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BURT BACHARACH
At This Time

as reviewed by Jack Crompton at Amazon.com, December 31, 2008

Nowhere to go to find the answers
because there is no one but you to find it...

In the twilight of his prodigious career, Burt Bacharach has created yet another masterpiece. ‘At This Time’ is a beautiful collection of sophisticated pop music, but here the gifted composer uses his potent gift to express his concerns about the current state of the world and the direction we are heading. And, a powerful statement it is.

I find it hard to put into words how I feel about this recording. To say it affects me deeply is an understatement. ‘At This Time’ is appropriately named. It’s mood is decidedly very serious and is, in essence, a cry for sanity in an insane world. I personally feel this may be the most poignant, passionate, heartfelt suite of music that has been created since the turn of the millennium. It’s lyrics are few and sparse, but when they speak they count. But this is Burt Bacharach, and the music says so much that really needs no words to communicate it’s somber and timely plea to humanity.

Released in early 2005, at the time of yet another usurping of the U.S. Presidency by the neocon cabal in 2004, there are many lyrics here that speak of the frustration and fear of a world gone mad, where criminals hijack the will of the people, forcing our world into an outcome nobody wants. This is obviously a very personal statement from Bacharach, and I can certainly empathize with his sentiments.

Hard questions are the theme of this album. Burt himself laments on the current state of affairs... ‘Where did it go?’ ‘Is it really gone?’ ‘Please explain’ ‘Is love enough?’ ‘Stop the Clock... make it stop’. ‘How do we undo a thousand mistakes?’ ‘Where is that world? Where did it go?’

We see a very personal side of Burt Bacharach here that he has not expressed before. One can clearly sense the genuine sadness and feelings of hopelessness he feels. Consider the lyrics to ‘Who Are These People?’:

‘Who are these people that keep telling us lies, and how did these people get control of our lives? And who’ll stop the violence ‘cause it’s out of control...

MAKE THEM STOP! - Who are these people who destroy everything and sell off the future for whatever it brings? And what kind of leaders can ignore when they’re wrong... MAKE THEM STOP! This stupid mess we’re in just keeps getting worse - so many people dying needlessly. Looks like these liars will inherent the earth while pretending to pray and getting away with it. MAKE THEM STOP!’

Yes, this is sobering stuff. And yes, it is great art. The arrangements are all smart, crisp and the musicianship in executed in typical bacharach perfectionist fashion. Perhaps ironically, it is the prettiest and most enduring piece of the suite, ‘Always Taking Aim’ that offers the most hopeful vibe and somehow sums up the ultimate message:

‘Nowhere to go to find the answer cause there is no one but you to find it. No world to save except the one in your heart, there’s no life to lose, you lose it.... No time to lose, No tears to waste, No world to change, No love to make but yours. I know that things may never ever change... things will stay the same. But I know Love is never far away, always taking aim.”

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