Dion (3) – Stomping Ground

My vinyl copy sounds great except the vocals, drums etc are off centre. Records need a 1.5 to 2 db bump in one channel to centre the drums, vocals etc. All my other records play dead centre including mono presses. I'm using a Rega P8.

If you listen to other people, you’re gonna hear things such as “Following Dion’s critically acclaimed Blues with Friends, once again Dion surrounds himself with an all-star cast …” Where to my way of thinking, Stomping Ground is just a rehash of the same ol’ thing with no linear moment, no defining moments, and yes, sadly they all do ‘stomp’ around.

With most of the fourteen tracks being written by Dion along with Mike Aquilina, what you hear is an old man’s take on a young man’s songs, all the same sort of things men have been singing about forever, girls and how they’re sizing ‘em (us) up … which for this listener, has gotten rather long in the tooth. Fault me if you wish, yet Dion is 82 years old, with a wealth of history tailing after him, he’s lived through more than most people could even dream of, yet instead of sitting down and writing some intimate blues that define and relay that lifetime, he takes the shortcut, never venturing down the side road to a place that defines he and his music in the now, in the moment; after all, we all know at his age, chasing tail is just a worn out bygone daydream.

Sure, I can be kind and say that Dion is one of the last survivors from the 1950’s, still working and having been a major influence on the likes of Paul Simon, Lou Reed and Bruce Springsteen … which has caused me to wonder why it is that the man’s never called up Bruce and said, “Let’s update and breathe some new life into my back catalog,” which would be a splendid undertaking, an idea that would set the two of them side by side on a eased-back tour across this nation that many would love to see.

As to that distedness I referred to, other reviewers attempt to explain that away by saying, “Each of Dion’s songs conjure different moods and styles, some mournful blues rock ballads like “There Was A Time”, featuring Peter Frampton on guitar. Dion tells the story with his expressive, storied voice, about love and a missed romantic opportunity.” The point is Dion’s offering nothing new, nothing imaginative, relying on the so-called big names he’s assembled to give this shallow body of work the right to breathe.

You’re not going to listen to this more than once, and if you purchase the vinyl, you’d better be a sincere fan, ‘cause I’m asking you true, how many more times to you wanna hear Joe Bonamassa, GE Smith (who will play anywhere anytime for a paycheck), Mark Knopfler, or even Eric Clapton on one of these gushing tribute albums again, an album with no heart, no soul and a feather in no one’s cap.

*** Fun Facts: Same backwards Kangaroo cap on six albums now, gotta be a record.

Review by Jenell Kesler