Dion Featuring Susan Tedeschi – Soul Force (Single)

by Glenn Sargeant | Dec 18, 2023

Dion has been writing, recording and releasing music since the 1950s with hits such as ‘Runaround Sue’, ‘I Wonder Why’ (Dion and The Belmonts) and ‘The Wanderer’ dominating the radio airwaves and charts to name a few.

His career would continue to flourish with more music, a 2008 GRAMMY nomination and the release of ‘Blues With Friends’ in 2020 on Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive Records (KTBA) where a collection of Dion‘s friends and contempories would join him.

Fast forward to the winter of 2023, Dion announced the release of ‘Girl Friends’ in which he collaborates with eleven vocalists and musicians who are females.

The latest single from the album is entitled ‘Soul Force’ and is written by Dion and Mike Aquilina who wrote a total of eleven new songs for the album with the late Scott Kempner (The Dictators, The Del Lords) penning ‘Hey Suzy’.

Dion is joined by vocalist, songwriter and musician Susan Tedeschi who is a solo artist, member of Tedeschi-Trucks Band, a Grammy-winner, Americana Music Award winner and six-time Blues Music Award winner.

I was slightly surprised that Dion did not collaborate in a songwriting capacity with any of the artists featured on this record and I wonder if this is something that will be done in the future.

The production is by Dion and Wayne Hood and seems to opt for a steady beat with elements of Hammond Organ and keyboards without straying too far from the song with say a free Jazz instrumental.

Tedeschi provides a groovy electric guitar solo and uses a Fender in the music video but I must admit I’m not sure if she used a different guitar on the recording.

As Dion takes on the lead vocal with lines such as “I get every girl tune in to my station” I’m perplexed and slightly disappointed that it is not a vocal duet as Susan Tedeschi has always (and continues to be a lady of many talents) including her powerhouse vocals.

In conclusion, ‘Soul Force’ is a standard sounding blues song that could be mistaken for an unreleased track by say Eric Clapton.

The magnificent guitar tone that pours out of Susan Tedeschi’s fingers does provide some texture but it is clear that Dion is not trying to musically reinvent the wheel but rather stick with what he knows best; classic blues that he grew up listening to and honed his craft with nothing more, nothing less.

The array of talent on display on ‘Girl Friends’ is extremely impressive and hopefully this album will introduce a new group of people to these musicians and their respective solo catalogues whilst satisfying the established Dion fanbase.

Dion featuring Susan Tedeschi’s new single ‘Soul Force’ is out now on KTBA Records.

Stream the single here: https://ffm.to/dionsoulforce

Pre-Order Dion’s New Album ‘Girl Friends’ released on 8th March 2024 on KTBA Records.

For more information visit his official website here: www.diondimucci.com