Part Two, The Heart of the Collection, Dion and The Del-Satins:
This part of my review deals with Dion’s most familiar
singles from Laurie. The backing vocals on all of these songs and some of the
songs in Part Three feature The Del-Satins. When you take the A-sides of all of
these songs and put them together with Dion’s Columbia chart singles, you’ll
find Dion had more hits with The Del-Satins than he did with The Belmonts.
It’s these familiar songs that make this collection shine
bright. In all cases, you can clearly hear Dion’s legendary vocals backed in excellent
fashion by The Del-Satins. This is different from the STEREO issues of these
sides. As with many recordings from the 60’s, the backing vocals on the STEREO
versions do not stand out like they do on the MONO recordings. They stand out
very well on this collection. And once again, the sound is crisp, clear, warm,
and full. The STEREO versions sound good but there’s a bit too much high ends
on the mix. Even my wife noticed.
Dion’s only Number One chart hit, “Runaround Sue,” sounds
OUTSTANDING, as does the B-side, “Runaway Girl.” Back in 1986, when I got my
first Dion CD, “Dion Hits” from Ace Records, I recall being impressed with all
the little things I was hearing on the CD. Well, I still hear them on this
collection, there’s just a better blend in the sound. I even hear the drummer
hit one of his drumsticks with the other stick after verse one on “Runaround
Sue;” that’s something digital technology turned me on to way back in ’86. Plus
every “Hape-hape-um-be-doudi-doudi” sung by The Del-Satins, blends right in
with Dion’s classic vocals.
Next we have “The Wanderer,” another one of Dion’s signature
songs. It booms out over the speakers in glorious MONO, as does the B-side,
“The Majestic,” a song penned by Brenda Lee Jones and Welton Young, who had
some hits of their own recording as Dean and Jean for Laurie. I’d like to hear
those goodies mixed like these recordings are on this set. “The Wanderer”
peaked at #2 and “The Majestic” topped off at #36 on the Hot 100 in early 1962.
The next tracks also both hit the Hot 100. “(I Was) Born to
Cry,” #42 and “Lovers Who Wander,” #3, were issued toward the Spring of
1962. These two songs both continue with
that same warm, full sound that permeates this collection. I’m not going to
debate which one of these songs was supposed to be the A-side. I like them
both, but “Lovers Who Wander” did chart higher.
In the late Summer of ’62, Laurie issued “Little Diane;” #8
on the charts, this song featured a kazoo instead of a saxophone, throughout
the recording. It comes through loud and clear on this CD. Dion himself added
the kazoo to the recording. Flip this gem over and you get “Lost for Sure,” a
song Dion penned with Susan Butterfield, now his wife for many years. On this
MONO version, you hear the acoustic guitar in the background, the subtle lead
electric guitar, the sax, bass and drums all woven together with the GREAT
backing vocals of The Del-Satins. I always liked the guitar chords on this one.
The last A-side on Disc One is a personal favorite of mine,
“Love Came to Me.” This mid tempo gem kicks from the opening notes,
“Shat-dube-dutin-doot-doot-di-doot,” by The Del-Satins all the way to the fade
out. Dion’s voice, guitar, those great backing vocals, the bass, drums and the
piano form a warm blend on yet another classic recording from Mr. DiMucci. Why
this song only topped off at #10 in the Fall of 1962, is something I’ll never
understand. Part of the issue could have been Dion’s up coming move to Columbia
Records. Maybe Laurie just didn’t push this record enough. Well, I’m pushing it
here. Oh, by the way, the flip side, “Little Girl,” sounds just fine as well.
This one always reminded me of “No One Knows,” Dion & the Belmonts second
single on Laurie.
This brings us to the end of Disc One. Next we’ll take a
look at the first part of Disc Two.
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