CD REVIEW

Dion Tank Full of Blues (Blue Horizon) How many original rock and roll artists (from the 1950s) can you name, who are still making valid contributions to music?

Dion is just such an artist. He was Grammy-nominated for his acoustic blues album Bronx in Blue, just two releases ago, and that was welldeserved.

After another acoustic outing, he has returned to electric blues for this set of tunes, which came from what Dion calls in his liner notes, “the most creative period of songwriting in my life.”

Maybe nearing the end of his career helps drive the energy that comes through in the growling guitar undercurrent of Ride’s Blues (for Robert Johnson), the fresh verve of Michelle and the gorgeous groove of the Two Train Medley. John Mayall seems to shine through the casually glistening guitar work of the tribute song I Read It in the Rolling Stone.

There is also something about his singing that reveals his passion for these songs. Just check out the end of Michelle and the way that he staccatos the line about “Mississippi mud” in Ride’s Blues.

Although several 12-bar pieces fail to stretch Dion’s creative muscles, he ends the disc in a completely different tone with Bronx Poem, a bold statement of faith. Talking over an acoustic shuffle and electric fills, Dion comes out with an almost stream of consciousness reflection of what God has done for him in his life.

Several bits only make sense when you know his history – growing up in the Bronx, his drug addiction and the songs that rejuvenated his career. After mentioning Martin Luther King and Elvis, the rock and roll king, Dion states: “I ride with the King of kings. He brought me through.”

If he never recorded again, this would be a powerful valediction, but there is no sign yet of the man stopping. As he ends his liner notes, he asks, “Now, what am I going to do next?”

Derek Walker