By Dave Rodney–

Dionne Warwick is happy as a hummingbird. For years, she has been a dutiful and reliable hit machine, saturating the charts with smash singles. Warwick says she has done over 70 albums – not including compilations – and is now planning to take over the airwaves once again.

Last week, she dropped a new album, Feels So Good, with a twist. The 2014 set is a collection of her own radio anthems from the past alongside a few new songs. This time around, she duets on each track with a sparkling A-list of artists. A powerful, refreshing revival on the set is a reggae duet of the pop classic Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, featuring multi-Grammy winner Ziggy Marley.

Ziggy turns on the Marley magic in the bouncy track. The Hal David-Burt Bacharach number evokes a kick-off-your-shoes-and-chase-away-the-blues atmosphere, wrapped up somewhere between the sweet, soulful vocals of Dionne and the raspy, hypnotic chants of Marley.

featured artists

“I couldn’t think of another way to go with Ziggy since reggae is his point of power and it fit perfectly with the song he chose to do with me,” Warwick told The Gleaner. “At some point, I’d love to come to Jamaica to perform this duet with Ziggy when our schedules permit,” she continued.

The rest of the album shows diversity in the roster of featured artists, designed to pull in a younger demographic of music lovers. Among the other big names featured on the Feels So Good album are Mya (Close to You), Ne-Yo (A House is not a Home), Cyndi Lauper (Message to Michael), and Gladys Knight (I Know I’ll Never Love This Way Again). Jamie Foxx, Ceelo Green, Ruben Stoddard, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Phil Discoll, among others, complete the guest list.

Warwick is the aunt of deceased pop icon Whitney Houston. The album was produced by Dionne’s son, Damon Elliott, who wanted to pair his mom with some of the younger recording artists, as well as some of her peers.

“I am hoping that some of my duet partners will be able to join me on tour in live concerts as I hit the road to promote this exciting new album,” Warwick said.