| The Windows of the World | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 31, 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1966-1967 | |||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length | 31:25 | |||
| Label | Scepter | |||
| Producer | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | |||
| Dionne Warwick chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Windows of the World | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
The Windows of the World is the title of the eighth studio album by Dionne Warwick, released in August 1967 when the title cut was in the Top 40.
The single "The Windows of the World" had been recorded 13 April 1967 in the same session which produced Warwick's recording of "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me"1 also included on The Windows of the World album. The album featured four other recordings of Burt Bacharach/Hal David compositions, these four tracks all originating in a 9 April 1966 session and thus predating Warwick's December 1966 album release Here Where There is Love and being omitted from it; two of these four tracks had appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 the first being the December 1966 single release "Another Night" (#49) and the second "The Beginning of Loneliness" (#79) released March 1967 as the original A-side of "Alfie".
The other two album tracks from the 9 April 1966 session were the B-side of the single "The Windows of the World" entitled "Walk Little Dolly" and a track released for the first time on the album The Windows of the World entitled "I Say a Little Prayer". Bacharach had an especial dislike for the last-named track having been unable to obtain the desired results instead finding the arrangement rushed despite doing ten takes—typically the tracks Bacharach recorded with Warwick required at most three takes often requiring only one—and it was Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg rather than Bacharach who got "I Say a Little Prayer" released on the album The Windows of the World.
Apart from "Love"—Warwick's recording of this 1965 Bert Kaempfert/Milt Gabler composition is of uncertain origination date—the outside material on The Windows of the World comprises three tracks cut for Warwick's preceding On Stage and in the Movies album which were omitted from the last-named album's finalized track listing: "What's Good About Goodbye", a Leo Robin/Harold Arlen composition introduced in the 1948 film Casbah ; "Somewhere" composed by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein for the stage musical West Side Story ; and "You're Gonna Hear From Me" (writers: Dory Previn/André Previn) a song introduced in the film Inside Daisy Clover (1965).
The back cover of the original album listed the song "Taking a Chance on Love" (writers: Vernon Duke/John La Touche and Ted Fetter), introduced in the all-black 1940 Broadway musical Cabin In The Sky , which was not actually cut on the LP. The recording was located in 2003 and included on the Rhino CD rerelease of The Windows of the World (coupled with Valley of the Dolls).
Originally there was no plan to release a second A-side single from The Windows of the World album, the intended follow-up to "The Windows of the World" single being the theme from the movie Valley of the Dolls with the Windows of the World album track "I Say a Little Prayer" relegated to B-side. Disc jockeys however favored "I Say a Little Prayer"2 with that track's breezy arrangement—denigrated by Bacharach as "rushed"—proving to be the sound to effect a return for Warwick to the Top Ten for the first time since the spring of 1966 (when "Message to Michael" had been a hit); "I Say a Little Prayer" peaked at #4 in December 1967 with its parent album concurrently peaking at #22.
All tracks are written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Say a Little Prayer" | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Walk Little Dolly" | 3:27 |
| 3. | "The Beginning of Loneliness" | 3:30 |
| 4. | "Another Night" | 2:34 |
| 5. | "The Windows of the World" | 3:23 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" | 2:59 | |
| 7. | "Somewhere" | Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein | 4:23 |
| 8. | "You're Gonna Hear from Me" | Dory Previn, André Previn | 4:29 |
| 9. | "Love" | Bert Kaempfert, Milt Gabler | 2:52 |
| 10. | "What's Good About Goodbye" | Leo Robin, Harold Arlen | 2:41 |
Marie Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress, and television host.
Burt Freeman Bacharach is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Academy Award winner, Bacharach's songs have been recorded by more than 1,000 different artists. As of 2014, he had written 73 US and 52 UK Top 40 hits. He is considered one of the most important composers of 20th-century popular music.
Soulful is the twelfth album by Dionne Warwick. Released in 1969 on Scepter Records, it was the first of Warwick's Scepter albums that did not directly involve her longtime production and songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Instead, the album was produced by Warwick and Chips Moman and was composed of covers of soul hits and soul-influenced pop songs.
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David.
"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967. On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at number eight.
"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for Dionne Warwick in 1963. In January 1964, Warwick's original recording hit the Top Ten in the United States, Canada, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Australia.
"Do You Know the Way to San Jose" is a 1968 popular song written and composed for singer Dionne Warwick by Burt Bacharach. Hal David wrote the lyrics. The song was Warwick's biggest international hit to that point, selling several million copies worldwide and winning Warwick her first Grammy Award. David's lyrics tell the story of a native of San Jose, California, who, having failed to break into the entertainment field in Los Angeles, is set to return to her hometown.
"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 ballad recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick, and written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name, starring Shelley Winters and Robert Taylor. The song was a modest hit in the United States for Warwick, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven ". Another version of the song, by Brook Benton, which was the version that appeared in the film, was released at nearly the same time. It debuted two weeks earlier on the Billboard Hot 100. Benton's version split airplay with Warwick's, and ultimately peaked at #75.
"Alfie" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David to promote the 1966 film Alfie. The song was a major hit for Cilla Black (UK) and Dionne Warwick (US).
"Make It Easy on Yourself" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was first a hit for Jerry Butler in 1962. The best known version is the 1965 recording by the Walker Brothers for whom it was a No. 1 UK hit. Dionne Warwick, who made a demo of this song in early 1962, later had a hit with the song in 1970.
"Wishin' and Hopin'" is a song, written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, which was a Top 10 hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964.
Here I Am is the fifth album by American singer Dionne Warwick, released in December 1965 by Scepter Records. The LP was produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. This album, as was usually the case until 1968, was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City.
Dionne Warwick in Paris is Dionne Warwick's sixth album, and was released in 1966 on Scepter Records. It was recorded during Warwick's five-week engagement at the Paris Olympia in January 1966 and was released shortly after the tour was completed. The LP was issued as number 534 in the Scepter Catalog. The liner of this LP is pink with three pictures of Warwick side-by-side, not unlike the Make Way for Dionne Warwick album two years earlier.
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls is the title of Dionne Warwick's ninth album for the Scepter label. It was recorded during the summer and fall of 1967 and was released early the next year. It was recorded at A&R and Bell Sound Studios in New York City and was produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
"(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" is a 1967 song by André and Dory Previn, composed for the film version of the Jacqueline Susann novel Valley of the Dolls, and recorded by Dionne Warwick.
"Message to Michael" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, that has been a hit for several different artists under several different titles. The song was first recorded as "Message to Martha" by Jerry Butler in 1962. In 1964, singer Lou Johnson had a minor US hit with the song, with the title "Kentucky Bluebird". British singer Adam Faith also recorded the song as "A Message to Martha " in 1965, and had a substantial hit with it in the UK, reaching No. 12. Exactly the same recording was issued in Australia as "Message to Martha", where it was a No. 15 hit for Faith. In the United States, Dionne Warwick's version, titled "Message to Michael", was a top ten hit there in 1966.
"Wives and Lovers" is a 1963 song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It has been recorded by numerous male and female vocalists, instrumentalists and ensembles, most notably by Jack Jones in 1963. That recording earned the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male, and peaked at number fourteen on the Hot 100 and number nine on the Easy Listening chart.
One Amazing Night is a 1998 live tribute show performed by artists such as Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, Luther Vandross, Sheryl Crow and others to honor the music of Burt Bacharach. It was recorded live at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City with Bacharach himself conducting the orchestra and playing the piano. It was initially released on CD and VHS only, but in 2002, a DVD was released. There were some differences in the track listing; song order was changed. The song "This House Is Empty Now" performed by Elvis Costello is substituted for his performance of "God Give Me Strength" featured on the CD and was released digitally.
"The Windows of the World" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) which was a hit single for Dionne Warwick in 1967.
Promises, Promises is the title of a 1968 album by Dionne Warwick, and her eleventh studio album. Like many of her previous albums, it was produced by the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The album includes three songs from the musical Promises, Promises, for which Bacharach and David wrote the music and lyrics, and which would premiere a month after the album was released: the title song, "Whoever You Are " and "Wanting Things". The album also includes two other Bacharach/David compositions, "This Girl's in Love with You" and "Who Is Gonna Love Me".
