Dion and the Belmonts- classic or dud?

http://www.buddyhollyandthecrickets.com/WDPphotos/cointoss.html

Just relistened to and enjoyed Wonder Where I'm Bound and now moved on to Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock, an album of covers of well-known rock and rockabilly songs, which might seem a dubious prospect, but the vocals are convincing and he's backed by a nice little rhythm section along with an unknown rockabilly ringer on guitar a la Dave Edmunds or Chris Spedding by the name of Bobby "Crow" Richardson who apparently passed away last year.

Here is a playlist he created called NY Is My Home: https://open.spotify.com/user/diondimucci/playlist/20vADENchke4pZwducmtjB

Named after a song he did with Paul Simon which I suppose I should listen to.

Intrigued by the fact that he made an album called Son of Skip James

http://savagelost.com/a-1968-miami-acetate-that-sold-a-million-copies-via-the-bronx

Named after a song he did with Paul Simon which I suppose I should listen to

The one with Van Morrison is pretty good too. Duet album called Blues With Friends which is trickling out track by track, week by week.

So this whole thing sounds pretty good. Hesitate to be the one recommending a blues-based star-turn duet record, but I came here for the voice, which does not disappoint.

Oh man ... this guy. Just started listening to everything by him I can get a hold of. I was familiar with the oldies radio standbys but he is mindblowingly Classic pretty much across the board, eh? Just great.

Yeah, he seems to be in the class of singer that can sing anything and make it his own. He has some weird personality quirks that take some getting used to, mainly a Robbie Robertson-like tendency to take too much credit - “I told Tom Wilson to overdub electric guitars on a Dylan song and invented folk rock!,” “It was actually me who gave up my seat on the crop duster to Buddy Holly after the Winter Dance Party!” - but none of that seems to creep into his music in any deleterious way.

Also, feel like I always heard much more about Bobby Darin’s folk rock move than Dion’s but seem to be more drawn to the latter now that I know it exists.

Here is an article about that which I haven’t read properly yet but seems of interest: https://web.musicaficionado.com/main/article/was_folk_rock_a_mistake_for_dion_and_bobby_darin_by_jimallen

Thanks for the link! Latest MOJO has a big piece/new interview with him as well.

https://www.npr.org/2017/05/29/530199966/doo-wop-singer-dion-pays-homage-to-his-musical-influences

Dig his new Xmas song with Amy Grant. Haven’t listened to the one with Joe Bonamassa yet.

Also, feel like I always heard much more about Bobby Darin’s folk rock move than Dion’s but seem to be more drawn to the latter now that I know it exists.

― Barry "Fatha" Hines (James Redd and the Blecchs)

Which is the one where he performs in a big public square in Germany or somewhere with the audience clapping along in rhythm? I heard a story about the filming of this scene, where they kept doing take after take because something felt 'off', but they couldn't identify what... And eventually they figured out the German extras were clapping in 3/1

Dion or Bobby Darin?

It's actually a good time to get that 3-CD box set King Of The New York Streets. Originally released in 2000, it fell out-of-print and became a pricey collector's item, but with the deflation of the CD market, it's not hard to find bargain used copies that go for far less than the original retail price. There are some Columbia-era gems that I wish had been included, but it collects pretty much all of the hits and best-known tracks. The bulk of disc three isn't quite as good, but even in the '90s, his voice was still in excellent form. (The doo wop re-arrangement of Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind" is marvelous.)

Used to have that, and yeah, your review is accurate.

Also seek his doo-wop version of “Book of Dreams”!