DATE: Monday, September 22, 1997            TAG: 9709220041

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

SOURCE: BY SUE VANHECKE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   39 lines

BACHARACH'S HIT PARADE PLEASES CHRYSLER CROWD

The crowd got what it paid for at the sold-out Chrysler Hall Saturday night. Accompanied by the Virginia Symphony, Burt Bacharach, one of pop music's most prolific songwriters, rolled out hit after hit from his award-winning, easy-listening catalog.

From string-swelled, sentimental favorites to cinematic instrumentals, Bacharach covered them all, conducting the orchestra, his own guitar/bass/drums/sax combo and a trio of female singers from the bench of a concert grand piano.

Many selections - as in a medley that included Hal David collaborations ``The Look Of Love,'' ``Walk On By,'' ``I'll Never Fall in Love Again,'' ``One Less Bell to Answer'' and ``Do You Know the Way to San Jose'' - were given only nominal vocal treatments - a chorus here, a verse there - allowing Bacharach's lingering melodies to shine.

Other tunes - ``Anyone Who Had a Heart,'' an early Dionne Warwick single, and ``Best That You Can Do,'' the theme from the movie ``Arthur'' - showcased Bacharach's vocalists, who sang with the innocuous, breathy, nearly vibrato-less voices of the easy-listening genre.

Silver-haired Bacharach, looking tan and trim in his tuxedo, also sang a few himself - including the crowd-pleasing ``Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head'' and ``Alfie,'' one of his personal favorites - in his soft-spoken, sing-speak style.

But Bacharach made best use of the symphony's talents with a pair of up-tempo instrumental selections, Bond's theme from the film ``Casino Royale,'' with its sassy horn slides, and ``New York Lady,'' written for the Houston Symphony and featuring unique interplay for violin and saxophone. ILLUSTRATION: MUSIC REVIEW

Burt Bacharach with the Virginia Symphony, Saturday at Chrysler

Hall, Norfolk

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