SoulMusic Records top-tier stewardship of Dionne Warwicks catalog continues with Sure Thing: The Warner Bros. Recordings 1972-1977, a six-disc package that neatly fits beside the labels likewise comprehensive Deja Vu: The Arista Recordings 1979-1994. Warwick was positioned for success with Warner. With seven masterly Top Ten pop hits spanning seven years to her credit, the singer had left Scepter Records to sign what Variety reported in 1971 as the most lucrative recording contract signed by a female artist. Warner rolled out the proverbial red carpet. Despite the involvement of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the songwriting/production team behind all of those Scepter smashes, 1972s Dionne got the era off to a slow start. A bad omen of sorts was that its one charting single was neither produced nor written by Warwicks then-seemingly inseparable partners (who soon split). Warwick would reunite with David for one song on 1977s Love at First Sight, but her stint with Warner otherwise entailed a carousel of shorter and less fruitful partnerships with the likes of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Thom Bell, Jerry Ragovoy, and Michael Omartian and Steve Barri. Warwick did achieve her first number one pop single with the Bell-produced Spinners collaboration "Then Came You," but it appeared on the groups New and Improved months before Warner attempted to capitalize by making it the title song of Warwicks third Warner LP. That Then Came You peaked deep in the back half of the Billboard 200 is most symbolic of Warwicks time with Warner. Still, Sure Thing is a trove. Theres a bounty of undervalued singles and deep cuts. Scratching the surface are under-heard Bacharach/David and Holland-Dozier-Holland gems, respectively the gorgeous "If You Never Say Goodbye" and buzzing "Youre Gonna Need Me," plus Lesley Duncans "Love Song" (previously recorded by Elton John), a folk-soul diversion Warwick delivers to spine-tingling effect. Each of these and some of the even-deeper curiosities -- scattered across expanded versions of most of the albums and a 16-track extra disc of intriguing non-LP recordings -- outshine most of the charting singles. The accompanying booklet features extensively researched liner notes filled with context and insight, and exhaustive recording details. ~ Andy Kellman
Rovi