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Month: May 2017

EVEN IF MY HEART WOULD BREAK

from EVEN IF MY HEART WOULD BREAK (single)

written by Franne Golde & Adrian Gurvitz

Like him or not, sax superstar Kenny Gorelick, better known as Kenny G, is the all-time best seller in the instrumental pop/contemporary jazz arena. His overall sales exceeded an astonishing 75 million records worldwide. In 1992, the Seattle-born instrumentalist released his Breathless cd that went on to sell over 12 million copies in the US and 15 million worldwide. A large part of that cd was produced by Gorelick with a few selected tracks helmed by David Foster and Walter Afanasieff. The Hitman with Afanasieff co-produced the two vocal numbers; “By The Time This Night Is Over” with r&b star Peabo Bryson and “Even If My Heart Would Break” featuring the unmistakable voice of Aaron Neville of Neville Brothers fame. The first song is the subject of a past review and became a solid, multi-format hit.

EASY TO LOVE AGAIN

from EASY TO LOVE AGAIN/WILD AGAIN (single)

written by Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager

In the first half of the eighties, the songwriting collaboration between legendary composer Burt Bacharach and his then-wife and supreme lyricist Carole Bayer Sager blossomed to brilliant levels. In previous decades, both enjoyed a great deal of success with their individual works. Mr. Bacharach had a golden partnership with the late Hal David (May 25, 1921 to September 1, 2012) that resulted in dozens of much-loved evergreens and chart toppers while Ms. Sager’s lyrics graced a multitude of top ten hits.

FLY AWAY

from LIVE

written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager & Peter Allen

In 1984, veteran superstar Johnny Mathis released a new record simply titled Live. Recorded in London the previous year, Live presented a nice selection of Mathis’ evergreens like “The Twelfth Of Never,” “Misty,” “Chances Are” and “A Certain Smile.” A smart twist to the tracks was given with the inclusion of well-dosed covers of modern pop songs like Kenny Loggins’ “I Believe In Love,” Albert Hammond’s “99 Miles From L.A.” and the late Peter Allen’s (February 10, 1944 to June 18, 1992) “Fly Away.” The classy production by Denny Diante enriched the sound with deluxe arrangements courtesy of the gifted pens of the late Eugene “Gene” Page (September 13, 1939 to August 24, 1998) and Michel Colombier (May 23, 1939 to November 14, 2004) plus Mathis’ band members Larry Steelman and Gil Reigers. Allen’s “Fly Away” was co-written by Allen with David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager and was one of the highlights of Live.

THE WHOLE WORLD’S CRAZY

from AIN’T LOVE ENOUGH (single)

written by Paul Stallworth

In this week’s review, David Foster goes funky! Released in 1975, “Ain’t Love Enough” was the first single off Attitudes’ debut album. That all-star group included Foster on keyboards with three session legends: drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Paul Stallworth and guitarist Danny Kortchmar. “Ain’t Love Enough” was a catchy, upbeat song co-written by Foster with his friends Brian and Brenda (Gordon) Russell. A past review of “Ain’t Love Enough” can be read in the archives. The “Ain’t Love Enough” single cover photograph was taken by the late, legendary George Harrison (February 25, 1943 to November 29, 2001). Not only did Harrison signed Attitudes to his Dark Horse label, he was one of the group’s main fans and sponsors.