Dionne Warwick enjoyed a career revival in the late '70s and 1980s when she teamed with such producers as Barry Manilow, Barry Gibb, and even Luther Vandross. They returned her to the elaborately arranged and structured soul-tinged pop that had marked her finest hits, although the lyrics and compositions weren't as consistent as they were during her Burt Bacharach/Hal David period. This album collects the biggest hits from this second phase of Warwick's career, including such triumphs as "Deja Vu" and "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again"; it also introduced a new tune, "Take Good Care of You And Me".

Highlighting Dionne Warwick's quiet and more contemplative moments, Love Songs is a solid overview covering not only her later years on Arista, but also material from various other labels and her collaborations with Burt Bacharach. Many of the moments remain untarnished with the passage of time, with the original recordings of "Walk On By," "Alfie," and "I Say a Little Prayer" cleaned up and sounding clearer than ever. While "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and other earlier performances would have been ideal for inclusion, later songs like "That's What Friends Are For" and "Heartbreaker" help to bring things into the later years nicely. And though the song sequencing is a bit erratic, that's something easily overlooked and can be manually corrected. Love Songs is not a collection for the die-hard fan, but casual listeners will find it immediately accessible and an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

The singularity of Dionne Warwick is defined by what the singer isn't as much as what she is. Although Warwick grew up singing in church, she is not a gospel singer. Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan are clear influences, but she is not a jazz singer. R&B is also part of her background, yet she is not really a soul singer, either, at least not in the sense that Aretha Franklin was. Sophisticated is a word often used to describe Warwick's musical approach and the music she sings, but she is not a singer of standards such as Lena Horne or Nancy Wilson. A pop singer of a sort with an aching yet detached alto voice, In all likelihood, Warwick could only have emerged out of the Brill Building environment of post-Elvis Presley, pre-Beatles pop in the early '60s. That's when she hooked up with Burt Bacharach and Hal David, songwriters and producers who tailored their unusually complicated songs for her distinctive instrument.

After being a premier vocalist in the '60s, Warwick seemed to have hit a stylistic wall by the early '70s. By the time she signed with Warner Bros. in 1970, Warwick attempted many styles and producers. Then Came You, released in 1975, has her teaming with both Jerry Ragovoy and, for one track, Thom Bell. Jerry Ragovoy was a successful producer who had Garnet Mimms and Howard Tate among his credits. For this effort, Ragovoy assembled a strong New York session band, including John Tropea, Leon Pendarvis, and Bob Babbitt. The first track, "Take It From Me," has Warwick getting a more R&B styled production rather than MOR. That was perfect since her voice had matured, attaining an effortless warmth and ease. Here she wasn't so much an interpreter of "great material," her voice and charm were the primary draw. Ragovoy's track "Move Me No Mountain" has a Barry White-styled backing, and Warwick got a chance to be more sensual.