Graham Reid | | 1 min read
Yes, she was sometimes a little flaky (adding an “e” to her surname at the recommendation of her astrologer, infomercials on the Psychic Network) and sometimes had a troubled life (marriages, big problems with the tax department) but at her peak in the Sixties – and in truth often enough since then for her to always be of interest – Dionne Warwick was a sophisticated singer and interpreter who was gifted great material by Hal David and Burt Bacharach.
Their songs in her hands became classics: Walk On By, Anyone Who Had a Heart, I Say A Little Prayer, Message to Michael, Trains and Boats and Planes, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, I'll Never Fall in Love Again . . .
She also had a hit with the theme from the movie The Valley of Dolls which was written by Andre and Dory Previn . . . and in the mid Seventies when she'd stopped working for/with Bacharach-David a hit with the Spinners, Then Came You.
A complete collection would include her later Latin-influenced songs and material from the Great American Songbook which were much more recent, but this 10-song single disc honestly bills itself and all of the above-mentioned songs are on it. And what classy songs, arrangements and interpretations they are.
We bring it to attention here because it is among a very decent selection of Introduction To CDs (Sister Sledge, Badfinger, the Faces and more) in a two-for-$20 deal at JB Hi-Fi stores here.
And that certainly qualifies this as a Bargain Buy.
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