Bootwhat?

Lets face it, the main purpose in these recordings was to sell albums and they're still doing that today. Anybody hearing these recordings will want to buy The Ace CD's , Return of the Wanderer, or the , Best of Gospel, , or even the Warner bros. folk albums when Dion pulls his finger out and does the right deal with a re-release company? Dion ought to accept that he's had such a low profile in the last 20 years, that if you ask a bootlegger for Dion, you end up with some Canadian wailing cat!

Any way less chat lets get down to my ultimate live collection.

Tape 1 -Side 1 - The folk years - Live

A Concert - Philadelphia 1971

The recording date and the station are unknown but a really excellent opening session . So there goes one of my rules - 3 hits included. Ruby gets in because of the wonderful scat vocal instrumental in the middle, and Wanderer / Drip Drop because of the bluesy interpretation.

AMJ is there because it's a good live version although after I'd completed the tape I realised I should have dropped this one in favour of the wonderfully tinny Melatron rock version from the WCBS 1987 tape.

So anyone who have been playing this tape for a long time will note one missing number - Almond Joy - bad comedy doesn't travel well so it gets the chop.

B BBC Radio 1 in concert 12 Sept 71

The sound quality for a medium wave recording is good but not as good as the earlier tape - so the numbers have selected themselves by being not on the other session - the exception being Morning which is so short it deserves a second outing.

C Love Sick blues - BBC Radio 1 Nicky Campbell Show 1990

D Turn Me Loose - David Letterman Show 1995

Side 2 The Electric recordings -Live

E WCBS Concert 1987

Good quality recording, but selected on the basis that 2 of these were from his gospel years rarely performed in the 90's and Brooklyn Dodger with Carlo's presumably unrehearsed scat vocals take this to unknown heights.

Although I have a few other live gospel songs recorded in the 80's they're all miked off tv speakers and too echoey for inclusion - anyone out there got better?

D Bottom Line Concert 1978 Streetheart Band

In some ways it was sacrilege not to include the whole concert (except for the encore) but space dictated I concentrate on the new album tracks from that time. The new album had been recorded only a short time before, but this hot band had already re-arranged virtually every song and you get the impression everything would change by the next performance.

You can hear the group pushing the old man - "hey we're your equals and we're the best musicians you've ever had " attitude, and Dion rises to the challenge. Dodger deserves its second inclusion - an exceptional song now expelled from the Dion Catalogue - why?

F Channel 4 Rock On 1990

This track completes the tape - Dion with the Memphis horns - If the hits had been removed at the beginning of this tape then I would probably have included more of this session and some of the yo frankie sessions from his touring band. But then that leaves me an opening for a second tape.

You will have noted no Lt. Kings and that because what I've heard doesn't come near to any of the above sessions?

Your Bit?

Lets make it clear this tape is not for sale or for exchange - you all have these tapes in your possession and can mix and match like me - alternatively wait for Dion to release the 4 CD live a career retrospective box set:

1972 Reunion concert original release + the missing AMJ

The Folk Years - 60 minutes

The electric years - 60 minutes

The Lt Kings - 60 minutes

Great idea and I'll be the first in the queue to buy a legitimate copy.

Dion if you come this way why not try old Bobs tactic - instead of winging about them - start your own official bootleg series.

Tape 2

G 1975? Unknown TV broadcast

It all fits together

Sunshine Lady

Jonnie B Goode

Two more folk songs – the first the only track I've come across from the "Suite for late summer " album the slow burning album that killed his recorded folk career and is still well regarded by many Dion fans . Jonnie B goode gets its second airing and is different from the first.

H Dave Edmunds Tour – London

Tracks with extra punch thanks to the brass section and Steve Croppers guitar.

I WCBS Concert 1987

AMJ – Couldn't squeeze it on my previous tape so here it is – really tacky string machine (but I love it) but unusual for Dion a rocked up version.

J BBC 89 – Roger Scott Show

Duplicates of earlier tracks both but played by The Wanderers live in the studio.

K Bottom Line Concert 1978 Streetheart Band

I wonder Why

Donna The Prima Donna/ crocodile rock

Two great re-interpretations of Dions standards – Dion making it clear in the second where Mr John got the tune for his hit from?

That's about as far as I could go. I would have liked to add a couple of tracks from the Dion / Phil Everly Soundstage show but when I played them back both sound and images were breaking up on my version. Someone out there reckoned they'd taped it from an FM broadcast – I'd love to talk to them if they have got a copy?

The same goes for any other quality live track you may have in your collection and not mentioned above – please contact me.

Now its your turn

I've gone into this much detail so if you want you can go and follow my lead – but avoid my mistakes – if I'd have kept to the rule of no duplicate tracks on a tape 1 would have had a better spread over the two. Also if starting again I would keep all the tracks from 1 session together to minimise fluctuations in sound levels.

The fact that theres no chronological order doesn't worry me – I like all his different phases so I can cope with 30 year jumps.

But overall I'm satisfied that I've got 2 tapes consisting of Dions live tracks, with only a few overplayed hits that I can play in the car or on the personal stereo. I've also ended up with the part of the act, which would motivate Dion each night – the 30% he plays for himself.

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