The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick (1965) was the artist's fourth long-player and temporarily sidelined her hits, as none of the songs featured on the album made any momentous contributions on the charts or on the airwaves. This is no reflection of the material, as it uniformly remained on par with the high caliber of her earlier outings. Once again a majority of the originals come from the
Burt Bacharach/
Hal David songbook, with a few well-chosen covers of pop standards. Among these are the emotive readings of "Unchained Melody" and "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)," taken from
Anthony Newley and
Leslie Bricusse's The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd (1965). As both demonstrate,
Warwick's vocals are supple and commanding. Her dramatization of "Where Can I Go Without You" significantly personalizes the former
Peggy Lee tune. Interestingly, a majority of the disc was recorded during
Warwick's 1964 European tour. The British support combo lay down an authentic R&B feel, as do
the Breakaways' blue-eyed soul backing vocals, especially on the reading of
Roy Hamilton's "You Can Have Him." Of the Bacharach/David sides, the punchy arrangement on "Wives & Lovers" contrasts with the more intimate "Don't Say I Didn't Tell You," recalling "Walk On By" or the elegantly syncopated "Only the Strong, Only the Brave." ~ Lindsay Planer