A protégé of ace songwriting duo, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, New Jersey chanteuse Dionne Warwick achieved international fame in the 1960s at New York’s Scepter Records with memorable slices of sophisticated pop-soul like ‘Walk On By’ and ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart.’ The defining moments from Warwick’s Scepter canon can be found on this excellent 22-track collection, which functions as an exemplary introduction to the gospel-reared singer’s ’60s oeuvre (interestingly, this is a revamp of Music Club’s original budget-priced Warwick collection, which went on to shift a staggering 400,000 copies). All the key tracks are here and unlike Warwick’s voice – which sadly is a faint shadow of its former self in terms of tone and timbre – they have not been ravaged by the passing of time. Songs like ‘Walk On By,’ ‘I Say A Little Prayer,’ ‘Alfie,’ ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love,’ ‘A House Is Not A Home,’ and ‘The Look Of Love’ have an appeal, relevance and sense of aesthetic beauty that the years simply can’t diminish or erode. Die hard Dionne fans will have all these tracks but if you’re a neophyte, there’s no better entrée to the singer’s work.
(CW) 4/5
