UPDATE 8/6/13: WEA Japan's deluxe mini-LP editions of Dionne Warwick's Scepter and Warner catalogue have finally arrived, but many purchasers have been surprised to find numerous alterations in the albums' bonus material.   Originally-listed bonus tracks have been added, dropped, and reshuffled between albums.  By the numbers, there are 5 more bonus tracks than originally listed, but some songs are absent with others taking their place.  Below, in BOLD, we'll let you know exactly what you'll find on every CD in the series, what's missing, and what's new!

ORIGINAL POST OF 5/20/13: What it’s all about?

According to WEA Japan – the Japanese arm of Warner Music Group – it’s all about Dionne Warwick.  The legendary singer has recently celebrated her 50th anniversary in music with the well-received album Now (one of the final projects produced by the late Phil Ramone) while Warwick’s closest musical collaborator, Burt Bacharach, has just marked his own 85th birthday with the publication of a new memoir and the issuance of a new retrospective box set.  And so, in July, WEA Japan will reissue 23 albums – representing Warwick’s tenure at both Scepter and Warner Bros. Records – in newly remastered, mini-LP sleeve editions including mono and stereo for the early albums, plus bonus tracks (both those appended to Rhino Handmade’s previous expansions of certain titles, and new, never-on-CD additions) on virtually every disc in the set.  Three of these albums are new to CD.

Warwick’s Scepter and Warner catalogues have been reissued numerous times on CD from various labels including Rhino Handmade, Ambassador Soul Classics, Disky, Sequel Records and Collectors’ Choice Music, with many variations in mixes along the way.  This series appears to standardize her remarkable body of work in uniform editions with single mixes added where applicable.  The albums covered in the Warwick campaign are:

1. Presenting Dionne Warwick (1963) (Mono/Stereo)
2. Anyone Who Had a Heart (1964) (Mono/Stereo)
3. Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
4. The Sensitive Sound Of Dionne Warwick (1965) (Mono/Stereo)
5. Here I Am (1965) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus track)
6. Dionne Warwick in Paris (1966) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
7. Here Where There Is Love (1966) (Mono/Stereo)
8. On Stage and in the Movies (1967) (Mono/Stereo)
9. The Windows of the World (1967) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
10. The Magic of Believing (1967) (Mono/Stereo)
11. In The Valley of the Dolls (1968) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
12. Promises. Promises (1968) (Stereo Only) (with bonus tracks)
13. Soulful (1969) (Mono/Stereo) (with bonus tracks)
14. Dionne Warwick's Greatest Motion Picture Hits (1969) (First time on CD, plus bonus tracks)
15. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again (1970) (Stereo Only) (with bonus tracks)
16. Very Dionne (1970) (duplicates track listing of Rhino Handmade RHM2 7869, 2004) (with bonus tracks)
17. The Dionne Warwicke Story: A Decade Of Gold (1971) (2 CDs; First time on CD) (with bonus tracks)
18. From Within (1972) (2 CDs; First time on CD) (with bonus tracks)
19. Dionne (1972) (with bonus tracks)
20. Just Being Myself (1973) (with bonus tracks)
21. Then Came You (1975) (with bonus tracks)
22. Track of the Cat (1975) (with bonus tracks)
23. Love At First Sight (1977) (with bonus tracks)

After the jump, we’ll offer an UPDATED, in-depth look at the bonus material on each disc!  Plus: a lost Warwick treasure is finally found - in a most unlikely place!

The first eleven albums in the series, between 1963 debut Presenting Dionne Warwick and 1968’s In the Valley of the Dolls, contain the complete LP in both mono and stereo.  Of these mono/stereo editions, four albums have additional bonus material:

• Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964) adds the German-language singles of “Walk On By” and “You’ll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)” plus the French-language take of “A House is Not a Home.”
• Dionne Warwick in Paris (1966) adds both the mono and stereo versions of “Message to Michael,” Warwick’s version of the song first recorded by Jerry Butler as “Message to Martha” and later by Lou Johnson as “Kentucky Bluebird.”  Released by Warwick as the B-side to “Here Where There is Love” over Bacharach and David’s objections – they hadn’t wished Warwick to record their song in the first place, considering it a male singer’s song – “Michael” became a Top 10 Pop/Top 5 R&B hit for the team.  [One version of "Message to Michael" was originally planned for the mono/stereo edition of Here I Am.]
• The Windows of the World (1967) has dropped the Italian singles of the title track and “Walk Little Dolly,” a lesser-known but equally elegant Bacharach/David song that’s a favorite of Elvis Costello.  In their place, it has added the previously-orphaned outtake "Taking a Chance on Love," first included on Rhino Handmade's reissue (RHM2 7859, 2004.)
• In the Valley of the Dolls (1968) adds the same two Italian recordings featured on Rhino Handmade’s expansion (RHM2 7859, 2004): “Silent Voices” (“Lo Volce di Silenzio”) and “For the Rest of My Life” (“Dedicato All Amore”).  Bacharach arranged and conducted, but didn’t write, “Silent Voices,” and Garry Sherman handled those duties for “For the Rest of My Life.”  "Silent Voices" has been confirmed as the mono single version.  One version of "For the Rest of My Life" was originally planned; instead, it appears twice - in its mono and stereo single versions.

Following Valley of the Dolls, each album is heard in its original stereo LP mix.  The remaining Scepter remasters all boast bonus material including The Dionne Warwicke Story: A Decade of Gold and From Within, both of which are appearing on CD for the very first time as double-disc sets.  (Twelve songs from the latter release, a hybrid of new and old material, were issued on CD as part of Rhino Handmade’s 2003 Soulful expansion, RHM2 7838.)  Bonus songs are as follows:

• Promises, Promises (1968) adds the original mono single versions of six songs: - “Who Is Gonna Love Me?”, “Promises, Promises,” “Whoever You Are, I Love You,” “This Girl’s in Love with You,” “Dream Sweet Dreamer” and “Odds and Ends.”  All Bacharach/David compositions, “Promises” and “Whoever You Are” originated in Bacharach and David’s musical Promises, Promises.  It also adds stereo versions of "Odds and Ends" and "Dream Sweet Dreamer."
• Soulful (1969) has dropped the single versions of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and “I’m Your Puppet.”  Rhino Handmade’s reissue included 12 songs originally on From Within, as well as an unreleased version of “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.”  Those thirteen tracks have been moved to the first-time CD of From Within.
• Dionne Warwick’s Greatest Motion Picture Hits (1969) makes its first appearance on CD.  The originally-slated stereo bonus tracks of "He's Movin' On" and "Amanda" (from The Love Machine) have been dropped from the series entirely.  The mono singles of "He's Movin' On," "Amanda" and "Slaves" have been shuffled to other titles.
• I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (1970) makes room for mono bonus singles of “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Let Me Go to Him,” “Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets,” "Paper Mache," “The Wine is Young,” and “Knowing When to Leave.”  All were Bacharach/David compositions and productions, with “I’ll Never Fall” and “Knowing When to Leave” two more songs from the hit musical Promises, Promises.  (Larry Wilcox co-wrote the arrangement for “I’ll Never Fall” with Bacharach.)  The originally-planned mono single version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" has been dropped, but four more bonus tracks have been added: mono singles of "Slaves," "The April Fools" and "The Look of Love," plus "They Say It's Wonderful" (from Musicor 2501, 1977 and Rhino Handmade RHM2 7837, 2003).
• Very Dionne (1970) originally was planned to duplicate the track listing of Rhino Handmade’s reissue (RHM2 7869, 2004).  For that reissue, 16 bonus tracks were added to the original 10-track album including two duets with B.J. Thomas (“Make It Easy on Yourself” and “They Don’t Give Medals to Yesterday’s Heroes”) and a lost Bacharach/David gem, “California.”  The bulk of the bonus material comes from a Garden State Arts Center concert on July 23, 1970.  The entire concert was recorded, and the remaining songs were to be included by Rhino on an expanded edition of On Stage and in the Movies.  That reissue never materialized, and so the remaining tracks (“Alfie,” “Raindrops,” “Promises, Promises,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”) are still languishing in the vaults.  For this campaign, the live tracks have been moved to The Dionne Warwicke Story: A Decade of Gold.  In their place, mono single versions of "Make It Easy on Yourself," "Who Gets the Guy," "They Don't Give Medals to Yesterday's Heroes," "Walk the Way You Talk," "The Green Grass Starts to Grow," "Amanda" and "He's Movin' On" have all been added to Very Dionne.

Very Dionne was the singer’s final original Scepter album.  She soon after signed a groundbreaking contract with Warner Bros. Records, where she debuted with 1972’s Dionne – her final production by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.  Soon the one-time “Triangle Marriage” had an acrimonious split, forcing Warwick to sue her friends and producers for their refusal to work together on the albums they were contractually obliged to produce for her.  Warwick remained with Warner Bros. where she was teamed with producers like Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jerry Ragovoy, Steve Barri and Michael Omartian, and most successfully, Thom Bell.  Though the Warner Bros. years represented diminishing commercial returns following the smash chart-topper "Then Came You," Warwick would be on top again when Clive Davis signed her to Arista.  But that’s a tale for another day.  Each of Warwick’s Warner Bros. albums are getting first-time expanded editions.

• Dionne (1972) features mono single versions of “Close to You” and “If We Only Have Love.”
• Just Being Myself (1973) adds single versions of “Don’t Let My Teardrops Bother You,” “I Think You Need Love,” “You’re Gonna Need Me” and “Just Being Myself.”
• Then Came You (1975), so named for the Thom Bell production added to the Jerry Ragovoy-helmed LP, includes Warwick and Bell’s other track with The Spinners, “Just as Long as We Have Love,” plus mono promo singles of “Sure Thing” and “Take It From Me.”
• Track of the Cat (1975), Warwick’s full-length Thom Bell collaboration, originally was planned to boast a staggering amount of bonus material – 10 tracks, total: both sides of the single “I Didn’t Mean To Love You” b/w “He's Not For You” (Warner Bros. WBS-8280, 1976), the mono single version, stereo single version, “Special Disco Mix,” 12-inch single version and single instrumental version (whew!) of “Once You Hit The Road,” and the mono promo single version, 12-inch single version and 12-inch instrumental version of “I Didn’t Mean to Love You.”  As released, it is missing the 12-inch single version and single instrumental version of “Once You Hit the Road,” and the 12-inch and single instrumental version of “I Didn’t Mean to Love You."  It adds the stereo promotional single of “I Didn’t Mean to Love You," for a total of seven bonus tracks.
• Love at First Sight (1977)'s three bonuses (“Don’t Ever Take Your Love Away” in promotional mono and stereo mixes, plus the promotional mono mix of “Keepin’ My Head Above Water") has been expanded to four, with the addition of the mono promotional single mix of "Do You Believe in Love at First Sight."

Although there is no previously unreleased material on any of these discs, this still represents the most sweeping reissue program for Dionne’s catalogue since the sadly-aborted, near-definitive Rhino Handmade series.  And perhaps one day, the wealth of previously unreleased material will see the light of day.  Some particular treasures remain from the Warner Bros. years.  Two additional songs, “Too Far Out of Reach” and “It Hurts Me So,” were shelved for Just Being Myself.  “Someone Else Gets the Prize” and “We Need to Go Back” were also recorded by Warwick with Nickolas Ashford and Valarie Simpson following the Just Being Myself sessions, and remain unreleased.  (These recordings have since been unveiled, with many more, on Real Gone Music's We Need to Go Back: The Unissued Warner Bros. Masters.)

And then there’s the “Holy Grail” of Warwick’s Warner recordings: three songs recorded at a June 1974 reunion session with Burt Bacharach and Phil Ramone.  With Bacharach estranged from Hal David, the composer turned to Bobby Russell and Neil Simon for lyrics, and produced three songs with Warwick.  Ramone manned the controls at Los Angeles’ A&M Studios for the session.  “Plastic City,” “And Then You Know What He Did,” and “And Then He Walked Through the Door” all remain unreleased to this day.  It’s been reported that at least one of these songs may have been written for a proposed film version of Promises, Promises.  Though none of this trio appears on the WEA Japan reissues, we’re thrilled to confirm that the Bacharach/Russell song “And Then You Know What He Did” will soon appear for the very first time on a new 25-song compilation entitled Dionne Warwick Sings Burt Bacharach.  This disc will be available (at least initially) as an exclusive in conjunction with the PBS special Burt Bacharach’s Best.  The special will be broadcast this June.  Read our review here for more information!  (The three Bacharach/Warwick "reunion" tracks also are included on the Real Gone disc.)

You can order all of the Japanese reissues of Dionne Warwick’s catalogue by clicking on the links in the list below!  The titles are currently set for July release in two batches as follows:

July 9 Releases

1. Presenting Dionne Warwick (1963) (Mono/Stereo)
2. Anyone Who Had a Heart (1964) (Mono/Stereo)
3. Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
4. The Sensitive Sound Of Dionne Warwick (1965) (Mono/Stereo)
5. Here I Am (1965) (Mono/Stereo)
6. Dionne Warwick in Paris (1966) (Mono/Stereo with bonus tracks)
7. Here Where There Is Love (1966) (Mono/Stereo)
8. On Stage and in the Movies (1967) (Mono/Stereo)
9. The Windows of the World (1967) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
10. The Magic of Believing (1967) (Mono/Stereo)
11. In The Valley of the Dolls (1968) (Mono/Stereo plus bonus tracks)
12. Promises. Promises (1968) (with bonus tracks)

July 23 Releases

1. Soulful (1969)
2. Dionne Warwick's Greatest Motion Picture Hits (1969) (First time on CD)
3. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again (1970) (with bonus tracks)
4. Very Dionne (1970) (with bonus tracks)
5. The Dionne Warwicke Story: A Decade Of Gold (1971) (2 CDs; First time on CD, with bonus tracks)
6. From Within (1972) (2 CDs; First time on CD, with bonus tracks)
7. Dionne (1972) (with bonus tracks)
8. Just Being Myself (1973) (with bonus tracks)
9. Then Came You (1975) (with bonus tracks)
10. Track of the Cat (1975) (with bonus tracks)
11. Love At First Sight (1977) (with bonus tracks)