More on "Let the Love Come Through"

For those who just can't get enough of "Let the Love Come Through", that Bacharach/David song we posted last week, here's a bit more info from Serene Dominic's indispensable Burt Bacharach: Song By Song.

"Let the Love Come Through" aka "Flying Saucer -- First Stop Berlin" (Burt Bacharach - Hal David)

First recorded by Roland Shaw
From the album World of Spy Thrillers
Decca SPA 213, released 1967

British bandleader Roland Shaw recorded some generic orchestral albums for Decca before hitting on a winning formula -- anthologizing James Bond movie music for people who didn't wish to buy each successive soundtrack. With the series updated every few years to include new music, Shaw amassed a nice collection of albums with bikini-and-bazooka babes on the covers, easily spotted in the sea of droll Mantovani-and-his-baton sleeves.

People who bought his 1967 spy maestro work probably scratched their heads wondering why they'd seen all the Bond films but never heard this song. They did: less than two minutes worth of "Let the Love Come Through" was featured without words as part of "Flying Saucer -- First Stop Berlin" from Casino Royale. Whether it's a rejected love theme or a lyrical afterthought, it provides Bacharach fans a fine excuse to seek out a Roland Shaw recording. Sung by a double-tracked coquette, it's got pretty bare-boned instrumentation, with piano, chunky rhythm guitar and, dare I say it, funky brushwork on the drums. Once again, Hal David is forced into a hip corner by pseudo-psychadelic music, but extricates himself in stylish fashion: "I know what you know where it's at tonight, let the love come through / It's right here in my arms when I hold you tight, let the love come through / There is nothing to be afraid of / Our emotions are what we are made of, darling." The groove is actually very similar to Paul Simon's psychedelic gripe "Fakin' It," which came out days before the Summer of Love officially kicked off.

Too good a song to waste, "Let the Love Come Through" was recorded again by Australian singer Janice Slater the following year (Spin EK-1984, produced by Robert Iredale).

Other Versions: Janice Slater (1968)

Along with "Fakin'It" (and my guess quite a few other songs), I'm guessing most cinephiles also hear the orchestral rendition of Serge Gainsbourg's "Sous Le Soleil Exactement" from Anna, which Filmbrain was kind enough to upload more than three years ago.