(Folk-Rock) [CD] Dion - Kickin' Child: The Lost Album 1965 - 2017, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Bridging the era between late-'50s rock and the British Invasion, Dion DiMucci (born July 18, 1939) was one of the top white rock singers of his time, blending the best elements of doo wop, teen idol, and R&B styles. Some revisionists have tried to cast him as a sort of early blue-eyed soul figure, although he was probably more aligned with pop/rock, at first as the lead singer of the Belmonts, and then as a solo star. Drug problems slowed him down in the mid-'60s, yet he made some surprisingly interesting progressions into blues-rock and folk-rock as the decade wore on, culminating in a successful comeback in the late '60s, although he was unable to sustain its commercial and artistic momentum for long.
When Dion began recording in the late '50s, it was as the lead singer of a group of friends who sang on Bronx street corners. Billing themselves Dion & the Belmonts (Dion had released a previous single with the Timberlanes), their first few records were prime Italian-American doo wop; "I Wonder Why" was their biggest hit in this style. Dion's biggest single with the Belmonts was "A Teenager in Love," which pointed the way for the slightly self-pitying, pained odes to adolescence and early adulthood that would characterize much of his solo work.
Dion went solo in 1960 (the Belmonts did some more doo wop recordings on their own), moving from doo wop to more R&B/pop-oriented tunes with great success. He handled himself with a suave, cocky ease on hits like "The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue," "Lovers Who Wander," "Ruby Baby," and "Donna the Prima Donna," which cast him as either the jilted, misunderstood youngster or the macho lover, capable of handling anything that came his way (especially on "The Wanderer").
In 1963, Dion moved from Laurie to the larger Columbia label, an association that started promisingly with a couple of big hits right off the bat, "Ruby Baby" and "Donna the Prima Donna." By the mid-'60s, his heroin habit (which he'd developed as a teenager) was getting the best of him, and he did little recording and performing for about five years. When he did make it into the studio, he was moving in some surprisingly bluesy directions; although much of it was overlooked or unissued at the time, it can be heard on the Bronx Blues reissue CD.
In 1968, he kicked heroin and re-emerged as a gentle folk-rocker with a number four hit single, "Abraham, Martin and John." Dion would focus upon mature, contemporary material on his late-'60s and early-'70s albums, which were released to positive critical feedback, if only moderate sales. The folk phase didn't last long; in 1972 he reunited with the Belmonts and in the mid-'70s cut a disappointing record with Phil Spector as producer. He recorded and performed fairly often in the years that followed (sometimes singing Christian music), to indifferent commercial results. But his critical rep has risen steadily since the early '60s, with many noted contemporary musicians showering him with praise and citing his influence, such as Dave Edmunds (who produced one of his periodic comeback albums) and Lou Reed (who guested on that record). Dion continued to be active as the 21st century opened, releasing Déjà Nu in 2000, Under the Influence in 2005, and Bronx in Blue in 2006. His first major-label album since 1989's Yo Frankie, Son of Skip James was released by Verve in 2007, while 2008's Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock saw him tackling 15 songs from the classic rock & roll era. Influenced by a conversation with rock critic Dave Marsh about his long and still relevant career, and a dare from his wife Susan to prove it, Dion cut Tank Full of Blues, producing and playing the guitars himself on the recording and writing or co-writing all but one track on the set. Issued on Blue Horizon, it is the final recording in the trilogy that began with Bronx in Blue.
Dion signed to Instant Records in 2015 and immediately set to recording a new studio album. Entitled New York Is My Home, its first single and title track -- a duet with Paul Simon -- was pre-released in November digitally and as a striking video. The album was issued in the winter of 2016.
Then the singer/songwriter and Norton Records surprised everyone. In 1965, DiMucci was signed to Columbia, and had cut 15 new songs -- all produced by Tom Wilson, who was recording Bob Dylan in the same studios at roughly the same time -- for an album that the label, for whatever reason, decided not to release. Dion left the label over the decision. Some tracks were issued on singles, others later on various compilations. But for over 50 years, the tapes sat. That's where Norton's Miriam Linna and Billy Miller came in. They received the rights to release the entire record as it was originally intended, completely remastered from the original tapes. Featuring ten originals, one by Mort Shuman (who had co-written "Teenager in Love" with Doc Pomus for Dion & the Belmonts), and three by Dylan (who had been enamored with Dion since the '50s). Though Miller passed before it was issued, Kickin' Child: The Lost Columbia Album 1965 was released by the label in May. (Richie Unterberger, AllMusic)

The first thing most everybody who hears Dion’s Kickin’ Child is going to say, is that producer Tom Wilson made Dion sound like Bob Dylan. It's fair but inaccurate. If anything, Dion got Wilson -- in late 1964 -- to propose the electric sound to Dylan (who'd worshipped Dion from the '50s) in the first place. Dion convinced the producer to take some of the songwriter's session tapes and give them an electric treatment. He did so with live musicians, then played the results for Bob. In January 1965, Dylan cut the electric side of Bringing It All Back Home. Oddly enough, the title track opener that sounds the most like his Bob-ness wasn't produced by Wilson but by Bob Mersey (who’d helmed the sessions that gave Dion the hit "Ruby Baby"). Backed by the Wanderers (and Al Kooper's organ), Dion cut this set in three sessions between the spring and fall of 1965. What’s here is complete and properly sequenced for the first time. Why? Columbia refused to release the album at the time, prompting Dion to leave the label. They issued some singles, and other tracks appeared on various compilations, but this is complete.
This is Dion-the-Bronx-street-song-poet transformed by intuitive musicality and discipline into a refined singer/songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote all but four of these 15 tunes. He seamlessly blends folk and jangly rock guitars (Tom Paxton's "Wondering Where I’m Bound" and "Tomorrow Won’t Bring the Rain"); the blues (the title track); swaggering rock & roll (Dylan's "Baby, I’m in the Mood for You"), and Mort Shuman's "All I Want to Do Is Live My Life"), and pre-psychedelia ("Now," one of a pair co-written with the Wanderers' drummer Carlo Mastrangelo), and recasts it all in his own image. Check "Knowing I Won’t Go Back There" and "You Move Me Babe," where the seasoned doo wop crooner meets folk-rock head on, only to enfold both styles into himself holistically. Dylan's "It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Farewell" will never sound the same given the rippling, soulful beauty in his delivery. Wilson and Dion were made for each other. It’s too bad Columbia didn’t see it that way at the time -- history might have been different. This record would still be gathering dust if it weren't for stubborn rock & roll archivists Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, who doggedly pursued Sony to find the album in the label's vaults so they could release it on their Norton label. Sadly, Miller didn’t live to see it, but his final will and testament is presented here as he intended, with completely remastered sound. Kickin’ Child not only ranks with Dion’s best (standing between career highlights "Runaround Sue" and "Abraham Martin and John"), but it's absolutely one of the greatest folk-rock records ever. (Thom Jurek, AllMusic)

Dion: guitar, vocals
The Wanderers:
Johnny Falbo: lead guitar
Pete Falsciglia: bass
Carlo Mastrangelo: drums, vocals
Featuring:
Al Kooper: organ
Navita: guest vocals (“Wake Up Baby”)