Search - Dion: Live in Concert on DVD

Hot music and history rockin' today!

R. Paavo | Michigan | 10/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is great, to watch Dion perform. He sounds as good as ever just as he did on last years "New Masters" CD which featured new versions of his hits. Filmed at the Tropica in Atlantic City, Dion performs with gusto his hits taking us on a musical journey of both nostalgia and musical history; his history and also of rock; where it came from and what it meant to him and how, to a certain extent, it applies today. Interspersed between some of the concert footage, he talks about his roots and it's fascinating to hear him talk about how Hank Williams, black music, and Jewish cantering played a role in what he did. Something I found interesting was how some of his vocal emanations came from saxaphone players he heard in theatres. Besides the main concert, there's a separate section which has Dion filmed while sitting on a stool talking about his music and singing in an accoustic setting. If he had done all his songs this way, it'd be a great buy. In this section he talks about Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens and why he didn't take the airplane in which they died along with The Big Bopper. The only downside to this dvd are the so called celebrity testimonials which consist only of written words from Lou Reed, Waylon Jennings and others that are hard to read or near impossible to read. I had expected live interviews. But that aside, this is a blast. The concert list: Walking Blues (accoustic studio), I Wonder Why, I Let My Baby Do That, Ruby Baby (collage including American Bandstand version), Amazing Grace/Love Came To Me, Drip Drop, Ride With You (accoustic studio), A Teenager In Love, Blue Monday, The Truth Will Set You Free (Accoustic studio), King Of The New York Streets, Abraham Martin and John, Donna The Prima Donna, Runaround Sue, The Wanderer (we find out who he really was)."

Dion: The Prince of the New York streets, still rockin'

Michael T. McCaffrey | Sterling, VA United States | 07/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just wanted to add my own accolades to the reviews already submitted. I bought this DVD very recently. Having been a big Dion fan all my life (Dion and the Timberlanes [mid 50's], Dion and the Belmonts, Dion solo). I expected a very good performance ... and got (not surprisingly) a GREAT performance instead! If you like Dion's music, get this DVD, forget the job/bills/mowing the lawn, crank up the sound, and just enjoy the heck out of a great concert. I played the DVD three times in a row, I liked it so much, and I've never done that before. I agree with a previous observation that the back-up band was terrific, both on music and singing. I also agree that they were better than the Belmonts. One last observation: I'm a die-hard DOO WOP fan. I noticed many Doo Wop performers, on other DVDs I own, copying not a few of Dion's hits ... testimony enough. Enjoy."

Best of his hits - live

J. Michael Oliver | Colorado | 11/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dion is lasting. His work has spanned several decades and there will be day when this rock'n roll hall of fame star will be noted even more prominently in early years of rock and roll. Lou Reed said he had great "chops" and if you don't know what that means - buy this DVD. A handful of his largest hits coupled with some acoustic interludes and introductions this is both a concert and a personal meeting with Dion. A live concert and more. Years have passed but his vocal chords have not! His range still is wide and takes you away. Beat, rhythm and tune, tune, tune. Enjoy. You will not be disappointed!"

Still rockin'

Steven Hellerstedt | 10/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, there IS something strange about watching a late-middle aged man singing `Why Must I Be a Teenager in Love?" Still, it remains the anthem of adolescent angst, and Dion, circa 2004, not only wrote it, but kept his musical chops pretty much intact, too.



I sought this dvd out after hearing Dion on a public radio interview program a while back and, after getting over the fact he was still around, getting knocked to the floor over how good he sounds. All the old hits are on this disk - Runaround Sue, Donna the Prima Donna, The Wanderer - with Dion being ably backed up by on keyboards and drums, guitar and sax. Dion doesn't talk to the live audience, but the program is interspersed with Dion and acoustic guitar sitting on the stool and reminiscing. There are also plenty of cutout scenes, including a vintage tape of Dion's appearance on the Dick Clark Show.



For the hour's worth of great songs I still couldn't give this one five stars. Dion's in the Rock `n Roll Hall of Fame, and he deserves a biography - you know, pictures of his youth, recap of his career, interview with old neighborhood friends, voice-over narration. There are text-only reproductions of testimonial letters from Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan. The letters are tough to read on anything less than an HD television. They're nice, but the subject deserves more than that.

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