From 1962 through 1971, Dionne Warwick charted 33 Burt Bacharach-Hal David songs on Scepter Records. it wasn't an exclusive relationship (she had six other charting singles during her time at the label, and Bacharach & David wrote many hits for other artists), but it strikes me as the most consistent and successful semi-exclusive singer/songwriters collusion in the History of Pop. Even beyond those 33 singles, there were so many Warwick/Bacharach/David album cuts ('i Smiled Yesterday.''Wanting Things,' her versions of 'The Look of Love' and 'Close to You,' The Last One to Be Loved,' 'In The Land of Make Believe') that might've been hits.
This was the first one:
Like Neil Diamond (see: http://mog.com/emscee/blog/1683595), Warwick had a pretty stunning (and even longer) first golden era that's been overshadowed by a, let's say, less glittering although commercially lucrative second phase. And, again like Diamond, had she retired in the early '70s, her Scepter recordings would be enough to put her in the upper echelon of pop singers alongside Dusty Springfield (the other great female interpreter of the Bacharach-David songbook).
Everyone and his inebriated aunt has taken a crack at singing a Bacharach-David song at some point (my mom once tried to navigate the bridge of 'Close To You' and got hopelessly tangled up), and if you've seen Cameron Diaz bravely wrestle with 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself' in 'My Best Friend's Wedding,' you know what a painful exercise that can be. These songs are trip-wired. I mean, they sound simple, and you figure, hey, anyone can bluff through 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,' 'The Look of Love' or 'This Guy's In Love With You' (Herb Alpert, after all, is no Gene Pitney, and if you get that reference, your AARP card is in the mail). But they are really tricky. And yet Dionne just rides the waves, unthrown by tempo shifts or crescendos or melodies that take winding roads (Hal David may have had the hardest lyric-writing job ever, and is underrated in all the justified Bacharach worship). I remember watching Dionne on The Ed Sullivan Show, singing 'Promises, Promises,' and it was dizzying and effortless.
Go ahead and load up the Dionne & Burt & Hal body of work alphabetically, from "Alfie' to 'You'll Never Get To Heaven' (my playlist has just under 50 songs, and I haven't gotten around to digitizing some of the Scepter vinyl LPs). I'll go make some coffee...
OK, hit 'play.' This'll take about 2 1/2 hours. Totally worth it, I promise.
'Alfie.' This has become a standard, but how strange is that? The song is called 'Alfie,' for God's sake, and the lyric is specifically (or at least quasi-specifically) about a character from a '60s movie, and it doesn't really have a chorus. And, let me repeat, the song is called 'Alfie.' Say it out loud, and it sounds like a Jerry Lewis word. But because it was a movie theme, it had to be called 'Alfie,' and now can you imagine it as anything else? Without the titular specification, David might've written (quizzically) 'What's it all about, tell me,' or (more swingerly, like 'What's New, Pussycat?') 'What's it all about, baby?' It wouldn't be quite the same (although the melody would stand up: check out Bill Evans playing it).
Supposedly, Dionne was ticked off that Cilla Black (on the U.K. film print) and Cher (in the U.S.) got first dibs on 'Alfie,' and although I like both versions (Cher's has a Bacharach-meets-Phil Spector vibe), she has a point, and she got her vindication when, a year after the movie was out, her version did better on the charts than Cher or Cilla.
Don't worry, I'm not going to annotate the entire 50-track Songbook. But is there a sweeter, more vulnerable vocal than hers on 'You'll Never Get To Heaven'? And listen to '(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me.' It's one of the best Bacharach-David songs, a thematic cousin to 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself': how do you recover, when all around you there is evidence: the streets, the cafe? There's a kind of sexy, samba feel to the Dionne record, like what Leiber & Stoller did with The Drifters, but more dramatic and sweeping, and Dionne never misses a step, not even when the song takes off into the pleading climax of the last verse. It's kind of amazing, actually.
Although I've recently come around to Dusty, I've always loved Dionne..I can't really get with her albums..but those singles are top flight records, and there's lots of 'em.
I haven't looked at the sheet music, but, as you imply, Bacharach must have sprinkled odd time signatures, like 5/4 or maybe 7/4, into parts of many of his songs. Also unusual chord changes. They end up sounding perfectly normal on the surface. Just as rock and soul were performing musicological revolution in the mid-Sixties, Bacharach was doing the same with his pop mix of the Brill Building and the Frank Sinatra genres.
This was a magical team. I haven't explored her albums but own a greatest-hits collection with most of the successful singles of the trio. I wish there was a volume two with the non-single B-D-W numbers.
The Dionne/Bacharach&David recordings should be remembered in the same league as the Sinatra/Capitol recordings. Rather than debate whether they are rock or not, they should be recognized as absolute classics.
Groundbreaking pop for sure. Not much on Top 40 radio in the early '60s was as sophisticated as that first run of Dionne singles ('Don't Make Me Over,' 'Walk On By,' 'Anyone Who Had A Heart'). Raised the bar.
Locating MOG account...
Comments (10)
Agreed..good post.
Although I've recently come around to Dusty, I've always loved Dionne..I can't really get with her albums..but those singles are top flight records, and there's lots of 'em.
good timing for a great post, man. the sun just came out in LA for the first time in days.
Yeah, I've heard LA has been drenched. Glad you're getting some sunshine.
have always loved Dionne - my Mom was a huge fan -
great post calling forth some wonderful memories...
I haven't looked at the sheet music, but, as you imply, Bacharach must have sprinkled odd time signatures, like 5/4 or maybe 7/4, into parts of many of his songs. Also unusual chord changes. They end up sounding perfectly normal on the surface. Just as rock and soul were performing musicological revolution in the mid-Sixties, Bacharach was doing the same with his pop mix of the Brill Building and the Frank Sinatra genres.
This was a magical team. I haven't explored her albums but own a greatest-hits collection with most of the successful singles of the trio. I wish there was a volume two with the non-single B-D-W numbers.
There is, kind of: 'Hidden Gems' on Rhino:
http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Gems-Best-Dionne-Warwick/dp/B0000032EO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1264352397&sr=1-1
The CD is out of print, alas, but Amazon is selling the MP3 version, and there are used copies for sale on Amazon Marketplace.
20 tracks, mostly B&D.
You da man! I just bought it. I love MOG!
The Dionne/Bacharach&David recordings should be remembered in the same league as the Sinatra/Capitol recordings. Rather than debate whether they are rock or not, they should be recognized as absolute classics.
Groundbreaking pop for sure. Not much on Top 40 radio in the early '60s was as sophisticated as that first run of Dionne singles ('Don't Make Me Over,' 'Walk On By,' 'Anyone Who Had A Heart'). Raised the bar.