Dionne Warwick

This expanded edition of 1970's Very Dionne serves up a whopping 16 supplementary sides, including a ten-song mini-concert on July 23, 1970, at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ -- the same show that yielded "Make It Easy On Yourself" on the original LP. After Warwick's hugely successful eight-year run with the New York-based independent Scepter Records, Very Dionne was her final release of new material. That said, they continued to cash in with a variety of compilations during the ensuing years. The collection's wide variety provides an apt cross section of the styles that the artist had become best known for over the course of her preceding platters. Burt Bacharach and Hal David supplied several noteworthy compositions, such as the evocative opener, "Check Out Time," a number Warwick later revealed to have been one of her least favorites, although listeners would never know it when hearing her commanding lead. Decidedly lighter is "Walk the Way You Talk," which is full of Bacharach's trademark breezy rhythms and syncopated score. The vocalist worked with a few other notable arranger/conductors on the project as well. Among them was the legendary Marty Paich, whose direction fits comfortably with the middle-of-the-road treatment that Warwick's recent efforts had been given. Her reading of the Beatles' "Yesterday" is refined and soulfully enigmatic, contrasting the emotive rendering of "I Got Love" from the Ossie Davis Broadway production +Purlie. Larry Wilcox teams up with Warwick for a jazzy treatment of Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here Comes That Rainy Day," further asserting her MOR leanings. For hardcore collectors and enthusiasts, the bonus tracks on the expanded edition of Very Dionne may prove to be as considerable as the actual album. The additional selections are highlighted by never before available live versions of "You've Made Me So Very Happy" alongside "Walk On By," "Paper Mache," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Going Out of My Head" (a tune initially offered as part of the Very Dionne studio running order), "The Look of Love," and "What the World Needs Now." The remaining extras are culled from hard to find odds and sods that Scepter doled out after Warwick had departed. There are also a pair of duets with labelmate B.J. Thomas on "Make It Easy On Yourself" and "They Don't Give Medals to Yesterday's Heroes," the latter also presented as a Warwick solo outing on the seminal pressings of Very Dionne. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide