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. This expanded and remastered Rhino Handmade edition gathers Warwick's two finest Scepter albums, along with three bonus tracks previously unreleased in the U.S. Work began on Windows Of The World in 1966, as Warwick's reading of "Alfie" was soaring up the charts. She entered the studio with producer-songwriters Bacharach and David and recorded several songs, including her signature hit "I Say A Little Prayer" and the poignant ballad "The Beginning Of Loneliness," which was intended as a single but eclipsed by its B-side, "Alfie." The fast and furious "Another Night" was a departure for the trio, as was "The Windows Of The World," a political song about the Vietnam War. Several standards, including West Side Story's "Somewhere," also appeared on the album. The bonus track "Taking A Chance On Love" has never been released anywhere in the world. Ironically, a non-Bacharach-David song would give Warwick her biggest movie-theme hit, "(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls." (Included here is the Scepter single version.) Other standout tracks on Valley Of The Dolls include Jim Webb's "Up, Up And Away" and the perennial favorite "Do You Know The Way To San Jose." Two Italian-language songs, "Lo Volce Di Silenzio" -- "Silent Voices" is the English version included on the album -- and "Dedicato All Amore," make their Stateside debut as bonus tracks. The Windows Of The World / Valley Of The Dolls is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies.
TRACK LISTING I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (3:04) WALK LITTLE DOLLY (3:27) THE BEGINNING OF LONELINESS (3:30) ANOTHER NIGHT (2:34) THE WINDOWS OF THE WORLD (3:23) (THERE'S) ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE TO REMIND ME (2:59) SOMEWHERE (4:23) YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM ME (4:28) LOVE (2:52) WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE (3:41) TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE (2:07) AS LONG AS THERE'S AN APPLE TREE (2:05) UP, UP AND AWAY (2:38) YOU'RE MY WORLD (3:05) (THEME FROM) VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (3:35) SILENT VOICES (3:07) DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE (2:50) FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE (3:07) LET ME BE LONELY (3:35) WHERE WOULD I GO (2:40) WALKING BACKWARDS DOWN THE ROAD (2:54) DEDICATO ALL AMORE (3:36) LO VOLCE DI SILENZIO (3:15)