Dion’s Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock is played and presented with such joy, authenticity and enthusiasm that it is one of the better cover records released since it became trendy some 10 years ago. Much like Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot Volume 1: A Tribute to Sun Records, this is a love letter to those who mapped out the first avenues of rock & roll. The difference between the two, other than the era covered, is that Dion captures the vibe and adds his own touches to each track while Setzer tried to reproduce each song as originally recorded. The material covered by Setzer is also not necessarily automatically recognizable as the material covered on Heroes. “Summertime Blues,” “Come On, Let’s Go,” “Bye Bye Love” and “Jailhouse Rock” are songs that are a part of our collective musical consciousness. Dion’s voice has great character and moxie, which perfectly suits these tracks. His band, which includes Robert “Crow” Richardson on guitar, plays these tracks with an energy and a reverence that they deserve. Dion has the credibility to cover songs like “Runaway” and “Rave On” because he was a contemporary of these folks, jammed with Buddy Holly and toured with many of these artists. The guitar work is really excellent here. No, there is no Van Halen tapping and shredding, but there are great solos with character and zip. Great songs, great guitar, what more can you ask? A bonus DVD of Dion relating stories about these songs, the original artists who recorded them and impromptu versions of a couple of them played in a studio with Richardson is also a treat. One-half star is removed from the total in that the only track that doesn’t measure up to the others is a cover of his own masterpiece, “The Wanderer.” (Saguard Road Records)
