Dionne Warwick

Starting out in the very early '60s with the Gospel-aires -- a quintet whose superabundance of talent included her aunt Cissy Houston, sister Dee Dee, and their friend Doris Troy -- Dionne Warwick caught the attention of composer Burt Bacharach. With Warwick, the ace songwriting team of Bacharach and Hal David found their perfect vehicle, and the trio went on to make pop hits whose crafty complexity and disarming effervescence has rarely been equalled. Not only was Warwick's range astonishing, but her delivery -- cool, swinging, and unerring -- was one of effortless grace, particularly fetching in rendering David's busy, staccato lyrics, her voice projected a sassy elegance. From the early '60s through the end of the decade the singer thrived; while contemporary R&B and rock audiences were chary of her music's classiness, its sleek arrangements, and absolute lack of funk, she hit big on MOR radio, and the songs hold up extremely well. Almost all her '60s albums contain gems, and each of the 24 cuts on Rhino's Her All-Time Greatest Hits -- from "Walk On By," "Message to Michael," and "I Say a Little Prayer" to "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" and "Promises, Promises" -- is a marvel of craft. After Bacharach-David's bitter split, Warwick floundered. She recovered slightly with "Then Came You," a 1975 duet with the Spinners that hit #1, but her post-'60s output didn't live up to her glory days. Basically, Warwick never found material as strong as Bacharach-David's and, especially in the disco '70s, her particular finesse was out of style. Her Arista records have been slightly duet-crazed -- she's been paired with Luther Vandross, Johnny Mathis, Barry Manilow, and Stevie Wonder -- and her distinctiveness has suffered. Aquarela Do Brazil turns her loose on an excellent, and apt, set of bossa nova tunes. Still, in her mature years, Warwick remains a staggering talent in search of direction. (PAUL EVANS)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide