musical mix of elder statesman and young revolutionary, indeed, of hope and melancholy.

After a tuxedoed Elvis' opening, Burt, with his elongated gait, strolled onto stage to the sounds of the orchestra and background singers belting out “What The World Needs Now (Is Love Sweet Love).” The two then delved into the songs from their new album “Painted From Memory.”  The songs in this set included “Toledo” (arguably the best song from “Painted”) and “This House Is Empty Now,” another neo-classic.

After several Costello/Bacharach tunes and a few political jokes du jour (whereby, Elvis proclaimed that he and Burt needed to get back to running the country), Elvis took a break and handed it over to Burt whereby he and the orchestra, together with a quartet of most able backing vocalists and a  wonderful saxophonist whose name eludes me at present, took turns on a seemingly unending sample from Bacharach’s repertoire. Included in this montage was, “Theme from ‘Arthur’,” “A House Is Not A Home,” and “What's New Pussycat.”  Burt also took turns with his gravelly Tom Wait’s-like voice on immortals like “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and “Alfie.”

Then, it was Elvis’ turn!

Burt gave way to Elvis the King who opened his set with a Steve Nieve-orchestrated version of “Accident’s Will Happen” followed by a fiery, angst-driven version of “Veronica.” Then, Elvis, who is known by many monikers including “Napoleon Dynamite” and “The Imposter” treated the fat boy in row GG to a complete “Just A Memory.”  A partial version of this song (written for Dusty Springfield in 1978) can be found on “Ten Bloody Marys and Ten How's Your Fathers.”  The complete version alone was worth the price of admission to Constitution Hall.  But Elvis wasn't through.  Not satisfied that he had given the crowd more than enough, Mr. Costello served up “Alison” to an openly accepting audience.  We were then invited to share, an invitation that was gladly accepted,  Elvis’ pain in a heart wrenching version of “Almost Blue.”

Burt and Elvis were then reunited on stage where the two masters (who as Elvis estimated had written approximately 4,000 songs between them) finished off with some more gems off of “Painted From Memory,”  including the title track, “What's Her Name Today” and “I Still Have That Other Girl.”  The pair closed with two encores, the last being the tune that the two wrote over the phone for the film “Grace of My Heart,” -- “God Give Me Strength.”

A more than satisfied crowd, pleased beyond their wildest expectations, then strolled back into the night taking a little magic home with them...

Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach "Painted From Memory" (1998) Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals); Burt Bacharach (piano); Dean Parks, George Doering (guitar); Steve Kujala (flute); Jerry Hey, Gary Grant (flugelhorn); Steve Nieve (piano, keyboards); Rob Schrock (keyboards); Greg Cohen, Dave Coy (bass); Jim Keltner (drums); Bob Zimmitti, Dan Greco (percussion); Greg Phillinganes, Paulinho Da Costa. This album has it all - from angst-driven lyrics to foot-tappin' melodies. In one of the few moments in the history of the universe that actually make sense, Burt and Elvis get together to produce THE album of 1998. As one reviewer wrote, "Bacharach and Costello are a natural fit; Costello has long been a proponent of extended melodic structures, irregular meter and sophisticated  harmonies, on all of which Burt wrote the book. After Hal David, Bacharach never had another lyricist who could live up to his melodies - until now." Yhew, you said it!