Burt Bacharach revolutionised popular songwriting, employing a previously unimagined technical sophistication that would find full expression in the sixties when with an astonishing run of unforgettable hits, he and his lyricist partner Hal David, ruled the pop charts. Bacharach won the respect of everyone from Brian Wilson to Bill Evans to Frank Zappa, but his early years had been ones of struggle and frustrating compromise. This compilation continues where the 2009 El Records edition, "Burt Bacharach - The First Book of Songs" (ACMEM166CD), left off and charts Bacharach's course as we move into the more open sixties landscape. The set comprises an eclectic range of styles that have character, are fun and are thoroughly eccentric at times. Standout tracks include Gloria Lambert's slinky romantic space-age liason, 'Moon Man'; Dick Van Dyke's, early version of 'Three Wheels On My Wagon'; Paul Hampton's whimsical continental-sounding 'Creams'; 'Somebody Else's Sweetheart', a big hit on the Northern Soul Scene for The Wanderers; The Four Coins' soaring, spirited 'Miracle of St Marie' and 'Baby It's You' by the Shirelles, an R&B and mainstream pop smash with a vocal arrangement adopted by The Beatles for the version that would be an integral part of their early repertoire.