Customer Reviews

Road I'm On: Retrospective

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

 

 

Dion DiMucci spent the first years of his career with the Laurie label where, with The Belmonts from 1958 to 1960, he put nine of the most memorable tunes of that era into the Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100, two of which crossed over to the R&B charts. In 1960 he went solo and added another four to the Pop list, including three R&B cross-overs, before hooking up in 1961 with a group sounding very similar to The Belmonts - The Del Satins.

Together, beginning with Runaround Sue, they scored another ten for Laurie [two of which came after they moved over to Columbia in 1963], and added four more for their new label, with the best of those being the old Drifters' hit, Ruby Baby [# 2 Hot 100/# 6 R&B], Donna The Prima Donna [# 6 Hot 100/# 17 R&B] and Drip Drop [also # 6 Hot 100], the latter two billing him as Dion Di Mucci.

The only Columbia hits done without the Del Satins were Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw, an old Hank Williams recording from 1952 that he took to # 13 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 31 Hot 100, and Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, which reached # 71 Hot 100 in 1964 and was his last hit for that label. In 1968 he was back with Laurie and added three more hits there, one more in 1970 for Warner, and his last in 1989 with Dave Edmonds and Patty Smyth for Arista.

Unfortunately, Be Careful of Stones That You Throw is not included here, and this, coupled with the fact that just one of his Columbia hit B-sides is included, is where the volume misses the mark. The one included is Chicago Blues, which backed Johnny B. Goode, and is presented here in stereo for the first time.

Missing B-sides are: He'll Only Hurt You [b/o Ruby Baby]; The Loneliest Man In The World [b/o This Little Girl]; I Can't Believe (That You Don't Love Me Anymore) b/o Be Careful Of Stones; You're Mine [b/o Donna The Prima Donna]; No One's Waiting For Me [b/o Drip Drop].

Two pages of introductory notes by Mitchell Cohen are followed by five more pages by David Hinckley, and there is a partial discography of the contents [no chart details]. The sound quality is excellent, and while I normally would have deducted 2 stars for the missing hit and B-sides, what they do include is worthy of an extra star. Especially tracks 1, 4, and 7 on Disc 2.

Disk one contains Dion's hits from 1962-63. This is Dion at his best. Disk two is Dion's hits from 64-66 with the exception of the last two tracks (17,18) which were recorded in 1996. Disk two contains less memorable stuff. Almost all songs are in flawless true stereo. Only two songs are in mono, disk one (track 17) and disk two (track 2).

Most of Dion's recorded output is available on CD, including a lot of material not released at the time, but a lot of it is in the form of compilations and it is impossible to collect without ending up with a lot of duplications. The Road I'm On is an overview of Dion's time with the Columbia label, between 1962 and 1966, during which time he producing two albums and a dozen singles. Both albums were named after huge hit singles, Ruby Baby and Donna The Prima Donna. A third album of outtakes, Wonder Where I'm Bound, was released in 1968, long after Dion had left the label.

Of the 35 tracks on this 2CD, a dozen are previously unreleased and a few more are first-time stereo re-issues. Seven tracks are duplicated from an earlier compilation, Bronx Blues, which had twelve tracks not included here, though some are merely alternate versions or mixes.

Dion was in the process of breaking away from his doo-wop roots during this period, and exploring the burgeoning folk-rock scene as well as discovering a deep love for the blues, long before the British invasion of the blues and beat groups that introduced the form to the US mainstream. A few of these came out on singles, such as Hoochie Coochie Man (the only mono mix on this 2CD) and Spoonful, but mostly they stayed in the vaults. His folk-rock leanings were sometimes quite derivative of Bob Dylan. As well as covering It's All Over Now Baby Blue some of his own songs were blatant pastiches of Dylan songs, as Dion struggled for direction. The unreleased My Love, for example, owes a lot to Love Minus Zero Equals No Limit. On top of this, during 1965 Dion was working with Dylan's producer Tom Wilson, and they put together a session band called the Wanderers that featured Al Kooper, who famously played on Like A Rolling Stone, and Carlo Mastrangelo from the Belmonts. One unfortunate reason for the lack of appearance of many of these sides is Dion's descent into heroin addiction, which began in 1964, but from which thankfully he later recovered.

Each disc ends with a couple of special tracks. Disc One has an early version of Ruby Baby, flourishing a fabulous sax solo, and an Italian language version of Donna The Prima Donna. Disc Two has two tracks newly recorded at the time the album was being compiled, in 1996, with his new band the Little Kings: a version of Born To Cry, and a song written by the band's guitarist Scott Kempner, You Move Me. Oddly, this isn't mentioned in the sleeve notes, which are rather reticent about what was and wasn't released or when tracks were cut (in fact nothing else here was recorded more recently than October 1965).

Dion has been a treasure of American music for over a half century. His vocals are soulful and nuanced. His version of "Ruby Baby", included here, may be the definitive white r&b vocal - and this testimony perhaps should not be limited by "white". The collection covers material from a number of periods. Many will have the earlier songs, (e.g., "The Wanderer", "Runaround Sue"), and, if not, then they will need a more complete collection of his early days than is provided here; there is, however, a good selection of key tracks from the early days. There is also a good pick of blues-rock songs from the mid-60s. The highlight for me comes on the second disc which features one of the best versions of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and other very affecting folk-rock songs. The cd ends with a few more recent rock songs, very well produced, very much rock and roll and - although it probably need not be said - Dion's vocals soar, the essence of soulful rock 'n roll singing.
This isn't the only Dion cd that one should have but it deserves to be in any collection that seeks to include the best of the past fifty years. Also essential is a three cd collection which includes material from a number of labels and spans over forty years. I understand that it has been discontinued by the manufacturer but copies can be found still and it is a must-have. And there are other gems out there ... .
Dion should not be considered a nostalgic "oldies" act: he is one of the greats and his music remains vital.

I may be the minority here, but the measure for my favorite artists doesn't come with how many Top 40 hits they had. In fact, it's usually the fewer they have, the better they are. This couldn't be more true in Dion DiMucci's case. Dion was ahead of the music.

In 1964, he broke away from what the label execs wanted him to do. He could've done a cover of Lennon/McCartney songs or went the Frankie Valli route. But, he chose to do it his way. It cost him his Columbia label, but it gave us some great music. And we have this CD of gems to prove it. The great doo-wop, the blues, and electric folk show the complexities of Dion's work, and how he was so ahead of his time, and ahead of most of his contemporaries.

I thank you Dion. I treasure these songs.

I may be the minority here, but the measure for my favorite artists doesn't come with how many Top 40 hits they had. In fact, it's usually the fewer they have, the better they are. This couldn't be more true in Dion DiMucci's case. Dion was ahead of the music.

In 1964, he broke away from what the label execs wanted him to do. He could've done a cover of Lennon/McCartney songs or went the Frankie Valli route. But, he chose to do it his way. It cost him his Columbia label, but it gave us some great music. And we have this CD of gems to prove it. The great doo-wop, the blues, and electric folk show the complexities of Dion's work, and how he was so ahead of his time, and ahead of most of his contemporaries.

I thank you Dion. I treasure these songs.

If you buy this and wonder where you've heard this collection before, check out Bronx Blues. Most of that CD is duplicated here. You really gotta love Dion to have both :). Beyond the fact that this seems like a record company rip off, I never really felt that Dion's transition from doowop artist to solo rocker to lounge star to folk singer really worked that well at all. If you add folk singer to blues artist to gospel singer to rocker to oldies artist, I guess the circle is somewhat complete. This one just wasn't necessary.

I have been a Dion fan since 1958 and really enjoyed all his songs through the early 60's. In this compilation, "This Little Girl" and "Donna the Prima Donna" exemplify Dion's rock 'n roll the best. But he had to follow his heart into blues and his voice, as great and crystal clear as it is, doesn't lend itself to the blues. Although "I Wonder Where I'm Bound" is excellent (both versions), it's still rock with his same theme. Listening to the album as a whole, you have to change gears, and its not easy to do. No song stands out with the exception of "Gloria", but it wasn't hit caliber, and as such, these blues songs never made it to the fans. If you're a Dion fan you'll enjoy the blues songs, but you won't love them.

goo

It's missing one of the best Dion song from the (Wonder Where I'm Bound) recording's. A song called (Now). I hope Dion read's this. Release's the song becuase it's long over due.