Just Being Myself is a studio album by American singer Dionne Warwick. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1973 in the United States. Her second album with the label, Just Being Myself marked a departure for Warwick who teamed up with Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on the majority of the album after her regular collaborators Burt Bacharach and Hal David had split the year before. The album peaked at number 178 on the US Billboard 200.[1]

Just Being Myself
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1973
StudioHDH Sound Studios, Detroit
Length33:33
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerHolland-Dozier-Holland
Dionne Warwick chronology
Dionne
(1972)
Just Being Myself
(1973)
Then Came You
(1975)
Singles from Dionne
  1. "I Think You Need Love / Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You"
    Released: 1973
  2. "(I'm) Just Being Myself / You're Gonna Need Me"
    Released: 1973

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [2]

AllMusic editor Tim Sendra wrote that "the album's title is somewhat ironic because Holland, Dozier and Holland removed Warwick from the creative process, basically asking her to record her vocals over previously recorded backing tracks. Not that most of what they came up with was too far from what she had been recording before since the bulk of the record is made up of lush, orchestrated ballads [...] Just Being Myself is a very interesting and successful record that shows Warwick could be a convincing soul singer and despite her qualms, could succeed, artistically anyway."[2]

Track listing

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All tracks produced Holland-Dozier-Holland.[3]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You're Gonna Need Me"4:20
2."I Think You Need Love"
  • B. Holland
  • L. Dozier
  • E. Holland
3:37
3."You Are the Heart of Me"4:14
4."I Always Get Caught in the Rain"
  • Smith
  • Dunbar
3:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You"
  • B. Holland
  • L. Dozier
  • E. Holland
  • Wylie
4:00
6."(I'm) Just Being Myself"
  • B. Holland
  • L. Dozier
  • E. Holland
  • R. Dozier
4:31
7."Come Back"
  • B. Holland
  • Dozier
  • E. Holland
4:30
8."Don't Burn the Bridge (That Took You Across)"
  • B. Holland
  • Dozier
  • E. Holland
4:24

Personnel and credits

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Just Being Myself.[4]

  • McKinley Jackson – arrangements
  • Jerry Hall – recording, mixing
  • Brian Holland – recording, mixing
  • Lawrence Horn – recording, mixing
  • Gene Page – arrangements
  • Ed Thrasher – photography
  • Barney Perkins – recording, mixing
  • Dionne Warwick – vocals

Charts

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Chart (1973) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[1] 178

References

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  1. ^ a b "Dionne Warwick Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Sendra, Tim. "Just Being Myself > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Just Being Myself (booklet). Dionne Warwick. Warner Bros. Records. 1973.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Just Being Myself (liner notes). Dionne Warwick. Warner Bros. Records. 1973.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)