Dionne Warwick - Anyone Who Had A Heart (Japan, 2013)

This is pop vocalist Dionne Warwick's second long-player, which builds off of her debut LP, Presenting Dionne Warwick (1963). Anyone Who Had a Heart (1964) continues her association with songwriters Hal David and Burt Bacharach. Her rich tonality is perfectly suited to their haunting and slightly noir material, although Warwick's immediate success with "Don't Make Me Over" was nearly stunted, as the tune was initially rejected by Scepter Records co-founder Florence Greenberg. Her mind was changed when the song, which had been relegated to a B-side, began to outperform the A-side, "I Smiled Yesterday," on both the pop and R&B charts. Perhaps that is why "Don't Make Me Over" is one of three prominent tunes to have been unceremoniously duplicated from Presenting Dionne Warwick -- the others being "This Empty Place" and "I Cry Alone." More likely than not the label was more eager to release a new platter than to wait for a dozen new recordings. In addition to the timeless lead composition, Warwick's version of "Wishin' and Hopin'" not only predates Dusty Springfield's hit, it was admittedly the framework for the Brit's blue-eyed soul rendering. "Make It Easy on Yourself" and the title track to Warwick's second album, Anyone Who Had a Heart, also garnered copious airplay and became concert staples. Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman's Latin-tinged "Shall I Tell Her" and the soulful reading of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" -- which may have been the blueprint for the Jackson 5's cover -- are likewise keepers.