Customer Reviews

Best of

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One very talented artist from the late 1950s and 1960s that has slid from public notice is Dion Dimucci, more popularly known simply as Dion. Starting with a group of neighborhood pals as 'Dion and the Belmonts', he rose literally from the streets of New York to become one of the most successful pop recording artists of the era. Competing against other perpetual hit machines like Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Dion produced a steady stream of chart busters throughout the early and mid 1960s. All of that music, as well as his return to public acclaim with the fabulously successful 'Abraham, Martin, and John' near the end of the decade after the assassinations of both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

Most of his chartbusters are here, from his initial success with the Belmonts with 'Teenager In Love' to 'The Still Of The Night' to 'Where Or When' to his fabulously popular 'The Wanderer', which touted the smarmy style of swaggering, wildly pompadoured teenage males playing the irresistible male stereotype as best they knew how, with skin tight Levis and form-fit white tees shirts, rolled-up sleeves and all. And the flood of similar songs also making the top ten are also here, including 'Runaround Sue', 'Ruby Baby', 'Donna The Prima Donna', 'The Majestic', 'Drip Drop', and on and on. Here we find such gems as 'Sandy', 'This Little Girl', 'Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw', and 'Little Dian'. Listening to this collection is like stepping back in time to my own adolescence, when life was simpler and the radio was filled with a stream of non-stop hits from a plethora of artists, who, like Dion, seemed to be able to just keep pumping them out, one after another, with almost monotonous regularity. Enjoy!

The first thing to be clear about is that this collection focuses exclusively on the early years, so it does NOT include (for example) Drip drop, Donna the prima donna or Abraham Martin and John. Those tracks can be found on other compilations but all the songs that I want are here.

Dion and the Belmonts had one major international hit (A teenager in love) in addition to which, Dion had two major international solo hits (Run around Sue, The Wanderer). Dion (with or without the Belmonts) also had several other American hits, of which Lonely teenager was a minor UK hit. All the songs mentioned were recorded in the late fifties or early sixties and can be found on this compilation. Listening to the three major hits, you might think that the music here is mainly up-tempo - in fact, there are plenty of ballads here but Dion was very good at those as well.

If you enjoy the music of the Everly brothers but want more of a doo-wop sound, this will be ideal for you.

Stereo is excellent.One of the greatest harmony groups to ever record. The moments of the late fifties and early sixties is captured on this album and a trip back in time.

I love these songs and many others from the doo wop era. However, the mastering of these songs on this specific collection leaves much to be desired. I have several tracks from other more recent collections that are also included on this CD. The more recent releases are clearer and louder and overall just represent a better sound. The sound quality of this CD is sub-par.

The Best Of Dion And The Belmonts is a budget priced CD that gives you almost all, if not all, of their greatest hits ever. This is a must have for fans of Dion and The Belmonts.

"A Teenager In Love" features Dion singing perfectly with backup from The Belmonts. I like this ballad; and Dion and The Belmonts lament the teenage angst one can feel when they are very young and in love. "Where Or When" is a lush ballad with a sublime melody that is also very sentimental. I predict that you will enjoy "Where Or When" a lot. "Lover's Prayer" sounds like a symphony as Dion sings this torch song number with The Belmonts on backup--sublime!

"In The Still Of The Night" gets a fantastic arrangement and the men harmonize to perfection. The guitar enhances the beauty of "In The Still Of The Night;" and listen also for "Run Around Sue." "Run Around Sue" seems to be a hybrid of doo wop and early rock and roll; and it all works very well as they sing of a girl who breaks guy's hearts.

"Runaway Girl" has a beautiful arrangement for piano and Dion never sings a superfluous note; and there's the awesome "Queen Of The Hop." "Queen Of The Hop" celebrates the joys of young love and the backup vocalists are quite strong to support Dion as he sings this number.

The album ends Dion performing "The Wanderer." The backup chorus is excellent and the strong beat of this number makes a solid ending for this generous, twenty-one track CD.

Dion And The Belmonts were a formidable group; they sang so strong and so sweetly that they were bound to leave their mark on the music scene. We remember them fondly years later, too. I highly recommend this for their fans; and people who like doo wop and early rock and roll will also enjoy this album.

If you like Dion and the Belmonts and you like doo wop then this album is for you. All their best songs are here and they all sound great.