Comprehensive Dionne Warwick box, set for next month, covers 1962-71

SoulMusic/Second Disc Records have announced that the Dionne Warwick deluxe 12-CD box set Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings, 1962-1971 will be available on August 1. This release will be the definitive celebration of the six-time Grammy Award winner and 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, one of the most successful and acclaimed vocalists of all time.

Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings, 1962-1971 is the first-ever collection to comprehensively chronicle the first decade of the legendary Dionne Warwick’s recording career and her era-defining collaborations with songwriter-producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

The deluxe 12-CD set’s 280 tracks encompass every original Scepter album and single release plus over 60 rare bonus tracks – 16 of which are previously unreleased (both in the studio and in concert) – for a total of over 14 hours. The set includes the exclusive bonus disc Always Something There: Live & Studio Gems from The Scepter Vaults, which premieres a lost 1969 concert from Washington, D.C.

“I am so very thrilled about this wonderful collection of my recordings. It is truly something that I myself would buy,” said Dionne Warwick, in a press release.

Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings, 1962-1971 also features never-before-heard alternate takes of “Don’t Say I Didn’t Tell You So,” “Who Gets the Guy,” “Walk the Way You Talk,” and “We’ve Only Just Begun,” along with the official CD debuts of Leslie Uggams and Dionne’s rare duet of Bacharach & David’s “Try to See It My Way” and the soundtrack versions of Dionne’s songs from the film adaptation of the Jacqueline Susann novel, The Love Machine.

The box set is produced by Joe Marchese and Jim Pierson, with David Nathan serving as executive producer. The package is designed by John Sellards while all tracks have been newly mastered by Nick Robbins. The 68-page booklet features a 12,000-word essay by Marchese, drawing on previously unpublished interviews with Warwick and the late Burt Bacharach. The booklet also features a personal reflection from Nathan. The booklet is illustrated with photos as well as album artwork. Each disc is housed within the slipcase in an individual wallet with detailed annotations.

This reissue from SoulMusic Records completes the primary trio of Warwick’s recording legacy, alongside the box sets, Sure Thing: The Warner Bros. Recordings, 1972-1977 and Déjà Vu: The Arista Recordings, 1979-1994. The new set is released in cooperation of Warwick. 

Find the full track listing and pre-order here:

Dionne Warwick: Make It Easy On Yourself-The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971, (12CD) (SoulMusic Records/The Second Disc) - Soulmusic.com