Last night a Mixtape saved my life

Often viewed with suspicion, if not openly opposed, by 70s rock (a decade that nevertheless gave us the Stranglers' stunning "Walk On By"), the music of Burt Bacharach was rediscovered by later generations of musicians, drawn in particular to the lounge sounds of the 50s and 60s, which underwent a massive process of rediscovery and reinterpretation in the 90s, from the trip-hop of Portishead & co. to the lullabies of Belle & Sebastian, right through to the new wave of britpop and even the electronic scene, complete with unpredictable samples (such as "Blue On Blue" in Royksopp's "So Easy").

But, looking more closely, the shadow of the Bacharach sound – that irresistible mix of strings and soft piano phrases embellished with jazz suspensions and the velvety rhythms of bossa nova – had already been hovering over the most refined English pop for some time, going back to the new-cool sound of the Style Council, Sade, Matt Bianco and Everything But The Girl in the Eighties (Tracey Thorn's reinterpretation of "Alfie" is superb), or the sophisti-pop of Prefab Sprout, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Blow Monkeys, Aztec Camera and Deacon Blue (who in 1990 released a fine Ep featuring four Bacharach covers).

A tribute that has never faded, fuelled by an endless stream of covers, from Naked Eyes' "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me" (one of the maestro's own favourites) to Ash and Divine Comedy's "Make It Easy On Yourself", from Paul Weller's "Close To You" to the White Stripes' astonishing "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", prophets of the 2000s rock revival (complete with a steamy video directed by Sofia Coppola, starring a smouldering Kate Moss as a lap-dancer).

Cinema has joined this Bacharach-inspired new wave too: from "American Beauty" to "Forrest Gump", via "Big Fish" and auteur cult classics like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (Gillian), the American composer's songs have (once again) begun flooding the big screen.

These tributes, along with countless others, have crowned him the Coolfather of pop. And we celebrate him once again with a 21-song playlist, gathering some of these reinterpretations of his songs by pop-rock artists of every stripe.

Ride the wave of great music

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15/12/2025