A Funny Name for Paradise

Hasbrook Heights - Burt Bacharach (A Special Tuesday)

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I named this “A Special Tuesday” because I hesitate to call it new. Burt Bacharach and his songs have been in my life for years, mostly through a terrific triple disc collection called The Look of Love, spanning seventy-five songs from across his career. I used to be attached to Disc One more than the others — for some reason “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence” was the song I chose to play over and over and over…. and over and over. I’m kind of sorry to my family, who still groan when that tune comes on, but also I stand by it being a great song. Anyways, the reason why I chose to write about “Hasbrook Heights” is because it felt like I rediscovered it once I found out that Bacharach himself sings it, and for that, it has become one of my recent favorites.

On The Look of Love , “Hasbrook Heights” sits on disc three at lucky number fifteen, appropriately sandwiched between two Dionne Warwick tracks. While at home over winter break, this disc had been playing, and I finally decided to check who sang it. I don’t know why I hadn’t before — the song was familiar enough in its tune — but it was the voice that made me wonder. Here’s this vocal like a tired, gentle version of Randy Newman, a girl-next-door quality to it that stood out against the superstars that made up the rest of the album. I think that discovering it was his voice was part of what sparked my renaissance of this song, as I was suddenly fascinated with every aspect.

“Hasbrook Heights” is a perfect example of a composer who knows his style. Soft horns mesh with barely distinguishable “ba ba ba” backing vocals and a tropical ukelele, strings and keyboard and the rim of the snare rounding out a typical Bacharach orchestra. While the instrumental alone is fabulous, I just can’t get over the vocals. This is a pure example of raw vocals, filled to the brim with genuine… well, genuineness. It’s a song with lyrics all about taking it easy in a place called Hasbrook Heights, which is a funny name for paradise. But Bacharach is a lovely mascot for the mirage of the Heights, luring people in with a singing voice that sounds like a smile.

I hesitate to use any more food comparisons, due to my slight overuse of them in the last couple of weeks. However, the only thing I like more than music is food, so here we go anyway. “Hasbrook Heights” is chicken soup for the soul, something warm to alleviate the chill of daily life. It’s a song that’ll pump you up (in a more relaxed way than Elvis Costello) and take you on a journey, to a lovely slow paradise called none other than Hasbrook Heights.

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