Description
Only Jesus is sophomore gospel album by the American singer and songwriter Dion DiMucci of Dion & the Belmonts fame, released on DaySpring Records in 1981, a division of Word. The album was recorded and mixed at Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Florida; and was produced by Dion with Paul Harris and Eric Schilling co-producing. Arranged by Dion and the band.
Inside Job/Only Jesus, Ace Records 2003, CD re-issue
‘Inside Job’ came out in 1980, the year of my Christian conversion, and I quickly latched on to it. It wasn’t hard to recognise its classic status. A friend of mine had been a hardcore Dion aficionado in the ‘60s and had slowly convinced me that despite being white, Dion DiMucci had one of the bluesiest, most lazily captivating voices in pop music. Now the master of the Bronx blues was a Christian and this, his first gospel project, expressed all the life, hope and joy I too had found in the Son of God. 23 years on, ‘Inside Job’ is still a magnificent album, Dion languidly emoting straight ahead love of Jesus songs with a sparse and marvellously tight band with Paul Harris’ Hammond organ, Joe Galdo’s drums and Tony Baltaglia’s guitar all intuitively produced to make a warm and fluid accompaniment. In 1981 the same musicians accompanied Dion on another gem, ‘Only Jesus’, and though there aren’t quite as many magnificent songs, the title cut composed by John Hanley is an underrated classic. Now it could be said that all the best cuts on these two timeless albums have been compiled on Ace’s magnificent ‘The Best of The Gospel Years’ Dion compilation. But surely devotees of the Dion genius and Christians wanting to replace their scratched vinyl will want to buy these never-before-on-CD albums, lovingly reinstated on an essential twofer. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, January 1994]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/only-jesus/1852396822)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Hearts Made Of Stone” – 3:58
A2. “The Best” – 3:29
A3. “Sweet Love Of Jesus” – 4:18
A4. “It’s Gonna Rain” – 3:35
A5. “Only Jesus” – 4:30
Side Two
B1. “Train For Glory” – 3:32
B2. “Thank You Lord” – 3:07
B3. “Sailing Ahead Of The Wind” – 4:51
B4. “Putting On My Crown” – 3:29
B5. “Greater Is He” – 4:12
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by DaySpring Records. Later re-issued on CD.
A full-page advertisement for various new releases on Word Records, including Dion DiMucci’s Only Jesus, was featured in the October 2, 1982 issue of Billboard Magazine. (The same edition as well featured a large section dedicated to gospel music, entitled A Billboard Special Report: Gospel Music – Shedding Light Along the Way.) The same advertisement was as well featured in the August 7, 1982 issue of CashBox. (The same edition also featured a large section dedicated to gospel music, entitled CashBox Spotlight on Gospel Music.)
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.