At the age of 81, composer, arranger, producer, conductor Burt Bacharach continues to find inventive ways to rework, represent, and bring new vision and meaning to the elegant, transcendent pop music he and lyricist Hal David created in the ‘60’s. It’s clear from the opening chords of Bacharach’s piano on, “What The World Needs Now Is Love,” that this program is going to be a vital, alive musical experience, one that’s up to the high artistic standards that have made this pop prodigy’s career so unique. While the Sydney Symphony Orchestra adds the string lushness, much of heavy lifting here is done by a vocal trio of Josie James, John Pagano and Donna Taylor and an ace small combo of bass, drums, keyboards, and a pair of multi-tasking horn players. At the center of this set are three long medleys, two focused on his ‘60s hits, and the other on singles from his film scores, that prove again why arranging has always been such a close second to songwriting among Bacharach’s many musical gifts — models of economy and brilliant edits, the medleys are very simply exquisite pop music that is absolutely timeless.