Greatest Hits [Capitol]

Performer: Dion
Producer: Scanty; Rob Christie
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Dion (vocals, guitar); The Belmonts. Recorded between 1957 & 1992. Audio Remixer: Scanty. A guy has got to make a living, right? It's impossible to blame Dion for the proliferation of greatest-hits packages that come out under his name. Capitol alone -- this time under their Liberty imprint -- has issued this material nearly countless times. The shame is that Dion's greatest-hits seldom seem to go deeper than his work with the Belmonts and his early-'60s material. This set, much to its credit, goes a bit deeper by issuing "Abraham, Martin and John," Dion's gorgeous reading of Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind," his own amazing tune, "King of the New York Streets," and a remix of "The Wanderer." But there's nothing here from Dion's seminal-'70s material, which included "Suite for Late Summer," "Sit Down Old Friend," or even his Phil Spector-produced "Born to Be With You." All the doo wop and early rock hits are here, from "Runaround Sue," to "Ruby Baby," "Lovers Who Wander," to "Sandy," and even his Columbia hit, "Drip Drop," which alone is enough to recommend this disc. Still, outside of the box set, Dion has been given short shrift in the compilation department; he deserves far more than he gets. ~ Thom Jurek

Not unlike his friend Bobby Darin, Dion Dimucci was a native New Yorker who started out as a rock & roller in the 1950s and went through a series of drastic stylistic changes. He began as a doo wop hitmaker with his group the Belmonts, turning out such smashes as "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer." Over the ensuing decades, the artistically restless Dion tried his hand at blues, folk-rock, Phil Spector-produced pop, and hard-edged rock & roll, managing to maintain his credibility and integrity all along the way, and eventually getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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