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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Dion's best and a great early rock LP, June 10, 2003
While this isn't the place to start your Dion collection, (Get either the Repretoire Greatest Hits or the King of the New York Streets Box first.)if you're already a fan you should definitely dive in. This album is definitely one of the better LP from its era and some of Dion's best work. In format, it's not a lot different than most other LPs of the time with a couple hits ("The Wanderer" and the title track), a handful of remakes and some token original tunes. However, this is a far more personal LP than you'll find from any other artist of the time. This LP truly represents the taste and personality of the Prince of the Bronx. The covers here are not chosen randomly. "Dream Lover" is a tribute to one of Dion's most formative influences Bobby Darin. "Little Star", "In the Still of the Night" (the Five Satins song), "Kansas City" and "Life is But a Dream" were all the kind of stuff that Dion used to listen to on the street corner growing up. This is not to say that are all perfect. Some of these like the Darin number and Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby" are a little too close to the originals. And Dion doesn't quite have the pipes to convert "In the Still of the Night" as well as Fred Parris. But "Kansas City really kicks with an astonishing guitar solo. It stands proudly along "Sue" and "The Wanderer". And "Life is But A Dream" is Dion musically naked pushing his voice to its limit, expressing not just his love for the song but an outlook on life. The original songs are also of a high quality. Dion co-composed "Lonely World" which features a great arrangement with the Del Satins and could have been a hit on its own. The lilting "Runaway Girl" and "Somebody Nobody Wants" express the other side of Dion's personality, the wounded lover. It's almost affecting as his swagger. There are no tracks originals or remakes that are anything less than respectable. What can you say about the hits? They are ageless and sound better here than on any other re-issue. Even more recent albums haven't captured what the engineers did here. You can hear the saxophone buried in the mix on "Sue" and the piano under the Del Satins' harmonies on "The Wanderer". The new liner notes are brief but informative with input from Dion himself. The original notes are here as well. The main packaging drawback is that there are no additional photos to the ones on the front and back covers. Overall, this is a splendid buy, especially if you want to prove to friends that great rock albums did not start with the Beatles.
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by Dion 
