April 23, 2004
The latest releases in Rhino Handmade’s series of Dionne Warwick reissues have been released and, as you might expect, they’re both outstanding. The Windows of the World/Valley of the Dolls is a deluxe repackaging of two of Dionne’s classic Bacharach-produced albums (Windows was originally issued in 1967 and Valley of the Dolls in 1968) on one CD augmented by a wealth of bonus material.

In addition to classics like “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and the respective title tracks, it includes wonderful lesser-known Bacharach compositions like “Walk Little Dolly,” “As Long As There’s an Apple Tree” and “Another Night.” The reissue of 1970’s Very Dionne features “Check Out Time,” “The Green Grass Starts to Grow” and “They Don’t Give Medals to Yesterday’s Heroes” as well as underappreciated gems like “Who Gets the Guy” and 10 live tracks. Both releases are digitally remastered and were compiled by and feature liner notes by noted R&B expert David Nathan. These limited edition, individually numbered releases are currently available through Rhino Handmade and SoulMusic.com.