Reviews (page 6 of 7)
Not for me
Sounds like George Harrison's solo album for obvious reasons. Not particularly interesting, and not an album that has aged well.
Only You Know.
The songs on this album all sound like they’re from a scene in a movie where the main character is f’d up on drugs or alcohol and everything gets blurry. The music is so sluggish and odd. It’s not offensive but I don’t really care for it. 2.6
His voice is good. Very dad rock and nothing interesting about the instrumentation but the songs/voice are good I guess.
Ikkje mitt nye favorittalbum
Not bad but way too fucking long
Its not bad just a bit slow and not exciting
Didn't really get anything from it, like I didn't hate it, but it was extremely forgettable and straight up wasn't for me.
Beige. Just boring. Just nothing. No thoughts. No excitement. Just an overwhelming sense of beige.
I knew this was gonna be bad based on the album cover
Kinda eew. Like it doesn't make my ears bleed but it doesn't do anything good either.
No tiene Dream Lover . Un poco rollo el disco.
What phil spector probably sounds like to people who hate phil spector.
Hard to believe he also did The Wander. Apparently he's got a blues album it there too.
A good friend said it best, that this album was “fiercely okay. An intense beige.”
A well produced cheesy bore. I'm not against some pleasant easy listening love songs from time to time but there's nothing catchy or interesting going on here. I didn't hate it but I can't imagine ever coming back to it.
no 👎
found this quite dull i'm afraid
A new one for me - had only been aware of his 60’s solo stuff. His voice was still strong, flexible and distinctive in ‘75 but there aren’t enough quality songs, especially when spread over 20 tracks and an hour plus. Not sure the Spector sound works for Dion either. But “Only You Know”, “New York City Song”, and “Good Lovin’ Man” are keepers.
Not familiar with Dion's work. This was pretty standard baroque pop with a couple stand out tracks in the middle. Would have preferred to hear an earlier record.
It's rare for an album to make almost no impression at all on me, but that's what happened here
Can't say this album connected to me in any way whatsoever. Is to describe it as 'extremely meh' an oxymoron?
Not my preference.
Yacht rock through and through. Not my speed. Decent recording.
His voice is flat and the music is boring.
So things have deteriorated to us being served albums here for reasons as minute as “Phil Spector, a notorious criminal, produced some of the songs”?
Minus one for uneccessary saxophone solos. Minus one for Phil Spector's garbage production. Minus one for exceptionally tame, vanilla lyrics. That leaves you two stars. Be happy with what you got.
His early stuff is great. This? Not so much.
It's long. It's boring. I do not believe he has the whole world in his hands. Maybe 3/4, but not the whole world. It's also very dated. The fact that they had to link this to another album makes you wonder why anyone wouldn't lose their job.
I enjoyed reading about Dion much more than listening to him. It seems that his work features a lot of great singles, but I didn't get anything from this album.
Uninteresting music
This is the end of a career. Easy listening that Phil Spector thoguht he could produce for another Era. Both are precious dead Era artists trying to be relevant. It's a nah.
...I’m hate-listening now. Smite me down, God, end my boomer-rock-induced suffering
No tiene Dream Lover . Un poco rollo el disco.
Meh
New York folk bard is not really my type of musican, or a genre, and it was showing, as I had a really hard time listening to this album. I survived halfway through and just run out of goodwill to finish it. Below average for sure.
Amazon Music tells me this is a cult classic influenced by Lou Reed. I don’t hear it, other than he also sings about drugs on one of the songs (Your Own Back Yard) - though ultimately it’s about getting sober. Perhaps it’s just meant in comparison to his earlier career with the Belmonts? Still a stretch, especially with the Phil Spector “wall of sound” thing going on with some of the songs. More like James Taylor if I had to make a comparison. James Taylor plus Phil Spector. Bleh. I read a great review on here that said 2 is the worst score you can give an album - 1 means you actively hate the music, so you’re engaging with it on some level, but 2 means it’s so bad it’s not even worth any thoughts or emotions. This is a definitive 2 for me. I’ve been listening to a string of crap albums lately and I keep remembering that Beyoncé’s Lemonade is not on this list. I know people’s tastes differ, this is an overwhelmingly white and Anglocentric list anyway, and there are tons of amazing albums included. But when I hear something as completely mediocre as this album is, I’m at a loss.
Not really my jam.
A few interesting tunes. Other than that it’s just a Spector-produced snoozefest.
Initially seemed like a boring John Denver but then it picked up at the end. Still not sure I’d revisit.
Yeah, not a fan. Pretty boring. Good writing for the style, but I'm just not into the genre.
01) Born To Be With You - 6,5 02) Make The Woman Love Me - 6,0 03) Your Own Back Yard - 6,0 04) (He's Got) The Whole World In His Hands - 6,0 05) Only You Know - 6,5 06) New York City Song - 6,0 07) In And Out Of The Shadows - 6,0 08) Good Lovin' Man - 5,5 TOTAL: 6,06 (60/100)
A bit boring. I liked New York City Song though. My least favourite was definitely (He's Got) The Whole World in His Hands. That was recorded badly and boring on top.
yawn
Weirdly, Spotify has decided to combine this with another Dion album. I didn't realise this at the first time of listening, so I've now listened to two Dion albums, which is at least one too many. Started well - the title track is good - and hoped it would build from there, but that was the highlight of the album. All downhill from there, 2/5.
Will listen
Why?
I'm annoyed by Spotify sometimes with these albums. The actual album is eight tracks. Spotify shows it is 20 tracks. Spotify has apparently combined this with one of his other albums, "Streetheart." I like the eight tracks well enough, but I would not buy the vinyl for $5. Definitely the most interesting thing about this album is the fact that it's by the same guy who did "Runaround Sue." Not a very exciting listen.
So boring. I feel like everyone who was influenced by Dion maybe improved the sound with their own music.
Admittedly, he has a good voice, but this music is very dull. None of these songs stood out to me as noteworthy in any way other than perhaps that dreadful last track.
Dull. Don't care enough to let it grow on me, although maybe I could I guess? Feels like a solid 2 leaning 2.5 I guess).
Found this record to be plodding and monotonous. Not for me.
Nyquil for the ears.
HL: “The Whole World in His Hands”, “Make the Woman Love Me” It’s just nice! It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just nice! (Srry I’ve been on a musical theatre kick lately) Saying this as someone who gave the Phil Spector Xmas album 5 stars, he absolutely violates this record. You could argue he did the same with the Beatles output of Let it Be, ATMP, & Imagine, but on the other hand those songs were generally good enough that the Spector (over)treatment didn’t matter to me. These songs are decent but fold under the weight of the 7-minute orchestral versions.
Boring; one of the worst albums I have listened to, not helped by having another boring album stuck onto it (on the linked version) Still 1,000% better than the one star dross though!!
Kind of boring overall. The opening track has no business being nearly 7 minutes. I did like the closing track though, if the whole album was more bluesy I would have liked it a lot better. Apparently Dion didn't care for Phil Spector's production but I'm not sure it killed an otherwise good selection of songs. To my ears, the only song where Spector-ization really "took things over" was He's Got The Whole World In His Hands.
Robert, you couldn’t find 1,001 albums better than this? Surely you weren’t trying very hard. Couldn’t you have just tossed on Bowie’s tenth best album if you were having a hard time meeting your quota?
It wasn't unpleasant. Let's leave this one for the singer/songwrite collection in the 3am infomercial.
meh
Meh, musica de background
meh
Just nothing really special here for me. It’s perfectly fine but did not blow me away. Essential track: Make the Woman Love Me (playlist)
Ei ehkä mua varten. 2/5
Olipa tylsä levy tai sit en vaan saanu otetta. Vähän määkivä. 2/5
This sucked.
Highlights: \"Only You Know\" Impossible to justify this as a must-hear album. Also bizarre to think Spector \"admired\" this voice, which is only just competent and forgettable except in how he makes the bewildering choice to imitate Bob Dylan's faltering glissando -- was this a mimetic dead end studios were chasing in the 60s-70s?? Maybe it is meant to represent the blithe pablum for which people came to hate Phil Spector.
Why rewrite what WikiPedia puts so succinctly: Upon completion in 1974, Spector himself shelved the release for twelve months, only to find the album was largely met with indifference by the music establishment at the time. Phil should've left it on the shelf. 2/5.
This was a sappy 70s album
p344. 1975. 2 stars. Springsteen on Prozac. On the plus side, it's short and it's in tune.
There is nothing at all offensive about this album save for the stink of Phil Spector looming over it. There is also nothing at all remarkable about this, save for that very same stink. Thankfully short, and grating, Dion's voice is not, but besides that, there's little at all to say.
It's not for me. Just too bland
He has a great voice, but I don't love the songs - some of them have a smarmy vibe - I don't love the production either, I felt like I was drowning in it. Seems like Dion himself was not a big fan of this, calling it funeral music, but some other famous musicians spoke highly of it later, which helped it earn its place on this list. I listened to Runaround Sue after this, much preferred that album.
You recorded (and produced) cringe, bro.
This is up there with The Charlatans' Tellin' Stories as the #1 album that's made me say...idk, DID I need to hear this before I die? Collection of some of the dullest, drabbest soft rock the 70s could offer. I guess the most interesting thing about this album is that it's Dion by way of Phil Spector, but like. I can't say listening to Phil Spector is something I WANT to do.
wasn't expecting this to be country-type album. Very 70's. It's fine...not sure why it's on this list.
Elevator easy-listening, not my cup of tea but it’s well made for people who like this type of stuff.
Closer to 3 than 2 stars, some solid instrumentals and he's got a decent voice
Meh
Not the Dion I expected, probably later years cause its very yacht rock-y
Ikkje mitt nye favorittalbum
Não incomoda, o tempo passou e também não lembro mais.
Ok
Meerdere in een dozijn
Een album dat je de volgende dag wilt whatsappen met: "Vond onze date heel erg gezellig, maar ik mis alleen die diepere connectie. Als ik al niet genoeg vrienden had, dan hadden we zo goede bevriend kunnen worden, maar ik weet zeker dat er iemand is die echt helemaal weg van jou zal zijn. Succes hè?"
Bleegh.
Intent de resurgiment de Dion com a cantautor seriós, de la ma a la producció ni més ni menys que de Phil Spector. L'experiment funciona només a mitges, perquè falta l'element més important: les cançons.
Interesting to think that Spector produced three John Lennon albums (Plastic Ono Band, his Imagine LP in 1971 and his Rock and Roll album released in 1975) and these are widely regarded as his best solo albums. Around the same time Spector was a complete asshole when working with Dion on this album and when working with Leonard Cohen a couple of years later, and produced albums both those artists hated. I guess Lennon had the personality and resume to put Spector in his place when they recorded. Nonetheless, there are some good bits notwithstanding Dion’s self evaluation. I know a lot of horn players are noted as performing in the LP but my money says that Bobby Keys is playing the sax on the first song. It makes the song. Dion’s voice shines as he belts it out on In and Out if the Shadows. Other than that . . .
Meh
Not bad musically, but didn’t hold my attention
Not really my thing
Best Song: (He's Got) The Whole World in His Hands. I like Spector's wall of sound technique that is present here. Worst Song: Make the Woman Love Me. Such desperate, pathetic, stereotypically "nice guy" lyrics. The song is also just slow and sleepy. Overall: In a word: boring. Not all that interesting vocally, lyrically, or instrumentally. No reason to ever return to this.
Not a fan.
Moyennement moyen 2.5/5
Rare plaat. Dion (van voorheen Dion & the Belmonts) was een jaren vijftig-tieneridool, en dat hoor je in de eerste paar nummers terug, waarna het ineens jaren zeventig singersongwriterig wordt, er zit een gospeltje tussendoor, en daarna zijn we weer terug in de jaren vijftig. En dat alles onder de bekende bak violen van Phil 'wall of sound' Spector. Dus ja, wat moet je ermee? De jaren-zeventignummers (New York City song) zijn het aardigst, maar die redden het album niet.
De man kan best zingen. Maar het mag toch echt wel iets sprankelender. Ik bedoel: "He's got the whole world in his hands"...Dan ben je eigenlijk al af. En dan moet de luisteraar daarna nog heel wat nummers door zien te komen. 1,5 ster.
It's not bad, but I don't know why anybody would put it on voluntarily. Best track: Your Own Back Yard
Meh, this is probably the most forgettable album on this list so far. Just boring really, not at all my thing.
Got a little excited seeing Dion. I know of a few songs from his early years, like Runaround Sue, Ruby Baby and the Wanderer, but this album wasn't like his early stuff. A lot more mature and deep compared to his younger days, but I found this album to be decent. I liked quite a few of the songs early in the album. Born to be with You, Make the woman love me and Only you know. Probably because they are more of the lovey,dovey kind of songs, but he does have a very good sound to him. You own backyard is another good song, but damn, the lyrics are brutal. You feel for the guy and he ends up Ok, but to lose your wife and kids, holy shit. I also enjoyed his version of The way you do the things you do. Then the album seemed to run together and get a little tedious until we got to Lover Boy Supreme. All in all, I was OK with this album. Enjoyed several songs and nothing really made me want to turn off, although nothing I really felt like downloading either. Another good background music when working kind of album for me. BTW, there's a movie I remember liking quite a bit from my childhood days about a gang called the Wanderers. I may have to check it out again soon. Watch out for the Ducky boys! 2.5 Can't quite get the 3 mark, but found this about to a nice, easy listening album.
I don't have much in particular to say about this one. I'm surprised this is Dion's 14th album. And as always Phil Spector was a madman. Otherwise kinda boring. I feel like it's only on this list because one kinda famous guy said he loves it. idk. 2
2 I’ve always considered Dion’s work with the Belmonts and early solo stuff like Runaround Sue to be among late 50s/early 60s pop at its best, but this is my first time hearing anything from this stage in his career. Look, I gotta give the guy credit in getting with the times and adapting his sound as the music and culture shifted around him. This is unrecognizable from the stuff I mentioned above - like, if I wasn’t told the artist before listening, never in a million years would I guess this is the same guy who did A Teenager in Love. That being said, while a step forward in musical evolution, it’s also probably about two steps back in original, identifiable, and catchy songwriting. I know it’s not supposed to be reminiscent of his prior work in any way, but man, there is very little to grab onto here - it’s just kind of a bunch of lame soft rock that blends in with similar stuff of the era. There are higher points here than others, but not any true great moments… or even particularly good moments for that matter. (He’s Got) The Whole Word in His Hands was probably my favorite (I use the world lightly), but I’m not sure why the production quality sounds noticeably worse on just that track - probably from Spector doing something dumb in the studio in the midst of some kind of binge. Didn’t hate it by any means, but I don’t see myself coming back. Also, there are a total of three 5-star reviews for this album on the Global Reviews page… yikes.
Needs more Runaround Sue and less of anything on this album. That being said, it's not bad. Some of it is quite enjoyable. But NONE of it sounds like Dion. There's nary a hint of the aforementioned Runaround Sue, or The Wanderer. I guess this was Dion's Johnny Cash/Rick Rubin comeback attempt, which makes Phil Spector his Rick Rubin. One gets the feeling the only reason this made a list like this is because people like Pete Townshend overpraised it.
Goes for elevated sound and instead sounds like elevator…music. Very 70s easy-listening. I didn’t find it particularly easy to get through. If you’d like to take a nap…let this be the soundtrack.
Dirge
If your grandpa had a best friend in the 70s, he had an in-home bar and danced to this album there with your grandma.
I feel like it's just kind of bland.
This album was neither good nor bad just long as hell. This perfectly encapsulates how it feels from 5:30pm to 8pm on a Saturday after drinking all morning and getting ready to go out at night, also known to some as purgatory
Copy and pasted directly from my notes app: He refers to his significant other as “little girl” in the first song and I’ll tell you rn I don’t like that. Bob Dylan vibes and not in a good way. Your own back yard is about taking a shit ton of drugs and losing your family and it sounds like the whole album was on drugs. Although in all fairness, a couple of them were kinda catchy. I just didn’t like the similarity of the whole album. Definitely not as bad a as the kinks. 2.5/5, rounded down.
Chief should’ve kept this one in the drafts. I wish I was listening to other music instead of this. It’s just not very interesting honestly.
Not for me.
I’ve never listened to Dion before
Laadidaa, olikohan yksi tarttuva biisi ja loput soi sujuvasti taustalla.
Ei lähteny
Like John Denver meets Exile on Main Street, but with super cliched lyrics and Dan Fogelberg levels of cheese. The only thing saving it from being a one-star album is Spector’s production.
Didn't do much for me, nice background music I suppose
Nope. Balance of track recording isn’t right. His voice neither. My dog was getting depressed.
Sappy
It’s fine and I’ll never think of it again.
Ive listened to this thing like 5 times and still have nothing to say something rock 2.5
Old school making whoopie music. Not my vibe
Grew up on singer-songwriter 70’s, but never heard of this dude before. After listening to this soft biscuit of low energy, I understand why. It’s not offensive and probably best for background music.
A whole lot of blah. The production sounded nice though, so there is one redeeming quality I suppose?
A lot of the same, and way too long. Veering on a 1 here I think.
Big Spector production as expected. Slow enough for easy singalong except the songs aren’t memorable or particularly strong. Pleasant enough voice and delivery, just nothing special.
No tiene Dream Lover . Un poco rollo el disco.
Hey, maybe two songs in this almost-80-minute album are not that bad, I guess?
It’s nice 2.5
Music is fine, but nothing really stands out and it feels a very "flat". Fades quickly to the background.
A little bit boring, didn't find much exciting about it
This album was quite a drag, with some rare moments of ok-ness
Save me from this painfully dull, generically 'soulful' album. I feel this music is trying so hard to be passionate and lively that it just falls completely flat on its face and becomes the antithesis of those two things. Not a single song on this album stood out to me. Supposedly, Dion himself hated how it sounded after production, stating it sounded like 'funeral music' according to Wikipedia. On that, him and I agree.
I tend to go with Dion's own assessment of this sounding like funeral music, more than with the 90s folks who rediscovered this. I thought it was a real slog. I needed a little more guidance and encouragement, maybe.
Well, I found that rather boring. Each song kind of left like it just dragged on and on.
New York City Song and Only You Know are pretty good.. The rest is fairly forgettable. Give me the Wanderer..
Dull and uninspired.
It was fine. Nothing really stood out for me.
I have no idea why this album is on the list. It’s not offensive or anything but it’s so boring. Not for me.
Geen slechte zanger, maar het kan mij niet bekoren. Zelfs niet op een maandochtend als achtergrondmuziek op het werk. Misschien meer iets voor de nacht.
Not my thing
very white guy in the 60s
The production covers a few bases, and Dion's voice tries to push at something, but it never amounts to much. Born to Be With You comes across as beige adult contemporary despite the edge the vocal strain tries to suggest. It never sounds bad, but is basically forgettable after the second track. If others have plumbed the depths, I'm happy for them.
Not for me, a bit dull
I really have nothing to say, this is just a very ok album. Not good not bad, but I don't want to give it anything more than a 2 star rating.
Youtube Music combined Born to Be With You with another Dion album called Streetheart. I did not like the former album, mostly very slow and soppy. Highlight of the album was Good Lovin' Man. I did enjoy the album Streetheart, had more of a rock n roll sound. However, that album still has a few soppy songs too.
Not sure it's for me but I didn't dislike it really. Sounded well put together. I complained that fish bone had too many styles..... This has the opposite problem
I’m a bit confused on why this album was chosen for this list. The songs are perfectly pleasant, but Phil Spector’s wall of sound production has much better examples. Here it sounds like the songs themselves come second to the production and it comes off as sterile, almost factory produced whereas Phil Spector’s early work was more explosive and interesting.
I find this album listenable but completely unremarkable. A standout single probably would have elevate this to a 3 but to me it sounds like a recording session with 2 people (Dion and Spector) who had slightly different ideas about what they wanted to do and it just didn't quite get there.
The last song is pretty good. The rest just kind of blends into each other.
Yeah nah
I started this and thought - meh, another 70s balladeer. Then about halfway through I started to enjoy it a bit more. Then my interest tailed off again. Couldn’t say why I liked it in parts - not really my thing, but I guess it’s interesting, in the kind of ‘career-tailed-off-still-trying-to-have-a-profie’ way. Although I am not sure Seventies Spector on production is something to recommend this. Not likely to play again, but not as bad as first feared.
Wholly inoffensive, and devoid of substance. But pleasant
This would be a lot better if it was Dion Dublin playing his dube.
Première chanson: le saxophone m'irrite un peu, et je trouve les paroles peu originales. En général je trouve ça assez générique. Ne retient pas mon attention.
Top 3 Songs: 1 - The Way You Do the Things You Do (10) 2 - Your Own Back Yard (3) 3 - Oh the Night (17)
Not too bad for the style and genre
No está mal, me alegro de haberlo escuchado y me parece interesante que sea una referencia para otros músicos importantes pero de ahí a que sea imprescindible va un trecho.
Meh
Another eh album, though I’d rather listen to radio head than this guy. Like a knock off Leonard Cohen.
Coolest thing about this album is that it's by Dion, who was a long-time boyish idol type singer, making those cheesy Everly Brother-type pop hits in the '50s and '60s (for reference, go listen to "Runaround Sue," which you almost certainly have heard before). Definitely grown-up tunes from what his prior fare was, though he still has that simp-y spirit. Unfortunately nothing too special stylistically, but it's aight. He's got a really nice voice though, and cool to hear a guy like him putting forth this kind of emotion after where he began. I hate to say it but I think I'd rather have an album of the older stuff that made him who he is. Just a more interesting time capsule. Favorite tracks: Make the Woman Love Me, New York City Song. Album art: I feel I've definitely seen this one around, very simple portrait shot. Nothing crazy. 2.5/5
Overblown and dated. There is a place for this but id hope not to be in the same planet
Holy shit, if I wanted this much cheese I would eat pizza every single day. The doo-wop comes a decade late and a reverb unit short, and who the hell asked for lap steel AND a string section on the same record? Get this out of my sight.
I don't like this. One star...
Never had any thought that Dion ever did more music than the 50s-60s. He should've stayed there.
Rocketman did a better version of “he got the whole world (in his hands)”
For some reason, Apple Music has this as a double album. I’m glad I checked the Wikipedia as to not suffer for another half hour. I particularly enjoyed that both of the albums that they tried to pair together were total failures. Great list we got going on here.
Well, I didn't like it... and then I read that Phil Spector produced it.
Nothing about this seemed special. It was dated, boring, and generic.
No.
Worst album ever. I can’t believe this horse shit is considered music.
Too whiny for my taste. Had to listen to deep purple afterwards to cleanse the pallet.
The sort of thing that gives 4th rate music a bad name.
The worst thing I think i can say about an album is it isn't memorable. Born to Be With You by Dion isn't memorable. I struggled to get through the album, not because any song was technically bad, but because it just didn't engage me on any level.
For a millisecond, I thought I had gotten a /Celine/ Dion record. Really wish I did, in hindsight. Would’ve at least not put me to sleep.
I'm glad this wasn't my first album on this list and instead is in the 100s. Unclear why this is on here at this time
It’s ok but my major problem here is it’s not ground breaking ( even when accounting for the year of 1975) and I know of dozens of better albums than this that have been released that will not be in this list . I’d give it a 2 as an album but will score it a 1 as don’t think it’s worthy . The artist himself doesn’t even rate this release.
This is the worst fucking shit I have ever heard and it's not even close.
I've done my time in the Wall of Sound trenches, of course. I've got half the Ronettes' discography memorized, I've got a well-loved copy of Back to Mono, honestly I even like that one Leonard Cohen album! But this is an example of it that you truly do not need to hear. Like, the sound is fine enough, but it's just an attempt to cover up uninspired performances by someone whose time is past (see also: Let It Be, Byrdmaniax).
Got bored. Gave up.
Not sure why Dion’s Born To Be With You made The 1001 Must Hear List. Didn’t have any impact (that I can remember) when it came out, doesn’t hold up, and nothing close to a hit. He did have a couple of hits in the early sixties, but this album is an enigma on making the list. Please explain. (1.3**s) He was better with The Belmonts…
This is terrible. The idea that supposedly talented people worked on this is proof that sometimes teams are weaker than their individual contributors. An all-around embarrassment of a record.
Fuck this book on god 0/ I dont care anymore 0.00%
I cant believe that one of the only positive review abouth this album (on the 10 first reviews) is fucking chat gpt written slop. Honestly, its quite fitting for this uninspired bland album to only receive praise from an unsentient robot. I get that the production of this album inspired a lot of other artist but it doesnt mean that the music is good. You dont need to hear this.
Even Mr. DiMucci himself despised this record. It's one long, monotonous drone, thanks in no small part to Phil Spector's production methods. The songs themselves are nothing special and come across as interminably sad. I'd like to hear Mr. Dimery's defense of this album's inclusion. I certainly hope that it's something better than, "Well... the guy from Primal Scream likes it, so..."
This isn’t really my vibe tbh. Fav song is ‘Only You Know’.
im always mad sussed out by gospel made by white people. this is bad i actually hate it. weird ass lyrics and production thats doing way too much. i usually like brill building stuff or shit associated with phil spector but this is god awful.
This guys is not as great as he thinks he is. It's ok. If pretentious had a sound.
only Dion song i had listened prior to this was The Wanderer from 1961. i love that song! it's fantastic! that didn't mean i had high hopes for this album that came out over ten years after (Ten Years After reference???) that particular song, as i had no idea what 70s era Dion would sound like, but i was optimistic. i discovered i don't like it all that much. i think this was just overly sappy for me lol...every song sounded very much the same with lovey dovey lyrics and a lot of saxophone🎷🎷🎷 also i listen to anything i don't own physically on spotify, so i listened to Born To Be With You on there. turns out i'm stupid because on spotify it pairs this album with Dion's other album, Streetheart. it wasn't until after i listened to the hour+ long pairing of the two that i realized i wasted my time...and turns out i ended up liking Streetheart a bit more. so yeah Born To Be With You kind of sucks. favorite track: i guess the title track, Born to Be with You i thought was okay. after that my attention was gone
What was he yelling about? Lamest production ever from Phil ghoul specter
Who the fuck is this guy and why should he belong here? This is one of the shittiest album on this project so far. It's difficult to conceive a more boring and useless collection of songs. As if that were not enough, Phil Spector here demonstrates that, on top of being a horrible human, he was also an awful producer and his "wall of sound" was pure bullshit.
Remarkably unremarkable.
That was the sound of a washed up has been. Boring music of music.
Noo
Born to be with you maybe but not me. 1/5 24/2/26
I think it got recorded in half speed.
I don’t see the point of this. A mid career album from a mid tier rocker. Ok the wanderer and runaround Sue is perhaps the greatest double A single of all time. (Certainly one of the greats anyway). But teenager in love isn’t Tuttle frutti or heartbreak hotel etc. He’s got the whole world in his hand sounds like a second rate Dylan parodist. The rest of it is pleasant but inessential I just can’t see why this is here.
Dearie, dearie me. It literally slumbered by as I was defrosting some meat for dinner tonight, I could see it out of the corner of my eye, rolling slowly past, going nowhere for no one. The record was looking for a reason to exist, ashamed to be played all these years later, knowing there were middle aged white blokes all over the world rolling their eyes at the mere thought. That someone thought that this was worthy of some consideration is in itself way more interesting than the music contained within. But remember deadbeats, the deeper we go, the higher we fly, the higher we fly the deeper we go so come on!
Gear: Hifiman HE6se v2 SE Artwork: 🤓🕯️🪮 Production: 🟫😑🆗 Music: ⏱️❓🤔 Rating: 🎷(🎷)/5
God what boring drivel
No idea what to expect here. Never heard of Dion. Cover doesn’t give me hope… but we’ll see… Well, the opening track isn’t too bad. Certainly better than the last couple of albums that have been suggested by this app. Problem I’m having with this album so far is if I don’t concentrate on it I forget it’s playing. Guess that says a lot… It’s not a bad album, just a little characterless and bland. Halfway through and pointless me continuing with this one. None of it is sinking in and unless I try and focus that it’s even playing it just disappears. Can’t even call it good background music, because you forget it’s even playing. Nothing “technically” wrong as it’s not awful - just very very bland. Despite not being horrendously bad it’s still getting a 1 from me because of it completely fails to make any impact and is entirely forgettable.
This just faded into the background.
A bit of a nothing album
This album is 35 minutes long. On Spotify, Dion’s next album from a year later is appended to the end making one continuous 1 hr 20 album. Some sadist approved that. Fuck that guy, fuck Phil Spector and fuck Dion too.
Not for me
I've no idea what it sounded like in 1975, but it doesn't sound good 50 years later.
A few of the songs felt like they were recorded off a radio with poor reception. I already didn't particularly enjoy this, but that definitely didn't improve the experience.
Mijn god.
Terribly uninteresting.
Im not sure what else to say other than this album sucks. The first song waa a drag and somehow I found a way to get worse from there.
Nop
49. not my thing at all
This was boring as hell. Nothing special. The only Dion that deserves to be on this list is Celine. And guess what? SHE IS NOT ON THIS LIST!! A big fuck you to everyone who made this list.
Incredibly boring
Bored to be with you
Really dragged - not for me at all
I hace tried like 4 times to just listen to the first song and i just can't. Literally falling asleep
First album I googled while listening because I needed to know if the production quality was supposed to be this bad (and whadayaknow, good 'ol phil himself produced it!). I love Dion and the Belmonts, this is not that.
Does not rock.
Every word is just an enlongated version screamed into the mic, and every song is the same. I try to find at least one good thing about every album, so the sound was well balanced. 1/5
Even Dion hated it and said it sounded like funeral music
This is pretty dreary stuff, and the only good thing is the album is quite short at 35 minutes. I really can't see why this collection of plodding songs is one that I must listen to.
Meh, Only You Know is the only song I enjoyed.
Bland and overproduced
eu não ironicamente prefiro receber uma pedrada na cabeça e entrar em coma a terminar de escutar isso aqui
esse é pra quem achava que o phil spector, além de péssima pessoa, era um bom produtor. esse aqui tá mal feito viu galera. ruim pra dar com pau
UGH NO. JESUS NO. YUCKY. (I did listen to The Wanderer from his older stuff because it's in Fallout 4)
Aldri hørt før. Dette synes jeg var ganske rævva, faktisk.
nah
🥱
I was forewarned that this was Not Good, and those people were correct. Do the writers of the 1001 Albums books not know that Dion is responsible for Runaround Sue????
no redeeming values
1.5 - Bad
Generic 60's pop- sounds very dated for '76. Trying to look like John Lennon. Heavily reliant on reverb. This has been one of the hardest albums to get through so far.
Last night, my daughter told me that there was no Warren Zevon on this list! Unfortunately for Dion, this is now going to be the first album of many where I say to myself, "There are at least four Zevon albums that are FAR better than this!!" But even aside from all of that, this album sounds like a singer and a producer at least ten years past their primes just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something sticks. Might be worth listening to if you want to hear one of the worst versions of "(He's Got) The Whole World in His Hands" ever recorded.
Don't like it. 1 outta 5
Melodramatic drivel. Worst of Spector and 70s impulses. I miss runaround sue. I’m sorry this happened to you, Dion
I don’t know why this is here, didn’t really enjoy it, and remember almost nothing about it. I don’t really know how to describe it, but the phaser effect over “he’s got the whole world on his hands” is quite odd
Unremarkable and mediocre
What's this called? Not even interesting. Terrible album. Couldn't go past the first few tunes and no sense of FOMO
Born to be mild
I don't remember anything about this album.
Why am I listening to he’s got the whole world in his hands like I’m eight years old and back in Sunday school? Insipid. I’m sure that with over 40 releases, there’s a chance of finding something I like but I’m surely not about to go digging.
The production is weak and the songs are weak, and it seems like no one wanted this released. The experience was made more frustrating because I have such fondness for Dion's oldies hits. Also I don’t like songs about New York.
Boring
Not for me. 1 stars.
Had to abort after 15 minutes and did barely even make it that far. The songs are buried deep under tons of kitsch and schmalz that any potential they might else have had is suffocated. My body physically rejected listening just one more minute of this.
Possibly THE dullest album of all time
Flat, dull and dreary.
boring as shit
70-luvun puolivälin listahitteihin tutustuneena tämä ei yllättänyt. Mitäänsanomattomin tähän mennessä.
Not interested
Get this boring whiny shit out of here.
Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound turns this album into a sonic tomb. Whatever raw honesty Dion may have been trying to bring is buried under layers of reverb, sludge, and lifeless pacing. I usually love emotionally heavy music. I seek it out. I live in it. But this? This is not that. This is a dirge with no payoff. The production doesn’t enhance the message. It strangles it. “Your Own Back Yard,” a song about addiction and recovery, somehow ends up sounding upbeat, which makes the whole thing feel dissonant and awkward. “Make the Woman Love Me,” the second track, features a hideous warbling vibrato that was painful to sit through. “Only You Know” wants to be the emotional centerpiece, but it’s so bogged down in echo it barely registers. “In and Out of the Shadows” just plods, offering nothing new in sound or sentiment. And the cover of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”? Laughably bad. With twenty tracks on this album, it seems like I should be able to find one that works for me. The closest is probably “Good Lovin’ Man.” It’s still rough, but at least there’s a little movement in it, a little grit. It almost sounds like Dion coming up for air before the mud pulls him under again. Lyrically, this album doesn’t offer much either. As a writer, lyrics hold a special place in my heart. It’s extremely rare for me to like a song purely on musical merit when the words fall flat. In this case, they absolutely do. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say they barely show up. I get that Dion is trying to express emotion and vulnerability, but most of the lyrics are repetitive, shallow, and painfully uninspired. Even on “Your Own Back Yard,” which tackles a serious subject like addiction (something Dion personally went through), the writing is flimsy. He briefly hints at something more thoughtful with “I got a friend / His name is Richard Grands / He says you don't need / To get stoned to grow a friend,” but then tosses in “drinkin’... thinkin’... blinkin’” and sinks the moment. It’s uncomfortable to listen to, like watching someone bare their soul and trip over every line. And “If I Can Just Get Through Tonight” goes straight for the lowest-hanging lyrical fruit with “sorrow” and “tomorrow,” which aren’t helped by the equally limp arrangement. I’ve renamed it “If I Can Just Get Through This Album.” I’ve learned that Spector’s Wall of Sound involved massive instrumental layering, echo chambers, and mono mixing to create a dense, immersive feel. In the early 60s, it made songs like “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” iconic. Here, it results in death by overdub. The more they added, the less you could feel. It’s like putting too much makeup on a vulnerable face. You lose the expression underneath. While Spector deserves plenty of blame for how this sounds, Dion himself doesn’t do much to save it. The lyrics, the delivery, the pacing. None of it connects. Everything is just so cringey. I know it was the 70s. But the 70s also gave us actual great music. This isn’t one of those cases. This is a bloated, soggy mess of unrealized intent. Some people call it a cult classic. I call it a cautionary tale.
Des fois, ça me tente pas.
Noh aika perus albumi ei varmaan 1001 listalle noh
Spotify has combined the album with Streetheart as well, so only listened to the 1st 8 tracks. Rather dull unimpressive music.
Okay I feel like I’m not going to get any stick for this one. Only You Know was actually really good, but that was the only song I found any real connection with unfortunately. He has a great voice though! Songs were just pretty samey and didn’t really go anywhere exciting - never even heard of this guy before!
This may be the first album I don't finish on this list. I'm at track four and see that I still have an hour left. I can't even really place what I don't like about it.. it's just boring to a grating level.
I'm sure mom's in the late 70s loved this.
Meh
Album 743 of 1001 Dion - Born To Be With You (1975) Rating : 1 / 5 I'm sure there is some Dion that I enjoy but this just isn't it.
If your name is Dion and you look like that, you have an uphill battle to win me over. He has a good voice, but i hate the people who think their voice is so good they start be-boping and scatting stuff- it's some try hard cool guy shit I don't care for. When hes not trying to be too cool, and when the songs have a little substance but that only happens a few times this album. Fuck him for making me listen to a bad version of a Sunday school song though.
I don't know why this is on the list....really meh to me. 1.5 for the Phil Spector production, but rounding down because I was just bored.
Melodramatic drivel. Worst of Spector and 70s impulses. I miss runaround sue. I’m sorry this happened to you, Dion
An hour-and-twenty-minute endurance test of terrible saccharine 70s singing, sappy instrumentation. Hated this from the first song (Born to Be with You, a totally unnecessary seven minutes long) and each track was worse than the last. Painful, awful. I have said to myself that I am going to listen to every album on this list fully, but when I saw that one of the top-rated reviews for this album said that only the first 8 tracks were actually on Born To Be With You I grabbed it with both hands. Thank you, that reviewer.
A hidden gem this album is not. Dion himself does not like this album and Phil Spector did an awful job on this one. The voice recording sounds like its 20 years behind and the production manages to be the worst and most undercooked of 70's bargain bin music. Want a good later career Dion album? Listen to his 1968 self titled album instead, a beautiful underappreciated piece of music that is everything this wishes it could be.
Not a terrible album but not something I’d listen to as a whole again. A few songs initially stood out to me enough to save them in my liked songs, namely “if I can just get through tonight,” “more to you” and “oh the night” but I’ve not listened to them since so.
How did this guy get a recording contract? Bin dare done dat, same old crap
How did he manage to make "(He's Got) The Whole World In His Hands" bad?? Honestly thought this was probably going to be a 2 for the first half but then it just kept going and getting more painful. "Your Own Backyard" entertained me for a bit at least. Spotify combined two of his albums but I only listened to the songs listed on the Wikipedia track listing. Not my style musically. Boring instrumentals and uninspired vocals. No thanks.
Made me want to blow my brains out
Was looking forward to a bit of traditional Rock'n'Roll here to break monotony of 2's we've had recently. Unfortunately didn't get it. What we did get was someone trying to re-launch their career unsuccessfully. It has broken the run of 2's though. 1
Nothing remarkable, in fact quite unremarkable.
Not for me. Won't be revisiting. 1/5
Not a fan
This is not me. It's my mom. And nothing against her musical taste but I've had quite enough soft rock/easy listening/ whatever it is is not for me. These songs could all be the 2nd song played over the credits of a film that was a solid 3/10. No thank you. Glad it's out there but it didn't land in this camp
Absolutely not.
I am not able to understand why this album is on the list. It has nothing interesting. It has nothing new. It is not a first album of some kind of subgenre. It is simply one of several albums which a few people like. Well, Dion is not an unknown musician. But his peak was in the 60s. "Runaround Sue" was a big album at the time. Although I am not fond of the music I would perfectly understand why it is on this list. But "Born To Be With You"? What? No? It's simply not possible.
What the hell is this? One more album that really doesn't make any sense on this list...
The lyrics are pathetic, the music is boring and thousand light years away from any feeling. What the hell is this doing here?
While listening to this, I honestly thought that I would rather be listening to Barry Manilow if I was forced to listen to a 70s romance crooner. That should say enough. On a production note, the decision to release this album Frankensteined together with another lacklustre Dion album - 1976’s Streetheart - just makes me loathe it all the more for a running time of 80 minutes.
I wanted to like this, I wanted to give this a chance, but for the life of me I could not give a shit about any of it.
Soft flavourless cheese.
The only reason this soft shit is on here is because the Primal Scream guy liked it. This is like a worse Barry Manilow. Except I get why people wanna fuck Barry Manilow. This makes me wanna die
Born to Be with You
Is this one of the worst things I've ever listened too?....well yes actually it is. I am listening to this while in a waiting room in essex to check if I have broken my foot, and honestly I wasn't sure the experience could be much worse I thought I'd put this on too "pass the time". Reader, this was a mistake
I didn’t get more than 4 sounds in but can tell this is not the album for me. Listen again: no Purchase for my collection: no Favourite Song: none
Not my jam...a little too boring. 1.5/5
Didn’t I Only Nut Man, I just wasnt feelin this one 2/10
Cannot figure out why this album is on the list. It is really poor
This was really not my thing, didn’t grt through the album
Never in my life would I put something like this on voluntarily. This album was just so bland and unappealing.
2791 - Is this a joke? I like these genres, but this guy has terrible vocals. This is like a Soulless Otis Redding. If this came out today, people would ask what headset microphone he used. This has such a high budget, yet Marvin Gaye's bathroom trips probably have a better production value than this.
Shallow wearing terrible vocals awful production boring instrumentation 3.8
This sounds like if Prince was white and played music in a church. And then it did the boring 60s folk thing.
Was this included in the list because Phil Spector produced it? Production to be fair is nice in parts, sounds crap in others, it's just bloody dull. Ballad after ballad of boring music. I'd rather not.
Not for me 1/5
Annoying vocals, utterly predictable lyrics, basic guitars, and cheesy sounding "new age" drumming accented with inexplicable honking that might be saxophone.
How this is one of the 1001 albums is baffling.
Somebody mixed up the list of albums you must hear before you die with the list of records they found at a garage sale that nobody bought.
Het begin is veelbelovend, door de typerende warme 'wall of sound' waar Phil Spector bekend om staat. Maar helaas doet ene Dion er geen zak aan om de kwaliteit ook maar een beetje hoog te houden. Wat een inspiratieloos gezever, wat niet zou misstaan voor een 'zangertje in een voetbalkantine'. En by the way, het wordt ook al snel duidelijk dat de betere jaren van Spector achter zich liggen, en dat de viespeuk rond deze tijd wel andere dingen aan z'n hoofd had. Please gun ons weer eens een banger, het is hoog tijd. 3,5/10
Niet slecht, wel saai. Afgehaakt bij Hey My Love, dat echt precies begon als een Nick en Simon nummer. 4,5/10