2008 UK 75-track 3-CD album set - [title]Magic Moments[/title] comprises a career spanning collection of classic hits such as 'What The World Needs Now Is Love', 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head', 'Walk On By', 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself', 'A House Is Not A Home', 'I Say A Little Prayer', 'That's What Friends Are For' & 'Just Friends'; and features a stellar supporting cast with performances by Dionne Warwick, Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond, The Carpenters, Rufus Wainwright, Frankie Avalon, Cilla Black, Nat King Cole and Will Young. Presented in a digipak picture sleeve complete with extensive sleevenotes written by Elvis Costello!

CD1:
1. Jackie DeShannon - What The World Needs Now Is Love
2. The Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You
3. BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
4. Nancy Wilson - Reach Out For Me
5. The Shirelles - Baby It's You
6. Dionne Warwick - Walk On By
7. Dusty Springfield - The Look Of Love
8. Tommy Hunt - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
9. Doris Day - Send Me No Flowers
10. Frankie Avalon - Gotta Get A Girl
11. Jack Jones - Wives And Lovers
12. Cilla Black - Alfie
13. Herb Alpert - This Guy's In Love With You
14. Tom Jones - Promise Her Anything
15. Cliff Richard It's Wonderful To Be Young - Alternate Take
16. Gene Vincent - Crazy Times
17. Charlie Gracie - I Looked For You
18. The Five Blobs - The Blob
19. Jackie DeShannon - So Long Johnny
20. Shirley Bassey - A House Is Not A Home
21. Burt Bacharach - Nikki
22. Andy Williams - Don't You Believe It
23. Jimmy Radcliff - (There Goes) The Forgotten Man
24. Billy J Kramer - Trains And Boats And Planes
25. Herb Alpert - Casino Royale
26. Dionne Warwick - Anyone Who Had A Heart
27. Bobbie Gentry - The Windows of the World
28. Nat King Cole - Once In A Blue Moon - Instrumental

CD2:
1. Perry Como - Magic Moments
2. Dionne Warwick - Do You Know The Way To San Jose
3. Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer
4. Dusty Springfield - Wishin' And Hopin'
5. Walker Brothers - Make It Easy On Yourself
6. Sandie Shaw - (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me
7. Burt Bacharach - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
8. Dionne Warwick - I'll Never Fall in Love Again
9. The Drifters - Please Stay
10. Gene McDaniels - Tower Of Strength
11. Marty Robbins - The Story Of My Life
12. Tom Jones - What's New Pussycat
13. Vi Velasco - That's Not The Answer
14. Dionne Warwick - Don't Make Me Over
15. Chuck Jackson - Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)
16. Gene Pitney - (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance
17. The Drifters - Mexican Divorce
18. Dean Barlow - Third Window From The Right
19. Adam Wade - Rain From The Skies
20. Della Reese - How About
21. Helen Shapiro - Keep Away From Other Girls
22. Trini Lopez - Made In Paris
23. The Merseybeats - It's Love That Really Counts (In The Long Run)
24. Manfred Mann - My Little Red Book
25. The Searchers - This Empty Place
26. Burt Bacharach - Pacific Coast Highway

CD3:
1. Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For
2. Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello - God Give Me Strength
3. Will Young - What's In Goodbye
4. Christopher Cross - Arthur's Theme (The Best You Can Do)
5. Neil Diamond - Heartlight
6. Burt Bacharach & Rufus Wainwright - Go Ask Shakespeare
7. Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello - Who Are These People
8. Burt Bacharach - South American Getaway
9. BJ Thomas - Everybody's Out Of Town
10. Dionne Warwick - Odds And Ends
11. The Hammond Brothers - Thirty Miles Of Railway Tracks
12. Irma Thomas - Long After Tonight Is All Over
13. The Drifters - Let The Music Play
14. Dionne Warwick - Paper Mache
15. Keely Smith - One Less Bell To Answer
16. Anita Harris - London Life
17. Richard Chamberlain - Blue Guitar
18. The Drifters - The Land Of Make Believe
19. The Stylistics - You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)
20. Carole Bayer Sager - Just Friends
21. Burt Bacharach - Hasbrook Heights

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FBWVU0/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001FBWVU0/?tag=imwan-21

>7. Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello - Who Are These People

I had never heard of this one, and was surprised to find it was on an album (At This Time) that came out 3 years ago which includes a few collaborations with Tonio K.

Congrats, Rhino UK! This looks to be a terrific set with a lot of rarities (the first CD appearance of Keely Smith's "One Less Bell To Answer", the alternate take of the Cliff Richard tune) and off-kilter choices (Carole Bayer Sager's "Just Friends", the very early stuff by the likes of Charlie Gracie, the Hammond Brothers, Frankie Avalon & Nat Cole). I'm surprised that some of these songs were recently included by Ace in their Bacharach anthology, but this looks to be a most welcome collection, in any event.

Better selection than the previous 3 CD Rhino set?

Well, I'm really surprised that this set has just as many tracks as the previous LOOK OF LOVE. On the downside, this one isn't in chronological order, which seems like a no-brainer seeing as how Bacharach's style evolved over time (and some would argue in the 1980s, devolved!). There are also a few tracks here that I'd hardly call definitive, though they're certainly welcome: "Thirty Miles of Railroad Track", "How About", "Third Window From The Right", "I Looked For You", "Crazy Times" -- all of which appeared on Ace's recent Burt anthology and previously were quite rare. These tracks also aren't particularly representative of Bacharach's signature sound, while the previous Rhino box stuck to songs of uniformly high quality and style. Still, this is an excellent cross-section of the familiar and the unfamiliar, and I give them major props in obtaining so much recent material: the underrated "What's In Goodbye" written for POP IDOL winner Will Young, the Costello & Wainwright collaborations from AT THIS TIME, etc., and one more Bayer Sager track than the previous box (Neil Diamond's "Heartlight") while "On My Own" seems to have been dropped in favor of Carole's solo "Just Friends". It's also nice to see "Once In A Blue Moon" here, Bacharach's first recorded composition, and Keely Smith's long, long unavailable original recording of "One Less Bell To Answer". (Unfortunately "Blue Moon" ALSO just appeared on the Ace comp!) Looking forward to this one, and wondering if Rhino US will issue it any time soon...

There was also a slimmed down version of this in a slipcased fatboy, 2 CD's of repeats from the box and a third bonus CD with different tracks. This would be the anniversary edition of the set, a UK anthology. Cover art is the same as the Rhino.

Hmmm....I'd hardly call this tracklisting "definitive"...I mean, really; no "Message To Martha/Michael"??! Jackie Deshannon's dreadful "So Long Johnny" is included, but the excellent "Lifetime Of Loneliness" and "Come And Get Me" aren't? Dionne Warwick's "Odds And Ends" and "Paper Mache" are included, but not "Here I Am" or "Who Gets The Guy"?
Plus some songs are included in their wrong versions...IMO they should've included Dusty's version of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" instead of Tommy Hunt's; The Merseybeats' version of "Wishin' And Hopin'" instead of Dusty's; and the Shirelles' version of "It's Love That Really Counts" instead of the Merseybeats'....

And why are the newer tracks put at the BEGINNING of disc 3? Shouldn't they be at the end? That way anyone who do want to listen them don't have to skip though them to hear the 60s/70s stuff on the disc. And speaking of his newer songs, why wasn't Aretha Franklin's "Ever Changing Times" included?

Finally, I hate it when they get other younger artists to write liner notes...it really irks me...can't they hire a proper writer? The only thing worse is when they pad the notes with buttkissing quotes from minimally talented current bandwagon-jumping artists about how great the artist was and how much they inspire them.

I have to respectfully disagree with Nathan..."So Long, Johnny" is every bit the equal of the other Bacharach compositions for DeShannon, although it's of course just a matter of taste. I do agree, though, that a track like "Thirty Miles of Railroad Track" hardly belongs on a "definitive" Bacharach compilation, and its presence is bizarre anyway due to having just made its CD debut on Ace's Burt anthology. I also have a pet peeve about sets like this when they're not in chronological order. But as to Elvis Costello's liner notes, I'm sure they will be as informative, entertaining and smart as his previous ventures into the liner note field have been. Having worked personally with Burt on numerous occasions, unlike most liner note writers, I think Elvis is uniquely qualified and I look forward to his notes on this compilation as much as I do to its new-to-CD tracks such as Keely Smith's original "One Less Bell To Answer". Perhaps "definitive" is a strong word, but this set definitely looks like a good cross-section of the Maestro's career, and it's par for the course with any box set that someone's favorite track is omitted. I personally lament the absence of "Promises, Promises" and "Knowing When To Leave", but much like "Message To Michael/Martha", these tracks aren't exactly hard to find elsewhere.

Joe