****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is a bargain CD featuring the A&B sides of five Dion Columbia singles in very good sound but running under a half an hour. The hits "Ruby Baby", "Drip Drop" "This Little Girl" and "Donna The Prima Donna" which have been anthologized dozens of time are here. Despite these this is not a collection for the novice fan. Dion's career is better represented by the "King of the New York Streets" boxed set and a variety of superior compilations like the Repretoire import that also contain his Laurie hits like "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer". And the Columbia years are presented more intelligently and with greater depth and skill on the easily available "Bronx Blues" and "Road I'm On" collections.However for the diehard Dion fan like myself this is a great buy. The remaining six tracks on this collection-the lost A-side "Be Careful of the Stones That You Throw" and the B-sides "You're Mine", "He'll Only Hurt You", "No One's Waiting For Me", "The Loneliest Man in the World" and "I Can't Believe That You Don't Love Me Anymore"-are not available on any other domestic CD. Apart from "Stones" you can't get them on import either.Two of the tracks are very strong. "You're Mine" is another of those masterful pop blues like "Drip Drop" and "Sweet Sweet Baby" that Dion was turning out effortlessly at the time. While "No One's Waiting For Me", written with wife Susan, shows Dion finding the gentle, forlorn folk style that would bring him back to prominence with "Abraham, Martin and John".However, the sanctimonius and absurd "Stones", a spoken word Hank Williams remake (one of the master's worst songs,)is probably Dion's worst ever record. The remaining tracks show Dion drifting into mock operatic Roy Orbison territory and he is obviously uncomfortable. They're not awful and fans will enjoy them but they are far from his best work.There are no liner notes. However, there is one packaging coup here in the fact that this is a picture CD. I should note though that the picture contained on the disc and the cover is of recent vintage, all of these tracks date from the early 60s. Despite all this, if you're a fan, like me, you'll want this for the rare songs.
