Born To Be With You

Initially seemed like a boring John Denver but then it picked up at the end. Still not sure I’d revisit.

Kind of surprising album here. Never would have picked this up before but I do like it! Title track has a great feel. Your Own Backyard… dig the vibe and vocals. Also New York City Song. At least 3.5 I feel.

Yeah, not a fan. Pretty boring. Good writing for the style, but I'm just not into the genre.

I was surprised, not so bad.

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)

Classic doowop singer slows down and matures with awesome production.

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

Folk rock. Está bien. Un 4.

This is actually quite good, a lot better than I reckoned going into it. Reading about it and some of the perceived production issues have me wondering how good it could've been in that regard but in terms of composition and storytelling, I enjoyed it.

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.

Enjoyable easy listening. Nothing special but would listen again

Will listen

3.5

Not bad

it’s alright tbf. bit simple, classic. nice even.

Pretty overproduced - trying to add some zhuzh to fairly lackluster songs (especially on the A side) but the B side has a little more life. Not sure how Primal Scream was influenced by this. It's okay, but not something I'd put on often. 3.4

Blues, which puts you to sleep.

I like this, it was calming and interesting, the sounds were refreshing and I enjoyed it. I feel like I've seen the cover of this album before but I don't know where, the Queen of 1959 is especially a great track from here

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.

Quite a cool album, would listen again - got more up beat towards then end. Would listen again,.

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.

I like his voice and on the production front Phil Spector absolutely KILLED it. All in all it was just kinda alright.

Didn’t enjoy listening. Lyrics are a cheese ball.

Definitely a departure from “Runaround Sue”! Kinda has that musicians-getting-old sound. Maybe it’s the strings and reverb. Can hear Spector in this big time.

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).

Questionable lyrics aside, this record doesnt provide anything of value to the listener. Its boring, strum alongs that are very repetitive.

Found this record to be plodding and monotonous. Not for me.

Dreary!

Nyquil for the ears.

Interesting! Had never dived into Dion.

Most of this is freaking boring. It should really be a 2, but I'm making it a low three because there were a couple songs I liked. Giving it a two when I liked some of it seems unfair, so it's basically getting a 2.5. My favourite song was Only You Know.

I am so torn between completely hating this album and actually enjoying listening thru. It’s really not terrible, not stand out either. Favorite song has to be “Your Own Backyard.”

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!!

Hmmm, this is an interesting one. I love some of his other stuff but hadn’t heard this album. It’s good, but nothing really grabbed me

Intriguing. Feels like a mix of Dylan and Billy Joel. Not a fan of the choir back vocals. 3 stars

This was much different from everything else I've ever heard from Dion (The Wanderer and that's basically it). It was interesting to hear his voice used more for Elton john style ballads as opposed to 60s doowop music. I liked pretty much all of the songs and even listened to the extra tracks on Spotify but nothing stood out too much to list here really.

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?

Tripe

It wasn't unpleasant. Let's leave this one for the singer/songwrite collection in the 3am infomercial.

Now we are talking. I hadn't heard of Dion before hearing this, and I really enjoyed it. It's not breaking new ground particularly, just good songs, performed well and given the Spector treatment (great production, not waving guns around and murder).

nice, love it!

Me when I didn't do anything this afternoon and should have been working on college essays for the past hour

Hate to say it, but Dion should have just stuck with his doo-op, greaser rock songs. This is like a worse version of Van Morrison.

Smooth

meh

This was unexpectedly good.

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)

Good album. Great vocals. Probably not going to relisten, I'd rather hear his early doo wop music.

I absolutely love Dion’s music from the 50s-60s, but I had no idea what to expect from this. It was a little up and down for me as an album, but “Make the Woman Love Me” is absolutely fantastic. I’ve been listening to it nonstop since I finished the full album. I’m not completely sure this should be on a list of greatest albums of all time, but personally I really enjoyed it.

Ei ehkä mua varten. 2/5

Lähtötietojen perusteella en paljoa odottanut, mutta täähän oli yllättävän kiva. Rauhoittava meno.

Olipa tylsä levy tai sit en vaan saanu otetta. Vähän määkivä. 2/5

Some decent easy listening. A little on the preachy side.

3.25

I think this was an otherwise OK album that was dragged down by its production. The tempo of most tracks feels sluggish, and the heavy reverb on all of the instruments makes it sound like the album is playing in the next round. That really creates a challenge in feeling close to the otherwise personal. The generally vague air of the lyrics also doesn’t do it any favors (make “the woman” love me, not a name). Spotify is packaging the album with Streetheart, which only serves to emphasize the production shortcomings of this record.

Pretty good. Some interesting songs. But also not very special

Lush baroque pop produced by Phil Spector. A little schlocky but not bad.

Voor oude mensjes

So cheesey and not in a good way

This sucked.

Blues, romantisch, lyrisch, bisschen repetitiv

This was not what I expected. Some parts were better than expected, and others were actually exactly what I was afraid of.

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.

interesting

10/10 didn’t know Id like an album like this as much as I did, but hey, these songs are actually really good

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.

seems pretty good, probably needs a deeper dive than i’ve given it

This was a sappy 70s album

Phil Spector's trademark style meets the bluesy stylings of Dion. I typically like Spector's production style, but I think it can be a little smothering here. The songs also last a little too long, feeling quite longer than they actually are. Favorite track: "Only You Know"

p344. 1975. 2 stars. Springsteen on Prozac. On the plus side, it's short and it's in tune.

This is just kind of wild. I had not heard of Dion at all, and was shocked that this was their 14th album. Just seems nuts for something that far in to someone's creative output to be that well regarded without having so many other well regarded releases. I have obviously heard the song "Runaround Sue" a bunch of times, but had no idea who it was by, so seems even crazier to me that they had a hit like that in 1961 and then put something so different out so many years later. The Phil Spector sound is all over this, for or worse, at this point it just is what it is. Obviously a layered album in terms of production and it's decent enough, but it's not really for me. The quality of songs is there underneath all of it though. Certainly mixed reviews for sure.

Not very good

You can tell the Spector touch is there, in fact it's difficult to see where he leaves off and Dion starts. Not bad for a Mid-70's LP but it's really not special.

Nice. Definitely better than the old Doo-Wop stuff. 3.5/5

It's a decent listen this.

Lovely album which surprised me

Thought this was great. Liked everything on here

He’s, umm, a little but ‘churchy’ isn’t he? Decent voice though.

8/10. I liked this. Maybe liked the second album that was packaged with it on Spotify a little more, but maybe I was just paying better attention by that point.

Spotify has tried to get me to listen to this guy in my discover weekly playlist enough times that I don’t dislike this. 6/10

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.

Apparently, this is the guy who made the song "The Wanderer" which is much better than anything on this album. The sound he has on this album is much more subdued compared to his earlier work which is more early '60s rock. It's not bad, but I don't find it very interesting to listen to. Most of this is slow songs which I'm not a fan of. I actually really like his voice, but the structure and cadence of the album aren't appealing to me. This is a low 3/5

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.

The main thing that occurs to me when I listen to this, is that I wish Phil Spector had produced an album for Harry Nilsson around the time this record came out. That thought aside, this really is a pretty remarkable achievement for the guy who started his career in '61 with "Runaround Sue," "The Wanderer," and "Dream Lover."

Definitely hear the Phil Spector on here. It's... fine.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Make the woman love me, Good loving man

Didn’t do it for me

5.5/10 Rien de spécial worth remembering

Favourite song: Make the Woman Love Me

Completely new artist for me, nothing seemed even vaguely familiar. Really enjoyed Born to be With You and added that into a rotation playlist of mine, and found myself enjoying the next few tracks too though a little less each After halfway it became a bit of a slog and I think whatever track 1 was would have been my favourite as it was a case of new skin bias Overall a decent listen but not one I’m likely to remember much about in a few weeks

This is great. I'm a total sucker for Phil Spector (producing, not the binfire of a human). A very pleasant listen. Had never heard of Dion before this but there's loads of older stuff I didn't realise was him (The Wanderer!)

Definitely got better the more I listened but it’s not usually my taste

You recorded (and produced) cringe, bro.

It's really an album that makes you think differently about Dion. If they had released it when completed, he could have had a different career in the mid-70s. Looking at the cover even, it gives you that sense of a different type of person than when you think of Dion. He wanted to be thought of us as a more mature person than "The Wanderer." A couple of the songs I really enjoyed, like "Only You Know" and "New York Song". He last two songs did fall flat for me, "In and Out of the Shadows" and "Good Lovin' Man". It's too bad he couldn't have pursued this direction more. I think it could have been an interesting path for him. I just wish the songs were a bit better, and maybe that's the production from Spector? Dion's singing was heartfelt enough. Definitely bringing it to the songs. Just... wasn't enough for me.

So what to make of an album that the artist hates and that no one paid attention to for decades? I'm trying to figure it out - I think the angle is I need to hear this because Dion was a teeny bopping doo wopper 15 years earlier and this was a much more mature sound. And yeah I know his big hits and this is way different. So relative to himself you need to hear it. Relative to the music industry? I'm not sure. But I will say this, I really liked it. His voice was captivating and crazy ahole Phil Spector made many of the songs sound soaring. The opener Born to Be With You perfectly captures that soaring feel - it did not feel like a 7min song (nice little sax solo in the middle). Make the Woman Love Me was a great follow-up. And then Your Own Back Yard - kudos to Dion for writing some deep, personal lyrics about his rampant drug habit. Solid song. Only You Know was also very solid (his vocals just resonate) and then there's New York City Song. Absolutely beautiful (and sad) lyrics and vocals from Dion. The song caught me completely by surprise even as I was enjoying the album already. And that's when it hit me as to what this album was capturing - a John Denver kind of folk (with some Spector adds to give it an R&B musical backdrop). That's a good thing on a song like In and Out of the Shadows but a little much on a song like Good Lovin Man. I can honestly say that I will put this album on again (and again) when I need an album to play on repeat for a couple hours. I never would've listened to it if not for this list, but glad I did.

way too easy listening, soft rock, don't like it

A well-made album, but just not my thing to listen to

Not very good

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.

I only wish it was shorter.

Kinda boring imo

Old school crooner pop music but I kinda enjoyed it

3.3 - Exceptionally mediocre 1970’s AM lite rock devoid of any authenticity. There’s an anti-drugs song that sounds like it was written by Nancy Reagan (“Your Own Back Yard”) and a New York song makes that him sound like he’s never set foot in any of the five boroughs. But I will say that Phil Spector’s production is solid though it’s leagues below Abby Road. All in all, this record delivers a consistent acoustic guitar-driven pop sound, but it’s utterly forgettable.

Solid album. Nothing remarkable and nothing really stands out. It’s pretty good music though.

Back half was pretty solid with some really easy songs to listen to. Still confused on how this made the list though. What was influential or great about it? It wasn’t bad but it’s a musician after his era of fame doing some easy listening tunes. This is the type of music I would hear my Jersey aunts and uncles play on vacations which once again is not a bad thing but it’s another album leaving me wondering “how tf is this in a list of the 1001 most important albums ever?” Light 3 or high 2

Whatevaaaaaa

An album I was completely unaware of. I know Dion from Dion and the Belmonts, but his late solo album was completely new. I enjoyed quite a few of the songs.

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.

I love his music with the Belmonts, but this is such a mature album. Your Own Backyard is a great song

Good stuff

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?"

Ik vond de eerste 8 / 9 nummers eigenlijk behoorlijk mooi! Daarna zakte het een beetje weg in een cliche Elton John-achtige plaat en daar hou ik niet van. Maar op basis van de eerste helft toch een 3.

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.

Smooth, nice

Starts off not so good and then ends on a pretty good note. Got that signature Spector sound to it.

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 . . .

Here's an album that the artist didn't like the production of, the producer didn't want to release, and was met by indifference by fans and critics alike. Personally, I don't mind the Phil Spector doing country sound and it worked to this LP's advantage that Spotify combined the songs with songs from the next album, which make the "Born To Be With You" tracks sound better by comparison.

I like Dion and the Belmonts, they had a fun, cute sound, and Phil Spector’s wall as sound is admittedly awesome too listen to, notwithstanding his douchey character. So putting them together on this album probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but man was this ever schmaltzy. Simply dreadful dreck.

Meh

This is so close to being something I like more, but the country influences and the lack of any real oomph in most of the songs makes it where it is on my rating system. However, I don't understand the super low score; just seems like those of the generator don't like this style of music most of the time.

Not bad musically, but didn’t hold my attention

Not really my thing

Holy shit, like *that* Dion. Damn nice record, good folksy vibe with great production. Your Own Back Yard is pretty topical...

You know the album just isn't good when the best song on it is a mediocre cover of a song that I like but not love. If I'm ever comatose, play this album because surely I'll wake up to turn it the hell off.

An out of fashion doo-wop singer dabbling in smack and a mental alcoholic Phil Spector team up to create this album. Songs are slow, plodding and dirges - but that shouldn't put you off. There's a certain something about this album - underdog spirit maybe - that keeps you rooting for it. You can see why it's a cult classic. Best Tracks: Born To Be With You; Your Own Back Yard; Only You Know

Chill

Nice pop album with some great standouts like ”New York City Song”

Dehä va brazy bangeri

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.

Apparently Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream cites this album as an influence, which explains a lot. Distinctly average; good voice (obviously) a few decent songs, dreadful production.

One shall not be surprised if a love-struck or love-starved individual had made their path towards this album in some capacity. Even in some of the more heartfelt, expansive and explosive albums in the decade of this album's resurgence (the 1990s) has its DNA strewn all over it. Phil Spector's destructive path in the 70s somehow made it's way to Dion's front door and the pre-British Invasion crooner needed some injection of relevancy in the changed marketplace. It's a shame that Born to Be With You did not recieve the plaudits it deserved at the time, for this is a really great album that shows reminds those of Dion's vocal prowess and the instrumentation involved here is a precursor of what Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies' Man would become a little later (and namely records like Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space). The bonus tracks tacked on the end serves as a postscript and it does its tricks even if it feels a bit mute. Favorites: Born to Be With You, Make the Woman Love Me, Only You Know, In and Out of the Shadows, Good Lovin' Man, Baby, Let's Stick Together.

Enjoyed way more than I thought. Not doo op at all. Pretty modern wel produced sound

Not a fan.

Kinda poppy/operatic, reminiscent of Elton John

Moyennement moyen 2.5/5

PREFS : Born to Be With You, Your Own Back Yard, In and Out of Shadows MOINS PREF : New-York City Song

Märklig platta. Haussad av diverse musiker och kritiker sen länge. Blandade känslor men den kanske växer.

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.

Het doet af en toe wat Dylanesque en Beatlesque aan. Singer-songwriter muziek, maar wel aangekleed met die gekke Phil Spector producer sound, met rare toeters en bellen en ongewoon schelle drums soms. Muzikaal gezien zijn het toch maar wat zoete niemendalletjes, maar het is wel interessant om er kennis van te nemen. Ik moest misschien nog wel het meeste denken aan searching for sugarman.

It's a no from me. The music isn't even bad when I focus on one snippet at a time, but the full product is just the wrong fit for me. This feeling was consistent across the entire album.

It's not bad, but I don't know why anybody would put it on voluntarily. Best track: Your Own Back Yard

Not my cup of tea

Meh, this is probably the most forgettable album on this list so far. Just boring really, not at all my thing.

Really reminded me of a Jim Croce vibe in the first half. Second half of the album was a bit peppier and more groovy almost. Had a few I really was bouncing too. Almost a 5 for me

An unlikely mix of country folk, gospel and RnB on an album that isn’t as bad as the cover suggests. The arrangements and production are interesting and the drumming sounds like it’s slightly off kilter and out of sync (almost drunk) creating a haziness that adds to the atmosphere which is already moody to begin with. ‘(He’s Got) The Whole World In His Hands’ is the prime example of this approach and my fave track on the record. You’ve never heard it like it’s presented here. ‘In And Out Of The Shadows’ and ‘Good Lovin’ Man’ are my other faves.

Maybe heretical but I'm not sure the Spector sound has aged all that well, though it could be some combination of the source (I have no idea really what YT Music is up to in that respect -codecs, bit rates etc.) and my lackluster playback equipment. Other than that this is all solid, well crafted lyrics riding a flawlessly professional musical foundation. Much of it delivered by Wrecking Crew icons who are departing this mortal coil at an unsurprising but sad rate over the last couple decades.

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.

Like a lovely interesting nap. 3 stars.

Some good songs to be found on this record, but it's biggest draw is Phil Spector's sound which elevates the record from being a generic 70s rock album, to having production pedigree. In here, the engineering is an instrument in itself - which is true most times, but it is often taken for granted.

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

I enjoyed this more than I thought. Pretty simple, but also different. I'm not really sure how to describe it. Not a fan of the last song though.

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 think I'd rather listen to Morrissey than listen to this again.

A weird one this as the production is absolutely terrible. But it sort of works!

I feel like it's just kind of bland.

Very long album, but very good. I really enjoyed the songwriting and the production in the album.

Slaps

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 think this was added to the list to show those who are unaware of Phil Spector’s criminal history that not everything he touches is gold.

When opened the link I was like, ain’t no way I’m gonna listen to 80 minutes of this, but then I realized the album ends with the 8th track so I gave it a shot. It has its moments and I did not hated it

This was so insipid that I don't even remember listening to it.

Riktigt bra. Titellåten bäst.

I’ve never listened to Dion before

Rólegt áttundatugar softrock. Mér finnst Only you know vera ansi fínt lag, hitt líður meira inn um annað og út um hitt. Ekki slæmt samt.

Amazing! I loved the vocals.

Kinda mid but ok

- Make the Woman Love Me fucks - In and Out of the Shadows fucks - Runaway Man fucks - More to you fucks - Hey My Love fucks The rest range from good to fine but filler. Overall good album I liked it.

Levitational longings for the hopeless, restless romantic.

Laadidaa, olikohan yksi tarttuva biisi ja loput soi sujuvasti taustalla.

Ei lähteny

I kept putting this off based on the reviews, but it’s not bad at all! I even really liked In and out of the Shadows. Next time I see his name pop up I’ll be more open minded!

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

I like Dion but this album didn't really appeal to me

Not bad. A little boring and generic maybe, but some good songs here with nice production. 3 stars.

Nice listen

It’s fine and I’ll never think of it again.

Rien de mémorable

j'allais mettre 4 puis il y a eu la fin de l'album

Enkel dit album geluisterd, en niet het andere deel van het dubbelalbum. Vond het nog somber en saai

Schön

Ive listened to this thing like 5 times and still have nothing to say something rock 2.5

The very first note of this is a typical country-twang note... siiiiigh.... but hey wait, it's not country, and this actually sounds quite nice. The second song is nice too. In fact these are all really nice songs. He's got a nice voice, it's all quite heartfelt and there's some nice melodies and interesting ideas here. Real easy listening. It's consistently good all the way through. While it's not 100% my thing, the fact that there's 20 songs and not a single bad one is some achievement. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4

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.

Little bit struggling to categorize Dion. The album cover and those glasses are a bit disconcerting for starters. A bit like the soulful parts of Bob Dylan and Tim Hardin. Real Phil Spector polishing and yet you always think something great is coming, but it never does. Still, an enjoyable album to accompany a read up of Dion's quite incredible life, and the Buddy Holly story is quite something.

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.

Pop. R&B. Un poco aburrido.

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.

Boring

you can really hear phil spectors touch on the album.

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?

More like DI-OFF, amirite? I know nothing about this album and wish that it could still be so after today. Sorry.

Was my familiar with Dion’s earlier work, but this was a pleasant surprise

I know things were different in the 70s, but this guy looks like one of those serial killers that ended up on a dating show or something. Fuck, what an album cover haha. I'm guessing it'll be jazzy? Ok, it's not jazzy but it's hard to say what it is. Just has an "oldies" vibe. Vaguely country, vaguely soft rock, all fairly inoffensive. Apart from the recording quality, this could be 15 years older - pre-Beatles for sure. If it was German I'd just call it Schlager and be done. I caved and read Wikipedia to work it out - he's originally a 50s singer and these are all covers, so that makes a little more sense now. Phil Spector is involved; I know I'm meant to find him PROBLEMATIC but can't remember why. tbh I'm not very inclined to shit on this at all! Maybe it's the easy listening accessibility, maybe it's knowing the whole thing is only half an hour, maybe it's knowing the other reviews here are gonna object to it. But while it wasn't exactly mind-blowing, it also wasn't obnoxious or really pretending to be anything other than exactly what it is. No hints of ego, I guess. 3/5.

Tres bon bliesman ce dion.4.5

It’s nice 2.5

Terrible. Boring. He so desperately wants to be Jackson Browne but falls short in every way. There have to be 1000 better albums than this one. He mumbles to boot.

The writing is okay, extremely objectifying though, I did not enjoy how the women in this album aren't really acknowledged as people with voltion. The instrumentation feels aged too.

I guess I never knew Dion made it out of the doo-wop era. The folk genre suits him actually. New York City Song feels so tragic. I think an Elton John/Dion collab should have happened. The rest falls into easy listening. Clearly this album production elevates it above what I expected, but overall, it's a middling album.

Beautiful

Music is fine, but nothing really stands out and it feels a very "flat". Fades quickly to the background.

“New York City Song” is decent 70’s singer-songwriter fare, and the rare moments when Dion’s Wanderer-era ‘pretend bravado’ shines through are good. Most of the album, though, is just melodrama dialed up to eleven, one squeezebox away from being Schlager. At least it’s short.

A little bit boring, didn't find much exciting about it

This album was quite a drag, with some rare moments of ok-ness

A bit whiney at times but still a decent listen. Gets a bonus point for reminding me of the great 'Only You Know' rendition by the Arctic Monkeys

Some late state Dion produced with some late stage wall of sound and a great runtime!

What a fuckin' NERD This is the most middle of the road album I’ve ever heard. It’s so middle of the road, it should be titled “Dashed Yellow Lines”

Before you ask, this is not a Dion of the Celine variety. As far as I can tell, they’re unrelated. Now that we have that cleared up, let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: You Showed Me What Love Is, Streetheart This album what somewhat all over the place for me. Firstly, at 79 minutes long, it’s quite a lengthy album. The first five or so tracks didn’t do much for me, and I found it a little too evangelical for my tastes. I expected much of the same from the rest of the album, but it suddenly takes a turn and gets very good indeed! Around the halfway point, it begins to sound like a completely different album recorded in a different time which was a little jarring, but it certainly got a lot better as the album went on. Overall, I feel I can’t give this album too high of a score because the first few songs had really put me off to the point of almost discarding it entirely. If the first half of the album was axed, I’d likely be ranking this a lot higher.

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.

Kind of like a love child of Van Morrison and Rodriguez. Mellow tunes, nice arrangements and decent lyrics. No particular standout tracks for me.

Good

It was fine.

Couldn't hack an hour of Dion. Just not my jam. Slow roll late 70's country/rock/gospel twang sound and he was kinda all over the place. Oh well.

Folk crap

Klares „Nein“.

A mostly love song album that goes on for quite a while. At 20 songs there’s no shortage of romantic topics covered. I felt like this was a white R&B album. Smooth, enjoyable, not that complex and a little poppy. Never really listened to this guy but he seems like a Walmart John Lennon. Overall thought it was okay. 6.5/10

No me ha gustado nada

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.

This seemed very adult. Not in a bowm-chicka-bowm-bowm way but in an I gotta wear a suit and do my taxes kinda way.

I know some Dion from the 60s, but this was the first exposure to his later work. It was not what I would expect from a former teen-idol doo-wop star. Quite good!

Has some good songs in it but is very bloated, love his voice and the more simple songs with string instruments in them, but a tough listen all at once Fav songs Streetheart Born to be with you NYC song 6/10

WELL I'M THE TYPE-A GUY

Absolute snoozer.

better than expected

Dion is more known as a 50s and 60s doo wop singer and that's how know him - as lead singer for Dion and the Belmonts. In the 70s It seems he has re-positioned himself as a singer-songwriter and as such this album is pretty unremarkeable. I liked much of it but as pleasant background music; nothing really reached out and demanded my attention. Sorry Dion...3 stars

69 love songs for swinging lovers but actually good? Some actual quality mixed with some cornballesque stuff

Bloody lovely

Oh nice

This album was more interesting than I thought it would be. I wouldn't necessarily say that I enjoyed listening to it all that much because it's not a style of music that I find all that enjoyable (nor did Dion, for that matter), but the production is interesting. Phil Spector may be a god damned murderous psychopath, but he knew how to make a compelling sound. The themes of redemption that run through the album make it very interesting. A pop star who has been through hell and is now trying to make good on the other side is an interesting theme for an album. Dion's story and his perspective on it is worth listening to, if only just once 3/5

If Father John Misty and Steely Dan had a baby and raised him in a loving Christian household, this is the music I think he’d make.

Love making music

Nothing offensive but nothing memorable either

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.

Before today I'd never heard of Dion. He apparently got his start in music singing with a Doo Wop group called Dion and the Belmonts, before going off on his own, and exploring his sound a bit more. I enjoyed this album. It wasn't something amazing or groundbreaking, but it was a nice easy listening experience. I find that Dion sounds like Van Morrison, or Simon & Garfunkel. Just a nice, easy, 70's pop rock sound. The addition of sax was great! The Spotify link for this album is a double album (Born to Be With You/Streetheart), so it was a little longer listen than just the one album, but I didn't mind because it familiarized me with more of his work. The "Streetheart" side of the album was more upbeat and rockin' than the Born to Be With You side. All in all, a good listening experience today. Not phenomenal, but perfectly average. Favourite songs: Good Lovin' Man, The Way You Do The Things You Do, In and Out of the Shadows, New York City Song Least favourite song: (He's Got) The Whole World In His Hands 3/5

Not a bad album for background music, quite pleasant and with a few interesting moments. I really can't see it as any more than that and I have my doubts about if it really deserves being on this list. I quite liked Queen Of 1959 from the bonus tracks - with tracks like that on the actual album, this could have been a solid 4.

Great voice, great mellow album, can definitely hear the blues influence, especially in the first track (favourite).

Very chill pop rock, might work well as background music

Прослушано! Неплохой крепкий альбом, можно слушать ещё раз.

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 bad

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.

Great easy listening. No special single song, but as a whole, just click play and sit back and enjoy.

Decent album, nice runtime but ultimately nothing exciting or groundbreaking or even memorable to warrant more than a 3

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.

Nothing interesting here

Nicely bland and listenable. Can't say I'd listen again, but also can't say I didn't like it, on the whole. First half of the album is stronger than the second half.

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.

Ég var ekki viss hverju ég ætti von á þegar ég sá umslagið. Bjóst við einhverju listaspíru-french-induced-sjitti, en svo er bara alls ekki. Best að leyfa Dion sjálfum að eiga síðasta orðið hérna. "Dion disowned the record, stating that the production made it sound like "funeral music"

The last song is pretty good. The rest just kind of blends into each other.

Yeah nah

Crypto-gospel shite

I can definitely hear some of this in the recent Bobby Gillespie / Jenny Beth record. It’s not quite 3.5, but better than a 3. I probably won’t listen to it again but it was pleasant enough while it lasted.

4.25

Pretty easy to listen to. I’d probably put it on again as chill background music

There could be some good songs under here but this sounds terrible.

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.

I was expecting a Wall of Sound pastiche. Thankfully this is more a Dion album than a Phil Spector Doo-wop record. It was uplifting, almost spiritual. The saxophone breaks come close to stealing the show. The album drifted a little towards the end, before rescuing itself with a rousing Good Lovin' Man as the closer. Dion deserves wider acclaim.

Wholly inoffensive, and devoid of substance. But pleasant

looks like Mulligan or O'hare. nowhere near as funny.