Customer Reviews

Just Being Myself

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All Dionne fans agree there was some great overlooked music by The Woman in the 70's, and this has to rank as the *most* overlooked, probably because there is so much Holland-Dozier-Holland in it and as a result perhaps Dionne is simply fronting some latter-day Motown. But as we all know--Dionne doesn't front anything! Even though these songs could have been sung by any of the Motown ladies, Dionne takes each track and makes it her own. Particularly soulful and spectacularly performed are the haunting "Don't Burn the Bridge (That Took You Across)" that closes out the album, and the energetic "I Think You Need Love" early on. The music is always interesting and the background vocals are mixed fat right up front, giving the whole album a gospelly feel. Check out some of the clips, you'll want to give it a try--you won't be able to resist "Come Back" and the sweet ballad "Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You." A must for fans and people who like 70's soul.

Brief but beautiful ... that describes this masterpiece by the Queen of Champagne Soul. Each of the 8 songs is great to terrific; no filler here. Dionne's delivery and execution is perfect for each song's feel and subject matter. "I Always Get Caught In The Rain" has to be one of the most beautiful 70's ballads ever recorded, while "You're Gonna Need Me" has an urgency rarely heard by Miss Warwick.

All of Dionne's early 70's material, thankfully re-released with liner notes by the ever-informative David Nathan, is outstanding and never gets its just due. That said, JUST BEING MYSELF is in a class of one and my personal favorite of them all. Dionne's trademark sweet and delicate vocal touch mixes so well with this soulful material.

That soulfulness makes this set stand out in Dionne's catalog. It also makes it worth adding to your collection since it represents the absolute cream of early 70's R&B in many ways. You will not be disappointed!

I came to this album late in life but boy I am glad I found it. Believe it or not it, I was made aware of it because of a sample of "You're Gonna Need Me" used by hip-hop legend J Dilla. Loving Dionne Warwick's music I had to seek this out. "Just Being Myself" is Dionne meets Holland-Dozier-Holland for a one-off collaboration and what a lasting impression this has made on me. I own practially every Dionne Warwick release from throughout her venerable career and this dusty masterpiece was quite a surprise. Each song offers something special and characteristic of the Dionne style. From the arrangements, it is obvious that H-D-H held Dionne's work from the Bacaharach-David era in great respect. The songs frequently qoute many of Bacharach-David stylistic touches (listen to "I Always Get Caught in the Rain"). Yet H-D-H add a new dimension to the Warwick style by rooting the album in the post 60's Motown sound. In return Dionne sings at her most soulful, adult-themed songs backed by funky,and complex musical arrangements. The magic of H-D-H has always been their ability to communicate an epic sweep in 3-4 minutes and this remains true on all the songs on this album. "Just Being Myself" finds Dionne at the top of her game - a consumate professional. Given how much I love this record, it is odd for me to read reports where Ms. Warwick speaks disparagingly about this album and this period of her career -success with Warner Brothers records eluded her, and "Just Being Myself" produced no chart hits for her. I think time has vindacted this period of her career -- the music remains relevant and classic at once. Each decade from the 60's through to the 90's, Dionne's output was exemplary and this for me is the high point of her 70's era. I say grab this one before it goes out of print once again and you end up paying hundreds of dollars on Ebay for a used copy.

This 1975 album was one of Dionne Warwick's best ever but seemingly disappeared without a trace for nearly 30 years before being remastered on CD. Every song here is wonderful but the standouts are "I Always get Caught in the Rain", "Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You", "Come Back" and "Don't Burn the Bridge (That Took You Across)", which makes Side 2 the keeper on the vinyl format. Dionne's other album of that period, "Track of the Cat", was also a winner with great vocals and sound but this CD is the album that was lost but happily found.

I basically purchased this cd even if it was a bit pricey because of the song "I Always Get Caught in the Rain." Growing up as a kid in the 70s, I used to hear plenty of Dionne songs on the radio on lazy afternoons at home. Among my favorites were "Paper Mache," "Then Came You," and "Jealousy." However, this one was my absolute favorite for some reason. I think it was this song's beautiful melody, lyrics and arrangement plus the fact that I like songs with rain in it (Jose Feliciano's "Rain" and the Carpenters "Rainy Days and Mondays" come to mind). Hearing the song again after so many years brought back so many wonderful memories since I don't get to hear this song on the radio anymore. I was also pleasantly surprised that the other songs were nice ones that were worth listening to. I rate this song 4-stars for content. However, the sound quality leaves much to be desired (considering that this was supposed to be a remastered version) since the songs are not really crystal clear and the recording level is low when compared to newer recordings or remastered 70s classics like that of the Carpenters. In fact, you have to put the volume to the maximum in order to listen to the cd. Nevertheless, still a worthy addition to my cd collection!

Dionne Warwick working with the pioneers of the "Sound of Young America"? This can't be good, but surprisingly it's one of her more consistent albums ever. Ms. Warwick stepped out of her comfort zone and showed the gospel-based soulful side of herself. Despite hating the album because it was recorded differently from the way Bacharach and David recorded her, she showed that she could hold her own with the soul shouters like Aretha and Gladys. This is an album worthy of a listen and ownership for your collection.