Dion - Sit Down Old Friend/You're Not Alone (1970)

Given the constrictions that bind most artists to their public persona, Dion's reinvention of himself in the early years of the 70s in both his music and his message, is a remarkable achievement. Over the course of four albums, Sit Down Old Friend, You're Not Alone, Sanctuary and Suite For Late Summer, released between 1970 and 1972, the singer and songwriter completely redefined the expressive potential of his own music. Sit Down Old Friend and You're Not Alone receive their first-ever compact disc reissue here.
As with the virtuosity of his early doo wop persona, Dion's new musical identity was the result of an extensive period of experimentation and assimilation. In 1965, during his last year with Columbia, he recorded a wealth of material that mirrored his new-found enthusiasm for the blues. Always an artist of wide-ranging tastes - from the Italian lullabies of his Bronx neighbourhood to the country laments of Hank Williams - Dion's discovery of Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and the other towering legends of the idiom, was nothing less than a revelation. He would go on to record an entire album of classic blues material that year, an album that Columbia, frustrated in its attempts to polish and package the young singer, refused to release.
Tracklist
[3:38] 1. Dion - Natural Man
[2:37] 2. Dion - I Don't Believe My Race Is Run
[4:23] 3. Dion - Jammed up Blues
[4:37] 4. Dion - Little Pink Pony
[3:42] 5. Dion - You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover
[4:13] 6. Dion - If We Only Have Love
[2:45] 7. Dion - Sweet Pea
[3:06] 8. Dion - Just a Little Girl
[3:31] 9. Dion - Let Go, Let God
[3:20] 10. Dion - King Con Man
[3:26] 11. Dion - Sit Down Old Friend
[3:18] 12. Dion - Close to It All
[2:31] 13. Dion - Sunniland
[4:08] 14. Dion - Windows
[3:22] 15. Dion - The Visitor
[3:04] 16. Dion - Peaceful Place
[3:52] 17. Dion - Let It Be
[3:42] 18. Dion - The Stuff I Got
[3:12] 19. Dion - Blackbird
[3:26] 20. Dion - Josie
[5:04] 21. Dion - Attraction Works Better Than Promotion
[2:33] 22. Dion - Doctor Rock 'N' Roll