The Magic of Believing

AMG Review of The Magic of Believing

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

Dionne Warwick got her start in gospel music, so it's no surprise that she would record a gospel album, or that she would share credit with the Drinkard Singers, a gospel vocal group featuring her mother and her aunts and uncles. Warwick sings solo on only the first two tracks, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Somebody Bigger Than You and I," before the Drinkards weigh in with her for the rest of the disc. Fans of Warwick's pop-soul records will at times have difficulty recognizing her here; she occasionally sings in a higher register than usual, and she is often more overtly emotional than on her deliberately restrained pop hits. Clearly, however, this is music close to her heart, and she and the Drinkards perform it without any concessions to pop style; this is traditional gospel music, traditionally sung.