The Simple Pleasure of Listening To An Album
Thoughts on a culture of abundance and 'The Dells Sing Dionne Warwick's Greatest Hits.'
In early January of 2022 I made a Twitter thread of cover versions of Dionne Warwick’s Burt Bacharach and Hal David co-produced classic “Walk On By.” With over 250 renditions to choose from there was no shortage of great material. The 21-track thread and YouTube playlist includes excellent takes on the song by Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Cal Tjader, and many others.
I personally kept coming back to The Dells’ stunning Charles Stepney-produced re-imagining of “Walk On By” from 1972. The volume and intensity of the instrumentation is increased and decreased with dramatic effect throughout while The Dells convey such heartbreak and sadness through their harmonies and vocal arrangements. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
I enjoyed this song for a long while after making the thread, but I always listened to it in the context of a playlist or as a single listen before I moved onto something else. When the school year ended in June I realized I owed it to The Dells to actually give The Dells Sing Dionne Warwick's Greatest Hits several proper listens from front to back as they intended when they released the record 40 years ago. I was not disappointed.
Listening to The Dells Sing Dionne Warwick's Greatest Hits is a joyful experience. Tackling Dionne Warwick’s catalog for a record full of cover songs is no easy feat, especially when the primary focus is her acclaimed work with frequent collaborators Bacharach and David. But The Dells and Stepney pull it off flawlessly, showing incredible artistry and range throughout the record.
Stepney pulls together elements of funk, jazz, and soul into a smooth, soulful composition on “I'll Never Fall In Love Again” while The Dells put their unique vocal fingerprints on the Warwick original. The stripped down opening, gradual buildup, and string arrangements of “Alfie” makes for another stunner. And “I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself” is so sharp and funky it’s a marvel some industrious producer hasn’t interpolated or sampled it yet.
We live in a culture of abundance. I can access a sizable percentage of all recorded music on YouTube any time I want to. As someone who tries to share music with my audience on a regular basis, this is both awe-inspiring and completely overwhelming. It can lead to many rabbit holes and an endless temptation to jump to the next song or album without fully appreciating the current one.
For my own sanity and out of respect for the music I’m trying to slow down a bit more as of late. Even though there will always be more music for me to discover, sitting with one album at a time and building a deeper appreciation for the music I already know is an essential part of the process.
I’m glad I gave myself the space and time to immerse myself in The Dells Sing Dionne Warwick's Greatest Hits this summer. You can listen to the record in its glorious entirety here.
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