It’s remarkable, really: Dion DiMucci is not only the last of the pioneering rock-and-roll greats of the 1950s, but, at 86, he remains creatively vital. In recent years he has been turning out some of the best music of his seven-decade-plus career, and he’s doing so with an age-defying voice that is as clear, commanding, and full of his self-styled “Bronx soul” as when he was “A Teenager in Love.”
Early this year, Dion (as he’s known professionally) put out a book, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philosopher, that aimed to explain the reasons behind his longevity. It was subtitled “Conversations on Life, Recovery, Faith, and Music.” Now comes the companion album of the same name, which neatly encapsulates all of what continues to make this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer great while serving as a kind of career summary.
