With a total of 40 Pop chart hits, Dionne Warwick’s recordings for the Scepter label rank as arguably the most successful run of any artist—and certainly of any female artist—for an independent label during the 1960s.
But all that success had a downside for her considerable legacy: Scepter became a hot property for acquisition, and as a result the label’s holdings were bought and sold several times before Dionne herself arranged to buy her own masters back. By that time, though, the Scepter tapes had been scattered in disarray, thus leaving a lot of material in limbo and causing compilers to throw up their hands.
Well, where other reissue labels fear to tread Real Gone Music goes full speed ahead! Odds & Ends—Scepter Records Rarities offers 25 hard-to-find tracks (plus some bonus promo spots) from the Scepter vaults, including rare alternate versions (of hits like “Don’t Make Me Over,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”), stereo singles (“He’s Moving On;” “Amanda”), foreign language singles (“A House Is Not a Home” in Italian and French; “Walk On By” in German and Italian), stereo mixes (of “Get Rid of Him” and “Silent Voices”), and just plain lost tracks (like “Our Ages or Our Hearts” and “Monday, Monday”).
Many of the selections are previously unissued and most are making their CD debut. What’s more, this one’s released with the full cooperation of the legendary lady, Dionne herself, who sat down for an interview with liner note writer Joe Marchese, and includes rare photos. Remastered by Ted Carfrae, Odds & Ends—Scepter Records Rarities is a stone solid must for any Dionne fan, and of course any Bacharach-David fan as well…this is some of the greatest—and rarest—vocal pop music of the ‘60s!
