Dylan sleevenotes for Dion releases

[Christopher Rollason]

Dylan has twice contributed to sleevenotes for releases by Dion (Di Mucci). The most recent is for an album called Blues With Friends released in 2020. Before that was a box set called King of the New York Streets which came out in 2000.

I have located Dylan's 2020 notes but not those from 2000. Does anyone have them? If you do could you post them on the group?

Thanks in advance!

[Will Dockery]

I didn't know about this, will keep an eye out.

[K. Hematite]

"King of the New York Streets" is a 3-CD box tracing Dion's musical history. Liner notes are found in s 48-page booklet, most of which consists of David Marsh's comments about Dion's life in the Bronx and beyond and about the various influences on his music. Page 33 is given over to Dylan's one-page comment on Dion and it goes like this:

"The voice of Dion came exploding out of what Allen Ginsberg called 'the hydrogen jukebox" in the fifties -- the hush hush age. Torn right from the start, he had it magically together in the mythic sense -- level-headed and trustworthy, rhythmically there's no mayhem -- just a sense of wonder. In his voice he tells the untold story in the seemingly secret language. How else do you explain the soulfulness of 'Teenager in Love'? An unknowing ear would say it's a song about youthful claptrap but it's not, not anymore than Tampa Red's 'Let Me Play With Your Poodle' is not about dogs. You can hear it in his haunted voice -- street corner hokum sure, but also barrelhouse blues, the honky-tonk world -- even the most sophisticated crooner in the articulate way -- it's all there to put a spell on you. I saw Dion way back there when he followed Ritchie Valens and preceded Link Wray and the Wraymen. Ritchie could pitch you over the fence and Link made you feel like you wanted to take a grotesque despotic world and hang it with barbed wire, but Dion was no less brilliant -- his level was cool-headed, made you feel longing, excited and entranced. 'Ruby Baby' is severe, round the clock -- listen you'll see. Satire, cunning, fidelity, it's all there in spades. Great singers pass by us like a parade of nobility. There's just something about them that rises above superficial culture. Dion comes from a time when so-so singers couldn't cut it -- they either never got heard or got exposed quick and got out of the way. To have it, you really had to have it, no smoke and mirrors then -- not a minute to spare --rough and ready -- glorious and grand -- grieving with heartache and feeling too much but still with the always 'better not try it' attitude. If you want to hear a great singer, listen to Dion. His voice takes it's [sic] color from all pallets-- he's never lost it -- his genius has never deserted him."

[Rachel]

is there a reason the word pallet was chosen, over pallete ?

[K. Hematite]

My pathetic excuse is pure carelessness. I didn't even notice that the word had been misspelled and therefore required an appropriate [sic]. Dylan's excuse may be that he used to be a folksinger and had "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor" going through his head when he wrote the comment on Dion.

[Rachel]

but that's about a bed (i googled the lyrics)

[Rachel]

i guess it's the LLL influence, all the colors bleeding into one, like mordant.

[Rachel]

the idiot wind, what's good is bad, what's bad is good, clash of the titans... (horrible movie)

[Rachel]

i painted it all black. (got stoned and passed out in the middle, it was song #3 after wwrf and ahragf (always think it's called where have you been, my blue eyed son....)

[Zod]

Hi there Rachel...!!

[Rachel]

bonjour. what are you doing in the dylan group?

[Zod]

Ummmm... looking for you...?

[Rachel]

what's your name?

[Christopher Rollason]

Thanks very much for posting this - much appreciated!
CR

[Zod]

I am Zod, the real one...