Dionne Warwick (Why We Sing) - Reviews

Dionne Warwick
Why We Sing

A full forty years after the release of The Magic of Believing, music legend Dionne Warwick delivers her second full-length Gospel project, Why We Sing, on Rhino Records.

Pulling on a diverse array of material, much of it beloved and familiar to Warwick from her family's deep church roots, she works with producers including BeBe Winans, Percy Bady, Gregory C. Curtis Sr. and sons David Elliott and Damon Elliott.

The project kicks off with "Battle Hymn of the Republic", the triumphant hymn that also appeared on Warwick's first Gospel project, and has subsequently been part of her live performances since. Produced by Bady, and featuring brass (of course), Warwick wraps her familiar vocals around the old chestnut.

On "I'm Going Up", longtime friend BeBe Winans joins in duet on this number (written by Winans) that looks toward heaven. Vocally, this is an duo that's hard to beat, and this song is an album highpoint. Winans also writes "The World Needs Jesus" and "With All My Heart".

Related Feature

This is the story of a remarkable cross-cultural exchange that took place in the 1990s between Vermont, one of the whitest states in the Union, and the incredibly powerful, all-black, 100-member 11 A.M. Mass Choir from the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J.

The woman behind that exchange, the beautiful, musically gifted and devoutly spiritual Anne L. Drinkard-Moss....

Ann Drinkard-Moss Feature

Warwick invites sister Dee Dee to share the mic on the seldomly covered "Why We Sing" (the first Kirk Franklin mega-hit). The pairing is historic, as it brings back the sisters to the Gospel scene. As The Gospelaires, the two often performed on shows with The Drinkard Singers. This rendition is understated and reflective, a poignant statement of purpose.

"Seven" is another family pairing, this time with son David Elliott. Sharing vocal duties, the mother-son duet is an intriguing quiet storm offering that reflects on prophetic passages from Revelation.

Also on the project are the rousing "Rise, Shine And Give God The Glory," a Drinkard Singers original that calls on the New Hope Baptist Church Choir of Newark, New Jersey to deliver backing vocals (under the direction of the renowned Donnie Harper), and a cover of the Clara Ward Singers' "The Old Landmark".

Perhaps it's a cliché these days to state that a singer has "come home" to Gospel. Nevertheless, in the case of Dionne Warwick, it's true. Welcome home.

Email This To A Friend

Production: Various album release date: March, 2008
Cross Movement Records

— reviewed by Gerard Bonner —