When Rhino Records' specialty imprint, Rhino Handmade began releasing limited edition Dionne Warwick CDs of her 60s catalog, fans were thrilled. Deluxe packaging, copious notes, awesome sound, and TONS of extras. Well, they did about 4, promised more to come, and then... nothing. Little by little though, her rare out of print catalog has been trickling out.

Which brings us to the Collector's Choice batch, just out now. Pretty straight-forward, no frills or bonus tracks... but good sound and decent liner notes. Hey, I'm just happy they are putting more rarities in print. Only a few Dionne gems left to go now...

Here I Am is one of my faves of her work, finding her moving gradually into her sophisticated pop phase. There are lots of ballads, gentle bossa nova ditties and even a gospel-style track. The lyrics are clever, with a dark underside that belies the sunny melodies. Dionne finds the heart of those lyrics, elevating the precedings to art.

Although many dismiss her mid to late 60s era as easy-listening pop, I think it's incredible stuff. Dionne has the grit and soul to move you, no matter what style she sings in.

When historians look back at the career of Dionne Warwick they will write that she was the cross between the legendary jazz ladies of yore and the pop/r&b divas of today. Dionne, along with Gladys Knight, Diana Ross/Supremes, and Aretha Franklin changed the way we view music and constructed the female vocal bridge into the 60's and beyond. These ladies brought their distinctive style to new their recordings as well as those they covered. They did not attempt sound like as some of the ladies of today and as a result created magic more often than not. Dionne with her beautiful tenor, class, diction, and coolness, had a great impact upon many singers for which she is not given credit. For many people she was far more effective live, where she would take her sometimes pristine recordings and knock them out of the ballpark.

This beautiful album is the lady at her best and demonstrates her chops and interpretive abilities. The album is gorgeously orchestrated and produced with Here I Am and Are you There With Another Girl being wonderful examples of the Warwick magic. A must have for the collector.

This is my favorite Dionne Warwick album. It is full of amazing songs. I love every one of them! You should buy

Warner continues to make money off the legendary diva's Scepter label material. I wonder how much has been made to date. Prior re-releases have

been reissued in the UK and Japan of this LP and her many others from the 60s. Seems like every time she has new material out, her former record label puts out her oldies to cash in on her yet again. HOW TACKY and GREEDY THAT IS!