POP REVIEW : Warwick, Bacharach in Top Form at Greek

The most surprising thing about the Burt Bacharach/Dionne Warwick greatest-hits concert at the Greek Theatre Friday night was not the music, but the omission of any reference to the lyricist who was equally responsible for most of the songs. The once-contentious stars of the program, eager to let the audience know that they again love each other madly, were in tiptop form, singing and playing their way through a pleasantly nostalgic collection of their familiar material.

Songs like “Walk On By,” “Message to Michael,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “Trains and Boats and Planes” were sung by Warwick in the unique, clenched-jaw, back-of-the-throat style that somehow always sounds just right on Bacharach’s herky-jerky melodies. In the two decades since she started hitting the Top-40 charts, Warwick has gained a richer, darker tone and a considerably more varied emotional palette.

It’s hard to say the same for Bacharach, who played a few accents on the piano, and sang a phrase here and there with the somewhat studied guy-next-door persona that he has been using for years.

But the real zinger of the evening was the failure of anyone to mention the name of lyricist Hal David. Apparently the love feast reconciliation of the Bacharach/Warwick musical duo does not yet have room on the menu for a mention of the third member of a once-illustrious creative team.