Dionne Warwick - We Need To Go Back: The Unissued Warner Bros. Masters (2013)

Although Dionne Warwick released five albums and nearly a dozen singles for Warner Brothers during her five-year (1972-1977) stint with the label, a search through the tape vaults has uncovered a wealth of stellar unreleased masters whose rumored existence has tantalized collectors for decades. Now with its release of We Need to Go Back The Unissued Warner Bros. Masters, Real Gone Music has unearthed 19 rare treasures made with the involvement of some of the industry's top pop and soul producers. For instance, the title track is one of a pair of songs Dionne recorded with R&B songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson during a 1973 session. That same year, pop composer Randy Edelman ("Weekend In New England") joined with Warwick (and engineer Brooks Arthur) to wax a trio of tunes never-before-heard until now. From Dionne's album sessions come an array of outstanding outtakes with Thom Bell, Holland-Dozier-Holland , Steve Barri & Michael Omartian and Jerry Ragovoy. There are also a whopping five recordings for a never-completed 1976 album with producer Joe Porter (Gladys Knight & The Pips). But perhaps the most tantalizing discovery is three previously unreleased Burt Bacharach creations (penned with Neil Simon and Bobby Russell and engineered by Phil Ramone) that the maestro produced in 1974: "He Walked Right Through the Door," "And Then You Know What He Did" and "Plastic City." Fascinating, rare and essential, with notes by Paul Howes that featuring quotes from Dionne herself!