Raise All Kinds Of Candy To The Stars

So, was this an about-turn or a contradiction of “Runaround Sue”? Some might construe it as an answer record, but there were at least two “answer” records (“I’m No Run-Around” by Ginger Davis and the Snaps and “Stay-At-Home Sue” by Linda Laurie, neither of which is recommended). In one sense it’s Dion coming of age, with a new-found swagger and confidence. Musically – if not thematically (at least at first reading) – the record is compelling and swinging, with Mr di Mucci having lots of fun rolling around those “around”s; the swing element is probably not surprising, given that the musicians on the recording included Panama Francis, Bucky Pizzarelli, Sticks Evans (two drummers!) and Jerome Richardson. The stop-start backing vocals – long-held drones followed by abrupt air-catching gulps, as if being dared to hold down quarter of a bottle of tequila – were by the doo-wop group the Del-Satins, who later formed the nucleus of Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge . Producer Gene...