Tuesday, February 11, 2014

DIONNE WARWICK 4 ALBUMS IN ONE: PRESENTING DIONNE WARWICK / ANYONE WHO HAD A HEART / MAKE WAY FOR DIONNE WARWICK / SENSITIVE SOUND OF DIONNE WARWICK

A quartet of Dionne Warwick albums – served up in one package! Presenting is the birth of a genius – and Dionne Warwick's first album in a mighty 60s run for Scepter Records! The album's the first full length collaboration between Warwick and the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David – but it's already the stuff of legend – an album that easily bridges the worlds of soul, vocal, and pop with its unique sense of poise and class – sung perfectly by Dionne throughout, and arranged with orchestral brilliance by the young Burt! Titles include "Don't Make Me Over", "Wishin & Hopin", "Make It Easy On Yourself", "The Love Of A Boy", "I Cry Alone", "Make The Music Play", "If You See Bill", "It's Love That Really Counts", and "This Empty Place". 

Anyone Who Had A Heart is the second in the career of Dionne Warwick, but she's already at the top of her game – singing with a sense of grace and poise that's simply tremendous, and getting some equally great backing from a young Burt Bacharach – who himself co-wrote most of the tunes here with Hal David. There's a sense of completeness to the record that few other pop albums of the time could boast – a mature, thoughtful presentation of the material that certainly set a new standard for many artists to come! Titles include "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "Don't Make Me Over", "Getting Ready For The Heartbreak", "Any Old Time Of Day", "Mr Heartbreak", "Put Yourself In My Place", and "Please Make Him Love Me". 

Make Way For Dionne Warwick is the kind of set that spawned countless imitators in later years, but which still sounds better than most of the rest! Hearing the record is almost like going back to the headwaters of 60s pop – especially the more mature version that started to take hold later in the decade at labels like A&M or Capitol. But here, recording for Scepter, Dionne's already got it all in place – thanks in large part to a young Burt Bacharach, who's set things up here with poise and perfection that match the vocals perfectly! Titles include "Get Rid of Him", "A House Is Not A Home", "They Long To Be Close To You", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", "Walk On By", and "Make The Night A Little Longer". 

Sensitive Sound Of Dionne Warwick is served up with masterful arrangements and production from Burt Bacharach! The album's an early treasure in Dionne's 60s run for Scepter Records – an album that features a bit less Bacharach/David tunes than some of the previous records, but which still has all of the best elements firmly in place – thanks to Burt's growing understanding of the studio, and his ability to create orchestrations that are filled with enough space for an artist like Dionne to really do her thing. Titles include "Wives & Lovers", "You Can Have Him", "That's Not The Answer", "Forget My Love", "Where Can I Go Without You", "How Many Days Of Sadness", and "Don't Say I Didn't Tell You So". 

~ Dusty Groove


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