once in every life someone comes along
(or: november 30’s honey from the hive)
posted at 3:07 am by brandon in sweet you rock and sweet you roll
Dionne Warwick — “It Was Almost Like a Song”
(from Now: A Celebratory 50th Anniversary Album
Marking her golden anniversary in the bidness, the glorious Warwick — whose debut single “Don’t Make Me Over” became an instant smash upon its release exactly fifty years ago this month — is back with a newly re-recorded collection of her classics, which, as one might expect, leans heavily on her masterful collaborations with Burt Bacharach and the recently deceased Hal David. You’d think she’d have tossed in a new take on “Heartbreaker” or “Finder of Lost Loves” for the ’80s lite-FM freaks in her fan base (hint: me me me me me), but I’ll take what I can get, especially considering that a) Lady Dee still has a remarkable command of her voice, which remains impeccable; and b) she does throw us a curveball or two in this album’s tracklist, among them this restrained, riveting cover of an old Ronnie Milsap chestnut. (I can’t even tell how good it does my heart to see Miss Dionne crawling back into her comfy wheelhouse, as heretofore, her most memorable accomplishments of the past two decades have been that whole Psychic Friends fiasco and calling supermodel Niki Taylor a “hussy” behind her back in an instant classic Celebrity Apprentice catfight. In other words: welcome the hell back, lady.)
