Dion - Inside Job/Only Jesus CD

Inside Job/Only Jesus songs When Dion DiMucci was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues category for 2006's Bronx in Blue, an excellent collection of blues standards, it was an official affirmation that he was "back." In truth, he'd never left, and had been recording all along. He issued a stellar follow-up in 2007's Son of Skip James, a collection of revelatory blues covers and fine new material. The third album in this blues trilogy is Tank Full of Blues. Recorded in a trio setting, Dion produced the album, wrote all but two selections, and played the hell out of all the guitars on it. Tank Full of Blues is a slippery, street-smart, utterly inspired album of blues and roots rock tunes that are free of nostalgia and drenched in history. Truth be told, any of the current era's bluesmen would be hard pressed to come up with lyrics near as profound as those found the in the harrowing "Ride's Blues (For Robert Johnson)." The track offers a new myth about the great bluesman; it delves deep into spiritual matters while addressing the terror that lies in the heart of anyone lost to her or himself. There's a redemptive twist that's as surprising as it is free of cliches. The meld of acoustic and distorted snarling electric guitars tells its own story -- the story of the blues itself -- to underscore the narrative. The title track, offered in swaggering Chicago blues style, offers a familiar and bitingly humorous tale of the life of an itinerant musician to be sure, but in a larger sense, also speaks to the conflicted nature of the human heart. "Two Trains" is a beautifully executed medley of Muddy Waters' "Still a Fool" and Johnson's "Ramblin' on My Mind." "My Michelle" pays tribute to Jimmy Reed's enduring musical influence and sense of humor. The strutting, updated rockabilly in "I'm Ready to Go" lays out Dion's sense of purpose in this world and the next. Finally, in "Bronx Poem," a spoken word piece that closes the disc, Dion speaks the unvarnished truth about where he's been and, perhaps even more bravely in this cynical age, where he stands -- without flinching. He possesses a rhyme skill set that would make any rapper jealous. Accompanied by his own haunting guitars and Robert Guertin's quietly shuffling drums, Dion celebrates humanity in the light of his spiritual convictions. In doing so, he comes full circle to meet himself as a street corner poet in the 1950s, and reveals his wisdom as the result of his experiences in the past and the present. He has no need to romanticize or apologize; he remains the keen-eyed, tender-hearted observer he has always been. Tank Full of Blues may be the late entry in a catalog of great work by Dion, but it stands with his best recordings. In fact, it is the album he's been waiting an entire career to ...

Inside Job/Only Jesus album for sale Ace continues its ambitious program of Dion reissues with this pair of mid-'80s recordings for Christian labels. First off, Ace deserves plaudits for even making these recordings available. Dion's catalog has been largely unavailable in the United States for a decade at least. The box set has tracks from all of his periods, but just whets the appetite. I Put Away My Idols was originally released on the Day Spring label in 1983. Full of power chord guitars, synthesizers, and drum machines, it is very much a product of its time, production-wise. But the songs are what endure. Many fans were/are uncomfortable with Dion's faith and its prominence in his work from the period, but it made him no less a street-corner poet who found a way in from the cold. Anchored in contemporary pop and rock, Dion's singing here was as deeply moving and soulful as it remains today: direct, inviting, full of simple personal revelation and Bronx soul. The title cut and Bob Smith's "Daddy," the two hinge-pieces on the set, are a testament to the timelessness of the singer whose gospel evangelizing (no matter how naïve it seems) is genuinely one of sharing -- what to him is good news, not fire-and-brimstone judgment. Kingdom in the Street is the stronger of the two albums, and was issued on Myrrh in 1985. The keyboards are still in the mix but they sound a bit more organic, and most of the drums are live. Most importantly, Dion brings the full power of his trademark meld of early rock and soul to bear on each track here. From the opener, "Still in the Spirit," with its backing vocalists supporting him, his effortless tenor croons, coos, and soars through an easy, airy gospel groove. "Crazy Too (Have Fallen in Love)" is doo wop gospel at its finest, complete with shama lama, shoo be doos, and oohs and ahhs as well as a gritty meat-and-potatoes saxophone. Of Dion's originals, "Only God Can Change a Heart" is a searing urban poem with driving synthesizers and electric guitars over a drum machine and a live kit. "Come to the Cross" could have been issued during Dion's late-'60s folk period; it's earthy compared to the rest of the album, with piano and harpsichord underlining the vocal. "Come to the Cross" is a fine tome with a lyric full of confession and surrender, framed by gorgeous orchestration and arrangement -- particularly in the interplay between the piano and harpsichord -- and shot through with a distorted electric guitar solo. This two-fer won't be everyone's cup of tea (not even Dion fans perhaps), but a close listen with an open mind will yield musical rewards to be sure. No one can sing like this. No one. [Collectables reissued I Put Away My Idols/Kingdom in the Streets in the U.S. in 2010]. ~ Thom Jurek (2 albums on one CD) Here are two more gospel albums from Dion from 1983 and 1985. Following his rediscovery of his Christian faith, these albums were very important to Dion and this is reflected by the quality of the songwriting and their musical merits 2 LPs on 1 CD: I PUT AWAY MY IDOLS (1983)/KINGDOM IN THE STREETS (1985). Personnel: George Terry (guitar, acoustic guitar); Dion DiMucci (acoustic guitar); John Sambataro (electric guitar, background vocals); Ricky Hitchcock, Leslie West (electric guitar); Paul "Harry" Harris (harp, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Ed Calle (saxophone); Neal Bousanti (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Larry Dermer, Tim Devine (synthesizer); Joe Galdo (drums, percussion); Walter Santos (congas); Chuck Kirkpatrick, Kitty Woodson, Doug Shawe, Pamela Sessody, Paul Pettitt (background vocals). Recording information: Criteria Studios, Miami, FL (1983-1985). Photographer: Aaron Rapoport. Arrangers: Dion; Paul "Harry" Harris.