Search - Dion :: Deja Nu

A Soundtrack Without a Movie

Doug Schenker | Annapolis, MD | 09/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many singers that have been in the business as long as Dion loose some of their range. As Dion ages his voice has gotten better. Most of the songs on this album were written for a movie based on Dion's autobiography that Chaz Palmenteri was writing with Dion's help. Last I heard Chaz was still trying to get the financing together. The last song, the stunning acapella "If I Should Fall Behind" (written by Bruce Springsteen) is from the 1992 Dion album Dream on Fire and was added to the US release of Deja Nu at Collectable Records request. Dion also performs another Springsteen song "Book of Dreams". Both of these songs are from Springsteen's Lucky Town album. Dion makes both songs his own. Nine of the other ten songs were written or co-written by Dion. The songs are recorded the way songs were recorded in the late 50s and early 60s. Dion wrote "Shu Bop" standing on a corner of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. It sounds like it came from the same session as Dion's 1962 top ten hit "Love Came to Me". "Hug My Radiator" was started in 1959 on the Winter Part Party tour bus. Dion opted for the bus when Buddy Holly offered him a place on the plane. The song was finished in the 1990s. My favorite song on this album is "Everyday (That I'm With You)". In a fair world it would be a hit in the year 2000. A friend has tried to categorize each of Dion's tunes, over the years, as pop or rock or blues or gospel. I told him the only way to categorize Dion's music is as a hybrid of Hank Williams country, street corner doowop, folk, R&B and blues all with an edge. You'll be singing along. The backing vocals throughout the album are just right. The band is perct. Dion rocks!"

Good effort by Dion

clay thompson | usa | 09/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Good effort by Dion who is my favorite R & R artist since the fifties (yeah, I'm that old). Best takes are "Shu Bop,""In New York City,""Book of Dreams,"and "Every Day" although none of them was quite the show stopper as say "Written on the Subway Walls" on his 1989 Yo Frankie CD. Here I must quibble on two points. One - "If I Should Fall Behind" (great track) is advertised as only on this CD, however, it is also on his 1992 Dream on Fire CD. In addition, "You Move Me" (different version) may be found on his 1997 double CD Road I'm On. Always feel a bit ripped off when that happens. Secondly, Dion can pen a good song, but more often than not his works can be too similar e.g. "Ride with You,""Makin' My Heart Go Boom,"or "Hey Suzy." On the other hand, when he works with Bill Tuohy and others, some of that stuff is truly special:"Subway Walls,""Higher Than Heaven,""What's That Sound" (past efforts) or "Radiator" and "New York City" (current). Also, his interpretations of Dylan (past) and Springsteen (past and current) should make those legends wish they had Dion's pipes. Last note - saw Dion in the 70's in O.C., MD and in the late 80's at a local church during his contemporary Christian phase. Some singers lose it over time. It seems Dion has lost very little if at all."