LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

By the late '60s Dionne Warwick had become an international star and the virtual embodiment of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David songbook. A former background singer with gospel and R&B roots, she made her name with sophisticated Brill Building pop that appealed to both white and black audiences. She was the jewel of the Scepter Records roster. In the mid-'60s Bacharach and David devoted increasing attention to writing for motion pictures. After penning career-defining songs for Casino Royale ("The Look Of Love") and What's New Pussycat? ("What's New Pussycat?"), the duo wrote five songs for the Broadway show Promises, Promises, a stage adaptation of Billy Wilder's The Apartment. Warwick didn't perform in the play, but recorded the five songs for the musical and included three of them on her 1968 album of the same name. "I'll Never Fall In Love Again," one of the highlights of the play, became the title track of her 1970 album, the second half of this expanded and remastered double release. Included as a Promises bonus track is Bacharach-David's "Dream Sweet Dreamer," the non-album B-side of "This Girl's In Love With You." I'll Never Fall In Love Again was released a year and a half after Promises, Promises and is included here for thematic consistency. In the interim, Warwick had traveled to Memphis to record Soulful (available as a separate Rhino Handmade release), her first album produced without Bacharach and David. For I'll Never Fall In Love Again, the singer cut several of the duo's compositions, as well as Paul Anka's "My Way," Jimmy Webb's "Didn't We," and George Harrison's "Something." Irving Berlin's "They Say It's Wonderful" and Bacharach-David's "Odds And Ends" are included as bonus tracks. Promises, Promises/I'll Never Fall In Love Again is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies.
TRACK LISTING PROMISES, PROMISES (3:04) THIS GIRL'S IN LOVE WITH YOU (4:20) LITTLE GREEN APPLES (3:54) WHERE IS LOVE (2:54) WHO IS GONNA LOVE ME? (3:13) WHOEVER YOU ARE, I LOVE YOU (4:20) WHERE AM I GOING (3:08) WANTING THINGS (2:26) LONELY IN MY HEART (2:58) YESTERDAY I HEARD THE RAIN (2:45) DREAM SWEET DREAMER (3:28) ODDS AND ENDS (3:28) THE WINE IS YOUNG (3:42) I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN (2:55) RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD (2:58) LONELINESS REMEMBERS WHAT HAPPINESS FORGETS (2:07) SOMETHING (2:28) PAPER MACHE (3:04) KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE (2:42) LET ME GO TO HIM (3:51) DIDN'T WE (2:45) MY WAY (3:28) THEY SAY IT'S WONDERFUL (3:31)