32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
All the Dion you'd need and more, December 3, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: King of the New York Streets (Audio CD)
Though there have been several great Dion retrospectives released over the years, they've since gone out-of-print, leaving Dion's work fragmented on various oldies and doo-wop compilations as well as a Columbia set collecting his later 60's work. However, with this box set, we once again have a domestic collection that compiles his best work throughout his entire career. The first disc, covering his prime in the 60's, is simply perfect; it could easily be filleted from this box set and issued by itself as a great, even definitive single disc retrospective of Dion's best and most popular work. It collects the best tracks cut with the Belmonts and the classic, breakthrough solo singles ("The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue," etc.). Listening to this material, you'll understand why Rolling Stone would call Dion exhibit A in contesting the notion that nothing great happened in rock between 1960 and the day the Beatles set foot in America.
The next two discs show how well Dion's voice has held up over the years. He's still in strong form, but the quality of the material isn't as strong as his earlier songs. However, there's no denying Dion's unwavering talent in intepreting works from new contemporary writers, particulary Bruce Springsteen, which makes these last two discs still worth exploring, with a few great gems scattered here and there.
This is a definite must for Dion fans, and until they make a single disc compilation like the first disc on this set, this is also the best introduction to Dion.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Soundtrack to a Great Rock'n'Roll Life!!, March 7, 2001
This review is from: King of the New York Streets (Audio CD)
I'm not sure where to begin with this review. In many ways this CD overwhelms me. Fortunately it is divided into 3 "periods". You can follow Dion from his young swaggering Doo-Wop days, through his "Mid-Life" crisis, and finally to a mature rock'n'roll artist who is as powerful today as he was when he first started out. I don't think that it is an exaggeration to say that there is not one bad track in this collection. The energy that this man can generate at this stage in his career is unique among not only rock'n'roll artists, but musical artists in general. This is not a man who sits on his laurels. I hope Dion is with us for many, many more years to come.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
UNJUSTLY FORGOTTEN, January 23, 2004
This review is from: King of the New York Streets (Audio CD)
This is a wonderful box set. Most Dion collections focus the early short span of years in which he was a teenage idol. Unfortunately, as far as rock is concerned, Dion might was well have fallen off the face of the earth after 1963. This collection gives us a much fuller account of Dion's musical career.
The first disc is full of the early hits and favorites from the late 1950's and early 1960's. Some other collections go much further into the deep catalogue for this period; but all the hits and a few more are thrown in here. I was especially delighted to hear Dion's version of "Spoonful". Yes, it is the very same "Spoonful" Cream would turn into a concert favorite a few years later. It wasn't until I followed along with the liner notes that the song's connection with heroin abuse was made clear. It turns out that heroin addiction was a very real problem for Dion at that time. When I first had heard "Spoonful" in the late 1960's I thought it was about....Well, something else.
The second disc covered the great long years in the wilderness for Dion. These were years in which Dion was very much into the singer/songwriter niche. If most of us know anything at all from this period it is "Abraham, Martin and John". "Abraham, Martin and John" is one of those rare songs that transcends music genre by giving voice to the grief and hope the country felt at the death of Martin Luther King. The melody was simple but compelling while the lyrics were heartfelt without being preachy. It may not rank up there with "Yesterday" in total number of different recorded versions by other artists; but I swear nearly everybody and his brother had their own version of this song on records and in musical concerts for years after 1968. If Dion had done nothing else in his life he still would be remembered for this one song.
Dion put out several excellent folk albums during this time, which were unjustly ignored. In spite of this, Dion himself was very proud of this body of work as it truly reflected his musicianship and more mature subject matter. The second disc covered this period very well and may well inspire the listener to explore this period more deeply.
The third disc covers Dion's return to rock and roll in the 1990's. While there is much here that is great and a lot of fun, it is still likely this material will be new to most listeners. One can only conclude that Dion's "comeback" should have been more widely received than it was.
One complaint I have against this set is that it included only one example from Dion's sacred music catalogue. During the late 1970's and through the 1980's Dion released a series of Christian "gospel" records which were very popular within the contemporary Christian community. "Sweet Surrender" is probably one of the best from this part of Dion's life; but one song is not enough. I would of liked to have had "Center Of My Life" and "Sailing Ahead Of The Wind"-just to mention the first two that come to mind. Pop artists who record frankly spiritual music are frequently dropped down the memory hole by the rock world. They are just as frequently met with distrust and suspicion by the contemporary Christian crowd as historically many pop artists have entered the Christian music market only to emerge latter belittling the whole experience and the people who bought those records. This segment of the "market" is sensitive to any note of insincerely amongst "its" stars; but Dion himself was warmly received and well loved by the Christian community. To my knowledge, even after his rock and roll comeback, Dion is still an active and practicing Christian. It is a shame this important part of his life and career is so poorly represented here.
Still, even with this major reservation, this is a great package for those wanting a wider view of this man's contribution to rock and popular music. For the money I can scarcely think of another box set for which the money is better spent.
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