Recorded in Greenwich Village’s Bleecker Street-based Bitter End club during a residency in August 1971, the music shows an artist fully at home on a small stage in an intimate club venue. All the tracks are previously unreleased, although Ruby Baby and Abraham, Martin And John were released in slightly different form on the 1972 album Sanctuary . Only in his early 30s, he sounds comfortable and in control as he plays early hits such as The Wanderer and Ruby Baby, comeback material Abraham, Martin And John and My Own Back Yard plus an interesting selection of covers from writers as diverse as Bob Dylan, Lightnin Hopkins and Paul McCartney. All adapt well to the simple acoustic format. The booklet features quotes from an in-depth interview with Dion held last November. He explains the process that took him from being America’s #1 pop act of 1963 to a folk troubadour less than a decade later. The story takes in Bob Dylan, John Hammond Sr, the Lovin Spoonful and numerous others and brings new insight to the changing face of pop and rock music in the 1960s. Released with Dion’s full co-operation and editing input.
