Customer Reviews

Deja Nu

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dion continues to prove that he's a rare talent. Who else could generate such excitement for a NEW album that takes us back 40 years? Along with Dion's distinctive "fine as aged wine" voice, you hear traces of Chuck Berry (Hug My Radiator), Hughey "Piano" Smith (You Move Me and Hey Suzy), and countless streetcorner doowoppers on the ballads. This fine collection of songs is a throwback to the days when R&R was simpler - and arguably, more enjoyable. Although many of the other reviewers seem to prefer Dion's softer side (In NY City, Shu Bop, Book of Dreams) - and I enjoy these songs too - my favorites are the uptempo Hug My Radiator, Ride With You, Hey Suzy and the bluesy If You Wanna Rock & Roll. Every Day (That I'm With You) fits somewhere in the middle and may be the most pleasing song of all. Whatever your taste, Dion's Deja Nu is a fine collection of songs that take you back in time while keeping you in the present. Buy it and pop it in your cassette or CD changer the next time you go for a ride. I'm sure you'll agree that it passes all the tests for a great album.

If you haven't heard Dion in years, give this CD a try, his voice is superb quality, you will be surprised! After hearing his 1989 release "Yo Frankie", I was surprised and very much pleased to hear this newer release, "Deja Nu". If YOU can only recall hearing Dion on oldies radio stations, you owe yourself another peek into this man's fabulous voice and musical talent!!!

Re-introduce yourself to this man with the very unique, powerful vocal style, and enjoyable music.

This CD is fantabulous! The musicians are top-of-the-line. Backup singers enhance greatly. Listen to the way he vocalizes so many different notes that sound so different.

"Deja Nu" features the popular "Shu Bop", a finger-poppin' swingin, happy doo wop tune. "Shu Bop" is called the Lost Track. It was written for the movie "The Wanderer."

Dion sings two of Bruce Springsteen's tunes, "If I Should Fall Behind" and "Book of Dreams". "Every Day that I'm With You" is written as a reflection of his friendship with Buddy Holly. This ballad is so enjoyable.

"You Move Me" a rock and roll fast tune about, what else but money, girls, cars, music. ......you move me to action, it's as simple as that!

If this man is one of the favorites of some of the BEST, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Springsteen, Billy Joel, Waylon Jennings, you, too, need to hear him again!

"Deja Nu" is one of his best, but try Yo Frankie it is exceptional. And watch this on DVD. I love it. Live in Concert .....MzRizz

Many singers that have been in the business as long as Dion loose some of their range. As Dion ages his voice has gotten better. Most of the songs on this album were written for a movie based on Dion's autobiography that Chaz Palmenteri was writing with Dion's help. Last I heard Chaz was still trying to get the financing together. The last song, the stunning acapella "If I Should Fall Behind" (written by Bruce Springsteen) is from the 1992 Dion album Dream on Fire and was added to the US release of Deja Nu at Collectable Records request. Dion also performs another Springsteen song "Book of Dreams". Both of these songs are from Springsteen's Lucky Town album. Dion makes both songs his own. Nine of the other ten songs were written or co-written by Dion. The songs are recorded the way songs were recorded in the late 50s and early 60s. Dion wrote "Shu Bop" standing on a corner of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. It sounds like it came from the same session as Dion's 1962 top ten hit "Love Came to Me". "Hug My Radiator" was started in 1959 on the Winter Part Party tour bus. Dion opted for the bus when Buddy Holly offered him a place on the plane. The song was finished in the 1990s. My favorite song on this album is "Everyday (That I'm With You)". In a fair world it would be a hit in the year 2000. A friend has tried to categorize each of Dion's tunes, over the years, as pop or rock or blues or gospel. I told him the only way to categorize Dion's music is as a hybrid of Hank Williams country, street corner doowop, folk, R&B and blues all with an edge. You'll be singing along. The backing vocals throughout the album are just right. The band is perct. Dion rocks!

I heard cuts from this album on WCBS FM101.1 this past weekend (during their several hour long interview with Dion) - and I ran out and bought it right away. Four tracks on the album are absolutely fabulous. "Shu Bop", "In New York City" and the two Bruce Springsteen songs - "If I Should Fall Behind" and "Book Of Dreams" are all songs that make this album worth buying. I am glad to see Dion is still out there making great & worthwhile music, and hope that this album spurs some more mainstream interest in the great music of yesteryear. Also, kudos to Collectables for taking the chances on marketing such a great album.

Good effort by Dion who is my favorite R & R artist since the fifties (yeah, I'm that old). Best takes are "Shu Bop,""In New York City,""Book of Dreams,"and "Every Day" although none of them was quite the show stopper as say "Written on the Subway Walls" on his 1989 Yo Frankie CD. Here I must quibble on two points. One - "If I Should Fall Behind" (great track) is advertised as only on this CD, however, it is also on his 1992 Dream on Fire CD. In addition, "You Move Me" (different version) may be found on his 1997 double CD Road I'm On. Always feel a bit ripped off when that happens. Secondly, Dion can pen a good song, but more often than not his works can be too similar e.g. "Ride with You,""Makin' My Heart Go Boom,"or "Hey Suzy." On the other hand, when he works with Bill Tuohy and others, some of that stuff is truly special:"Subway Walls,""Higher Than Heaven,""What's That Sound" (past efforts) or "Radiator" and "New York City" (current). Also, his interpretations of Dylan (past) and Springsteen (past and current) should make those legends wish they had Dion's pipes. Last note - saw Dion in the 70's in O.C., MD and in the late 80's at a local church during his contemporary Christian phase. Some singers lose it over time. It seems Dion has lost very little if at all.

I read in the paper about Shu Bop and Deja Nu and bought the CD within an hour. I could not believe how good it is. Some songs sound like the late 50s and early 60s, some sound current like today's artists and some sound like the best Blues of any generation. This CD could help start a renaissance of original rock n roll style music. Dion sings Shu Bop in his current concert tour. His concert is as good as his CD. Let's keep buying this CD and calling the radio stations to play it, to encourgage the Wanderer to keep recording often.

I grew up on Dion records(and garlic). My band, "The Greasy Crowbars" play all his songs and now the boy who hung out in hallways near Arthur Ave. for just the right echo has returned. And he's still got it. The "raw" sound captured on this recording is what Dion is all about. You'll get to hear his unreleased ode to a radiator while touring with Buddy (and the music sure didn't die with the likes of Dion still "doo-ing" it for us I USED TO BE A BROOKLYN DODGER FANS (actually the NY YANKEES are our team)). I just wish Dion's, New York City (a great song on the new CD) would bring him back more often to the Bronx where the proscuitto and provalone still hang on the deli racks.......and besides, Mr. DiMucci - where are the subways down in Miami? Helluva "echo" still rings true on the IRT. BUY THIS CD, play it loud and I assure you the "music will never die"

I had posted a previous review; but after seeing this man perform live:I had to come back. Growing up with Dion was always a treat. Those nights listening to cousin Bruceie, or Murray the K; even Allen Fried: brought back what Deja Nu is really all about. It's about rock & roll, nights watching the submarine races, toe taping to the Ronnets, Dion, and all the great sounds that have prompted all the radio stations that play -- GOOD SONGS -- not oldies.

When Dion released Yo Frankie on Arista in 1989 -- I said this is it! Alblum of the year! Not to be. It's called air time which the man unfortunately doesn't get.

Then came Dream on Fire -- back to his roots -- DejA Nu- He's really back.

Deja Nu recorded with out the traditional fan fare of big band back up; brings us back to what rock & roll really sounded like: and how the man can still continue to project a sound which stirs even his best fans.

Deja Nu is upbeat, 60's rock, and presents the man without make overs.

Get it! You will listen to it over, and over. Great recording!

Dion, best known for his work with the Belmonts in the late fifties and early sixties (simple hits like "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue," both overplayed on oldies radio) has put out an amazing and thoughtful album in "Deja Nu." One might expect this to be simply a nostalgia piece aimed at his original fan base, but I wasn't born until the seventies and I still dig this. "Shu Bop" is an astounding new recording - Dion apparently recorded it using only vintage equipment from the fifties, so that it sounds exactly like a record from that period. It sounds great, warm and inviting, and shows us that modern digital recording has lost something even as it has gained other things. "Every Day" is another catchy original, touching on Dion's memories of Buddy Holly, whom he knew personally. The track is touching and inspiring without being maudlin or sentimental. Dion also turns in a fine perfomance of Bruce Springsteen's wistful "Book of Dreams." Not all of the songs are so memorable, but overall this is an enjoyable and catchy collection from an artist who is neither gone nor forgotten, and we are all better off for it.

I won't expand on what some of the other reviewers have written, as I totally agree with them, and they have said it better than I could. One reviewer noted how Dion's voice hasn't lost anything with age. Not only that, but he still manages to grab you in a way that most other rock'n'roll artist's can't. There is an unbelievable amount of creative tension on this CD. It's hard to believe that he has been around for over 40 years, as these songs are as fresh and powerful as anything he has ever done. That's where I feel Dion's greatness lies. He has changed styles over the years, but the emotion is always there. The man obviously loves and cares a great deal about his music, and doesn't seem to be content with anything but his best. Let's hope he keeps this up for a long time to come!