The `74 Bacharach/Warwick recordings

[Blair N. Cummings]

I`m amazed that I`m the first to post on this topic.
Whatever "lost magic" Burt felt at the time was entirely in his mind. The melodies, arrangements, orchestrations and, certainly, Dionne`s performances were first rate.
She must have been stunned at his cancellation of further sessions.
The other tracks on this compilation are, well, nice to hear but dwarfed by the Bacharach tracks.
I liked Just Being Myself but the out-takes aren`t noteworthy. The only other stand-out is Dionne`s vocal on the closer,"Room Enough".

[ron hertel]

Blair - "You Beat Me To The Punch" - My copy of "WE NEED TO GO BACK - THE UNISSUED WARNER BROS. MASTERS" arrived on Thursday and as with most recordings - I had to listen to it 4 or 5 times before commenting .......... Dionne was at the top of her game when recording these 19 songs and her inimitable phrasing, style and vocal capability shines through on all of them. ......... The 3 Bacharach tracks demonstrate how good a followup to Dionne's first Warner Bros. album might have been. ... The 2 Holland Dozier Holland songs included here sound like they would have been better suited for the 4th reincarnation of Motown's Supremes; however, I do like the 8 tracks on Dionne's 1973 HDH "Just Being Myself" project. .... Also like the Ashford Simpson "Someone Else Gets The Prize" as well as "One Last Memory" produced by Thom Bell for the "Track Of The Cat" album. Would have made a great 9th song for that record which was Dionne's favorite Warner Bros. album. ........... The 5 Joe Porter produced songs along with the only Porter/Warwick released single "I Didn't Mean To Love You" (not included on this disc) was the start to a potentially great project which never was completed. ... I still don't understand why Warner Bros. pulled that single shortly after its release! ..... The 3 Randy Edelman produced songs are also very listenable. ....... Warwick fans should definitely add this collection of previously unreleased songs to their music libraries.

[BachtoBacharach]

Deleted by poster.

[maestrofan]

Very disconcerting to hear that Mr. Bacharach may have been "... particularly bitter after her (Ms. Warwick) dramatic comeback in 1979 ..." Did he get some sort of perverse satisfaction in seeing Ms Warwick flounder during those difficult Warner years after he abandoned her as well as Mr. David? After looking forward to it, I may not even bother to read his "autobiography" . Fortunately his work stands apart from all this "personal stuff" and for that I will remain a fan!

[Blair N. Cummings]

Ron, your mention of Motown`s desperate attempt to maintain a post-Ross Supreme`s franchise reminded me of this track from the Jimmy webb produced eponymous album from `72:
Imagine what Dionne could have done with this song at that time....

[ron hertel]

Blair:
Although I enjoyed much of what Jean Terrell brought to the post "Diana Ross - Supremes" - I think Jimmy pushed her beyond her limits on this song. .... IT IS EASY to imagine how Dionne could have nailed it!

[Blair N. Cummings]

After a week of repeated listenings to these tracks, what strikes me most is the evident professional commitment Burt felt initially. I think that the arrangements and particularly the instrumentations are far more inventive and sophisticated than anything on the `71 project. That one always seemed subdued and almost perfunctory to me. "Be Aware" was the only take-away song from Dionne in my opinion.
For Burt to have trashed these later sessions evinces serious personal problems as well as a professional abdication. Far from the "magic" being gone, the two were clearly demonstrating a creative peak.

[BachtoBacharach]

That Burt was troubled is pretty evident. I too am astonished at Burt's cavalier attitude toward this work and toward the project. And, true to narcissism, he never offers specifics regarding anything. His broad, dramatic, dismissive "the magic is gone" is a typical narcissistic justification for his actions...no specifics, no involvement, no attachment, just that "feeling" as justification to walk away from it all. Burt mentioned in his book that he tried to entice Dionne back in the studio (and I have doubts about Burt's story)but she was having none of it and sets himself up as a victim...It's like he's saying "look at the great guy I am in reaching out to Dionne and she rejected me. Poor pitiful me and bad Dionne." If anyone was a victim of all this it was Dionne who was totally at Burt's mercy until he allowed her to record sans Blue-Jac...he had no intention to at first though...didn't really care if Warner Brothers sued her or not. Then there is that incident after she filed the suit where he called her out on it from the stage in Las Vegas and banned her from his dressing room backstage after the show. And this isn't the only time he behaved this way. Bacharach comes across as basically a self-absorbed entitled jerk who made great music. He was fortunate to have Dionne and Hal around for as long as he did.

[Downtown]

As much as I have always liked "Finder of Lost Loves", "Love Power", "On My Way" and for all it represents "TFWAF" - nothing Burt and Dionne did together after their 1980s reunion can top the sheer genius of "And Then You Know What He Did".

It's strange that even after the release of "We Need To Go Back" one of the highlights of their combined careers will probably be heard by only a few insiders. I wish somebody would have the guts and release it as a single and do a video and get Burt and Dionne to promote it.

[ron hertel]

Downtown:
As far as I'm concerned "And Then You Know What He Did" is Dionne's "crowning achievement" during her 70's stint at Warner Brothers. Her phrasing is impeccable. ... Probably far too sophisticated for release as a single. .... From a lyrical standpoint - it sounds like the perfect followup to "Check Out Time" from her Scepter album "Very Dionne". ....... and - what a great instrumental version Burt could arrange with this masterpiece! ..... How did this ever get lost in the shuffle???