"Beautiful Music" used to be a genre in the realm of popular music. It's also been called "easy listening" and then morphed into "adult contemporary". But today's adult contemporary is really just soft rock (albeit today's soft rock is harder than a lot of Top 40 was in the late 70s and early 80s). There used to be stations that played "beautiful music" exclusively: Stanley Black, Ray Conniff, Percy Faith, Frank Chacksfield, etc. Most of the playlist would be recent contemporary hits covered by choral groups, pianists, and orchestras. During that time, London Records sold a lot of their patented Phase 4 Stereo LP records and reel-to-reel tapes. The series was renowned for it's technical brilliance, using state of the art recording, mixing and mastering techniques. Ronnie Aldrich was among London's best selling artists and Tony D'Amato produced many albums using Aldrich's twin pianos backed by The London Festival Orchestra. These albums were not only known for their technical brilliance (which is still quite impressive even in the 21st century) but also for their glossy, gatefold covers featuring colorful artwork and graphics and maybe a sexy model or two. The two LPs featured on this CD were originally released in 1973 and 1972, respectively.

This two-fer from Dutton Vocalion features a pair of out of print Ronnie Aldrich LPs: The World of Burt Bacharach and Webb Country, originally issued in 1972 and 1977, respectively. These 21 tracks are dominated by Muzak versions of popular songs of the era written by Bacharach and Hal David and include "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," and "This Guy's in Love with You." The remaining tunes are from the songbook of Jimmy Webb and include "MacArthur Park," "Wichita Lineman," and "Up, Up and Away." This is an enjoyably relaxing reissue from Aldrich's deleted catalog on London Records.

With his famous two pianos and his orchestra, the great British arranger brings you sets of vintage standards as well as contemporary themes. Dating from 1976 and 1977, these two LPs feature "Spanish Eyes", "How Insensitive", "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing", "On Days Like These", "All by Myself", and many more.