ALBUM: Dion, ‘Recorded Live at the Bitter End, August 1971’
Pitied be the first wave of rock ‘n’ rollers. They had their hits in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, only to find out — like their predecessors — that a fickle public will turn their backs with the changing times and tastes. Some of ‘em got out of the music business completely; others rode it out until the nostalgia fix kicked in, resulting in the “oldies but goodies” package tours that pulled their once-diehard fans back in droves to see them perform the old hits once again.
A very precious few of the trailblazers were able to keep going while reinventing themselves with varying degrees of commercial success. Elvis made it through years of terrible movies and innocuous soundtrack albums, reemerging like a pelvis-shaking phoenix to show the world that he could still rock out with the best of them… for a little while, anyway. Rick (formerly Ricky) Nelson transformed from a teen idol to a countrified rock ‘n’ roller. He managed to make some mighty fine music along the way, culminating with the huge hit “Garden Party” which perfectly sums up the problems that come with trying to move a musical career forward while playing to a crowd that wants to live in the past.
Then there’s Dion.
From 1958 through 1963, Dion was no stranger to the Top 40 charts. First with the Belmonts, then as a solo artist, his name appeared on many hits that still get airplay all these years later (“The Wanderer,” “Teenager in Love,” “Runaround Sue,” and so on). Then he finally caught up with his musical cohorts and hit that inevitable dry spell. A few more singles scraped the bottom of the charts (if they even made it to the charts at all), then the radio programmers started chucking his promos in the trash without giving him a chance. His addiction to heroin surely didn’t help matters much.
So what does he do? The guy kicks the monkey off his back, discovers a more spiritual side inside himself, and records the contemplative “Abraham, Martin, and John” which gives him his first Top 10 hit in five years. Granted, it was also his final hit, but from there on out, he ostensibly didn’t really care. As the ‘60s ended and the ‘70s began, he recorded and released albums of a quieter nature, with lyrics reflecting the new singer/songwriter Dion.
That’s where we find Dion on Recorded Live at the Bitter End, August 1971. Anybody who had lost track of him by 1971 could be forgiven if they bought a ticket to one of his shows and was completely blindsided by the change. Gone was the younger Dion who sported a sharp haircut and sang about “Donna the Prima Donna.” In his place was a guy that kinda looked like Dion, but really wasn’t. This guy claiming to be Dion had longer hair, looked more grown up than expected (had it really been that long since he was a teenager in love?!), and strangest of all, had no backup band or singers with him. It was just some guy purporting to be Dion onstage with an acoustic guitar and a microphone… and nothing else.
Luckily, most of the folks attending these shows knew what to expect, and he was greeted warmly. As a result, they were treated to an intimate show combining some of the classic hits — sounding NOTHING like those old 45s — along with some choice covers of songs by the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Chuck Berry, among others. He also previewed tunes from his upcoming album Sanctuary, firmly establishing that the new and mellow Dion was here to stay.
Four decades or so later, the tapes of these shows were excavated, and they were cobbled together by Omnivore Recordings to make a CD replica of a typical Dion concert in August 1971. It’s a relaxed atmosphere, with both performer and audience in good spirits. The music is mellow but not without emotion. Dion sings and plays with a serious purpose, but not without moments of lightheartedness. He knows that all the events that led him to this point are important and that he should be thankful for getting another chance, but he also knows that life is too short to take it too seriously.
If you’re already familiar with the “new and improved” Dion and dig this era of his catalog, this one is a necessity for you. It’s a wonderful companion piece to the albums he was putting out at the time. It should be noted that the live tracks on Sanctuary, which was released after these shows were taped, do originate from his performances at the Bitter End, but none of those performances are repeated on the Omnivore release. This album is entirely unreleased.
If you’re not hip to what Dion was doing at this point in his career, it’s well worth checking out. His four Warner Brothers albums — which pretty much sandwich these Bitter End performances — are readily available in the digital age and prove that a performer can reinvent himself with positive results, even if the sales numbers aren’t there. Recorded Live at the Bitter End, August 1971 is a lovely souvenir from this time. The sound quality is terrific, and the liner notes are well-written and include some recent comments from the man himself.
If you dig Dion after he grew up, cleaned up, and became more enlightened, you’ll find yourself coming back to this live album time and time again. If you’re not familiar with this phase of his career, it’s not a bad place to start. If you dig this performance, be sure to seek out his Warner Brothers material as well. It holds up well, and makes you thankful that he got a second chance.
Get your copy of Dion’s Recorded Live at the Bitter End, August 1971 from Omnivore Recordings now!
-
tonypicc