Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock

iTunes Review

In his first musical incarnation in the early 1960s, Dion DiMucci brought together doo-wop, R&B, and early rock n’ roll, along with a teen idol following that threatened to trivialize his very serious musical aspirations. He dabbled in folk music in the late 1960s, scoring the hit, “Abraham, Martin and John” in the process, and for the past few decades has entertained audiences with a wide variety of material. At nearly 70 years old, Dion revisits his youthful favorites with a strong, unpretentious attack that never belittles the material. Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” Buddy Holly’s “Rave On,” the Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love,” Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line,” Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” and Dion’s own “The Wanderer,” all top of the line classics, are delivered as if they were written yesterday. There isn’t an ounce of nostalgia to these tracks. They never try to recreate a bygone era, but merely celebrate the timeless quality of the songwriting. His voice is surprisingly strong and his backing band never relents.