A true showbiz odd couple, screen siren Dietrich formed an unlikely partnership with the shy American 26 years her junior. Bacharach meticulously mapped out every last note and vocal nuance of her curiously successful post-war stage show, which toured the world for five years in the late 50s and early 60s.
The arranger and bandleader guided his boss through a rarely changing set of standards such as Makin’ Whoopee, My Blue Heaven and One For My Baby, alongside her smoky signature tunes Lili Marlene and Falling In Love Again. It’s not especially good, it has to be said; Dietrich’s pedestrian delivery and broken English has been parodied to the hilt over the years (think Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles), making it hard to listen to now without having to stifle a chuckle.
Dietrich still has something of a fanbase, although today it’s perhaps larger within the gay community than film enthusiasts or lovers of MOR cabaret. This is, therefore, an intriguing novelty item for Bacharach collectors, and of vague historical intrigue to others, but not something the majority of us will be taking out of the jewel box more than once or twice.
