In news that will excite the soul music enthusiast, legendary vocalist Dionne Warwick is returning to the UK in September 2018.
Born in New Jersey in 1940, Warwick began her music career as a backing vocalist for artists such as Ben E. King and Dinah Washington. After attracting the attention of songwriter and composer Burt Bacharach, Warwick soon became an established solo artist of the highest calibre.
Immediately identifiable by her husky, rich, and soulful timbre, Warwick has established a musical legacy spanning five decades. It is thus fitting that one of music’s greatest artists will be beginning her UK tour in one of music’s finest venues – the Royal Albert Hall. She will continue onward to Cardiff, Birmingham, Glasgow and Gateshead.
In anticipation of the tour, The House That Soul Built have broken down our five favourite Dionne Warwick songs/performances. Sound off in the comments with your own suggestions!
(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me
A Burt Bacharach/Hal David number, ‘(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me’ featured on Warwick’s 1967 album, The Windows Of The World. There is a brilliant juxtaposition between the breezy verses and the jolt of the chorus. While often overlooked in favour of Warwick’s more famous hits, her vocal here is one of her strongest. She stretches to the top of her range, capturing the anguish of the narrator who cannot escape the memory of a lover she’d rather forget.
Walk On By
Warwick’s signature tune, ‘Walk On By’ has been recorded by the likes of Isaac Hayes, Gabrielle, and (oddly) The Strangers. Bacharach’s spikey arrangement, Warwick’s feathery vocals, and David’s melancholic lyrics combine to make a bluesy classic dripping with pain and rejection.
I’ll Never Love This Way Again
Produced by Barry Manilow, ‘I’ll Never Love This Way Again’ featured on Warwick’s 1979 album Dionne. It ended up winning the 1980 Grammy Award for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’, and deservedly so. Warwick effortlessly commands the jumps in the melody and the soaring key change. In her live performances of this song, Warwick tends to push her vocals even further – surpassing the original recording.
All In Love Is Fair
Though never recorded by Warwick, her live rendering of Stevie Wonder’s ‘All In Love Is Fair’ in 1975 is one of her most memorable performances. The breaks, rasp, timbre, and resonance of her voice is sublime as she elegantly caresses each lyric of this romantic ballad.
Don’t Make Me Over
Warwick’s debut recording happens to be her finest. A Burt Bacharach/Hal David masterpiece, ‘Don’t Make Me Over’ is an impassioned plea to be loved. The title of the song apparently originated from an outburst of Warwick’s. Upon being told that she was deemed unsuitable by her label to record ‘Make It Easy On Yourself’, Warwick shouted in front of Bacharach and David, ‘don’t make me over, man!’ Bacharach and David subsequently went to work. The strings and choral backing vocals on this track are majestic. ‘Accept me for what I am’, Warwick cries. And thus a star was born.
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Tickets for Dionne Warwick’s UK tour can be found here.
Tour Dates:
- 18/09/2018 – Royal Albert Hall, London
- 19/09/2018 – St David’s Hall, Cardiff
- 20/09/2018 – Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham
- 22/09/2018 – SEC Armadillo, Glasgow
- 24/09/2018 – Gateshead Sage, Gateshead
‘Don’t Make Me Over’ is presented by the MJR Group, in association with Neil O’Brien Entertainment and David Shepherd.
(Image taken from Royal Albert Hall website)
