''Woman'' is an album by Burt Bacharach in collaboration with the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, released in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. It was recorded by Bacharach and the orchestra during a four-hour recording session on November 2, 1978, at

Jones Hall The Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts (commonly known as Jones Hall) is a performance venue in Houston, Texas, and the permanent home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts. Jones Hall is also frequently r ...

in Houston, Texas. The songs were recorded live to tape and featured no overdubs, but the recording was not made during a concert and no audience was present. The project was originally conceived by Bacharach and Michael Woolcock. Guest vocalists included Carly Simon on the song "I Live In The Woods", Libby Titus on the song "Riverboat", and

Sally Stevens Sally Stevens (born November 24, 1939) is an American actress, singer and a vocal contractor. She has sung on hundreds of ''The Simpsons'' episodes, and sings the main title, which has been in use since the inception of the show. She also sing ...

on the song "There Is Time".

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called the album "an ambitious but mostly ignored collection of jazzlike orchestra music performed by the Houston Symphony." ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' called it a "semi-classical epic" and Bacharach's "most ambitious work."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Burt Bacharach; except where indicated # "Summer of '77"– 3:55 # "Woman"– 7:07 # "Riverboat" (Bacharach, Libby Titus)– 3:26 # "Magdalena"– 6:54 # "New York Lady"– 6:31 # "There Is Time" (Bacharach, Sally Stevens)– 6:36 # "The Dancing Fool" (Bacharach,

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...

)– 2:12 # "I Live in the Woods" (Bacharach, Carly Simon, Libby Titus)– 6:04

Personnel

*Burt Bacharach - vocals, arrangements, conductor * Libby Titus - vocals on "Riverboat" * Carly Simon - vocals on "I Live in the Woods" *Sally Stevens - vocals on "There Is Time" *Houston Symphony Orchestra - orchestra *Ann White, Marti McCall, Sally Stevens - backing vocals *Ronald Patterson - concertmaster ;Technical *Armin Steiner, Linda Tyler - engineer

References

1979 live albums A&M Records live albums Burt Bacharach albums {{1970s-pop-album-stub