This collection of
the Belmonts' post-
Dion material is a delightful body of music that is almost certain to please fans of
Dion as well as those of the group itself. Their sound is a colorful upbeat variation on the work they did with their most famous alumnus, encompassing jazz standards as well as the occasional bluesy number, but also veering from doo wop into an edgier sound similar to
Dion's early solo records; at it turns out,
the Belmonts without
Dion are a lot closer to what they sounded like with him -- and what he sounded like -- than, say,
the Idle Race were to their former sound once
Jeff Lynne left, or
the Spencer Davis Group were to their former selves following the departure of
Steve Winwood. The music is upbeat, with a number like "Summertime Time" evoking images of an uncomplicated way of life that existed for teens before the advent of the Vietnam War. The singing is all impeccable and Relic did a very nice job of mastering, and there's even a decent history of the post-
Dion group in the notes.