* * * * <i> Great Balls of Fire</i> * * * <i> Good Vibrations</i> * * <i> Maybe Baby</i> * <i> Running on Empty : </i> : DIONNE DUETS DON’T DO IT

* * 1/2 “RESERVATIONS FOR TWO.” Dionne Warwick. Arista. Warwick’s last big hit, “That’s What Friends Are For,” was an all-star collaboration, so it makes sense that half of the songs on this album are duets. It gives it a sense of unity--and also a marketing hook, which is helpful in pushing releases by veteran pop stars. Look what happened with Barbra Streisand’s “The Broadway Album.”

Three cuts were written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, who supervised “Friends.” All three have a contemporary pop sheen, especially the fast-rising single “Love Power,” a duet with Jeffrey Osborne. The song has Warwick singing in a lower register, and her deep, sexy vocal provides a funky contrast to the silky production. “Heartbreak of Love,” a sassy, girl-talk duet with June Pointer, creates a brooding tension but it dissipates with a wimpy flute break. “In a World Such as This” sounds great, but is marred by a trite “go for it” lyric that has all the subtlety of a Dianetics tract.

Several other cuts are likeable but flawed. “Another Chance to Love,” a duet with Howard Hewett, has a catchy, poppy sound but sounds a little too much like a TV sitcom theme; “No One in the World,” a 1985 recording produced by Barry Manilow, has a dynamic arrangement that keeps Warwick on her toes, even if its razzle-dazzle theatrics do seem a bit hokey.

The biggest disappointment is “You’re My Hero,” a duet with Smokey Robinson. This summit meeting of two pop/soul greats should have been the highlight of the album, but the song (which Robinson produced and co-wrote) isn’t the right vehicle. The old-fashioned, gospelish ballad is earnest, but dull.

Maybe if Warwick weren’t such a great singer, we wouldn’t notice--or be as bothered by--trite lyrics or hackneyed arrangements. It may be that we were spoiled by the brilliant string of hits that she cut in the ‘60s with Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. In any event, we expect a lot from Warwick, and here she only partly delivers.