"The Wanderer" comes home

Bronx in Blue
Dion
(Dimensional Music Recordings)

You can't judge an apple by looking at a tree
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover
– Bo Diddley, "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" (written by Willie Dixon)

Like many of the CDs encroaching on the rest of our townhouse, the new acoustic blues release from Dion – yes, that Dion – was recommended to me. My folks heard a segment on NPR touting Mr. DiMucci's new disc, "Bronx in Blue," and insisted that I check it out. They did, almost immediately after hearing those selections on the radio. When they found out I hadn't acted with the same alacrity, they got online and had a copy sent to me.

I didn't drag my feet because I was skeptical; they rarely give me a bad tip. (Of course, they seldom make a recommendation. I think this is because they assume I own every CD ever released). I can see how you might be skeptical, though. You're saying to yourself, "C'mon, Sean, this is DION we're talking about."

Yeah, sure, he was a doo-wop star in the '50s. He had hits with "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue" in 1962. He had his first comeback almost 40 years ago with "Abraham, Martin and John." (And another in 1987 with a Grammy nomination for a gospel album). He is the living definition of "golden oldie." Now he wants us to believer that he's capable of making a killer blues album? At age 66, no less?

Believe it.

Resist your skepticism. It will be hard when you look at the cover, when you see Dion's tinted shades and his cap tilted at a rakish angle. You'll tell yourself that this is a neighborhood goombah; a guy who wears tight pants and pointy shoes. You'll tell yourself that this is a guy who sings around flaming trash barrels; a greaser, and an old one at that. This is a city slicker, not a country bluesman.

But that's why we listen to the music, and not the cover.

What you'll find, about 15 seconds into "Bronx in Blue," is that you don't have to be black or dirt poor or from the South to sing the blues (though history shows that those things help). All you really need is to feel the music. Listen to "Bronx in Blue," and I defy you to tell me that Dion isn't being sincere.

If the liner notes are to be believed (and that's not a stretch when you listen to the music), the young Dion DiMucci was glued to the radio late at night in the early '50s, listening to some radio station out of the South that brought Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Reed to the Bronx. Add Mr. Hank Williams, who was broadcast on a country show right out of nearby Newark, New Jersey, and you have not only a volatile mixture, but the blueprint of rock and roll, the field where Dion made his mark as a young man.

Knowing this, it's easy to see how Dion mastered the Bo Diddley beat, as he does here on the Diddley classic "Who Do You Love."

Of the 14 tracks on "Bronx in Blue," most are blues standards, including "Walkin' Blues," "Crossroads," "Travelin' Riverside Blues," "How Many More Years," "Terraplane Blues" and "Statesboro Blues." There's one country tune, a cover of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonk Blues," and two originals: "I Let My Baby Do That" and "If You Wanna Rock & Roll."

The formula is simple, and pretty much the same throughout "Bronx in Blue": Dion on acoustic guitar and vocals, and minimal percussion by The Hurty Gurty Man (Bob Guertin). It works exceedingly well. It helps that Dion still has a great voice. What most won't bargain for is what a good guitar player he is. He has an excellent grasp of the shuffle groove, and he adds tasty fills to the mix. On top of that, his voice has gotten richer with age, a development that augments this soulful sound from the heart. The recording quality is outstanding, and will have you feeling like you're sitting in the room with Dion as he belts out blues numbers like only a true believer can.

Playing the blues isn't about guitar pyrotechnics, though there are a spate of players who can flat-out burn. It's not about a look, either. It's all about feeling, and on "Bronx in Blue" Dion is feeling it down to the soles of those pointy shoes.