Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York.

Dion’s Tank Full of Blues (CD Review)

Dion Tank Full of Blues

With Tank Full of Blues (2012), Dion completes a trilogy of outstanding blues albums along with Bronx in Blue (2006) and Son of Skip James (2007). While Bronx in Blues focused on covering traditional blues standards from Robert Johnson and others, and Son of Skip James followed that formula with a few more originals, in Tank Full of Blues Dion wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs, taking his blues to another level. The new album adds more percussion and electric guitar into the mix without overdoing it on these new classics.

Dion worked to build his blues cred with the previous two albums, paying homage to the kings with a little bit of Bronx street swagger thrown in. I have previously written about the two earlier CDs and how when Bronx in Blues came out it was a great discovery for me. On Tank Full of Blues, though, Dion uses his blues credibility to show a little more of his own wings, as Dion’s originals on this album transition smoothly next to ones by Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Just as the album makes you wonder what else Dion can do, he closes with a spoken word rap on “Bronx Poem.” While he is not a hip-hop artist, one might root for him to try a rap album next as he shows here that his rhyming skills and bravado dating back to “Runaround Sue” are still there.

Dion Dimucci is one of the great rock n’ rollers, and these albums have shown he is also a great blues man. These albums are not an artist’s self-absorbed dabbling in another genre, but music that has the great Dion’s heart. As AllMusic wrote about Tank Full of Blues, “it is the album he’s been waiting an entire career to make.” For the artist behind such hits as “I Wonder Why,” “The Wanderer,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Donna the Prima Donna,” and “Abraham, Martin, and John,” that is high praise. Check out this great album by a music legend.

What do you think of Dion’s blues? Should he write a new song called “Runaround Blues”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Buy from Amazon

    Davy Jones RIP

    Davy Jones of the Monkees had died from a heart attack. I remember my sister being crazy about The Monkees show when I was a kid, and several of their pop songs were excellent pop songs, like Davy’s work on “Daydream Believer,” which was written by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio. The clip below features Davy Jones singing his 1971 single “Girl” on The Brady Bunch, which he reprised for The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).

    Somewhere, Marcia Brady is heartbroken. RIP Davy.

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    • Leap Year: Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

    february calendar leap year If you are wondering why we have the Leap Day of February 29 every four years, it is all about keeping the calendar lined up with the earth and the sun. If Leap Day is your birthday, then unlike every other day where the birthday odds are approximately 1 in 365, the odds of being born on today’s date is 1 in 1,461. If you are curious about the tradition of women proposing to men on this day, then you should thank St. Bridget and Sadie Hawkins, the latter who was from a Li’l Abner cartoon.

    If you are looking for a movie to watch for Leap Day, there is always Leap Year (2010), a light romantic comedy with Amy Adams and Adam Scott that is not terrible. But the critics hated it.

    Finally, if you are looking for an excellent song to go with the day, there is Billy Bragg’s song “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards” from Workers Playtime (1988).

    Jumble sales are organized and pamphlets have been posted,
    Even after closing time there’s still parties to be hosted;
    You can be active with the activists,
    Or sleep in with the sleepers
    While you’re waiting for the Great Leap Forwards;
    One leap forwards, two leaps back,
    Will politics get me the sack?

    Bragg’s excellent song is about getting involved instead of just waiting or sleeping “with the sleepers.” As such, it might remind one of the connection between Leap Years and U.S. presidential elections, both which happen every four years.

    Occasionally, we have an election year that is also not a Leap Year. But that will not happen again until we make a great leap forwards to 2100. Leap Years skip on years on turns of the century that are not divisible by 400, like 1900.

    So enjoy the extra day this month. And remember, if you are on an annual salary, you are working for free on Leap Day. If you think that is unfair, remember as Bragg reminds us, “The Revolution is just a t-shirt away.”

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    Bruce Springsteen on Jimmy Fallon: Wrecking Ball

    Springsteen Jimmy Fallon Nils Lofgren
    Nils Lofgren Directs the Horns

    Bruce Springsteen’s new album, Wrecking Ball will be released on March 6, and this week Late Night with Jimmy Fallon features a Springsteen theme, with artists covering Springsteen songs as well as the man and his band appearing last night and again on Friday. Last night, Springsteen performed the first single, “We Take Care of Our Own” as well as the title track, which is below.

    The song “Wrecking Ball” may be familiar to Springsteen fans because in 2009 Springsteen debuted the song at the Meadowlands, i.e., Giants Stadium, during his final shows at the stadium before it succombed to the wrecking ball. The song maintains references to the stadium being demolished (“where the blood is spilled, the arena’s filled, and Giants played”), but it holds up on the album because the song connects the stadium’s wrecking ball to more universal themes of aging, hard times, and standing up to both.

    [2020 Update: Unfortunately, the Jimmy Fallon video is no longer available so below is Springsteen performing “Wrecking Ball” at Giants Stadium.]

    While the lyrics on the album are touched by our recent economic troubles, the music of several of the songs are influenced by Springsteen’s uplifting work with the Seeger Sessions Band. This recession-era CD is the first E Street band album without Clarence Clemons, so it seems appropriate that the album is tinged with sorrow while steeped in joyful horns helping us through the rough times.

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    Kansas’s Controversial Attempt to Make Toto the State Dog

    cairn terrier The Kansas Legislature is currently considering whether to honor Toto from The Wizard of Oz (1939) by making the cairn terrier the official state dog. But what initially appeared as a harmless piece of state legislation has stirred up controversy in the state.

    Although Rep. Ed Trimmer explained he proposed the bill to get kids interested in the legislative process, some have complained that the bill wastes the valuable time of the legislators. Still, eleven other states have passed similar bills recognizing various breeds of dogs.

    The real controversy has come from an issue raised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who fear that the legislation will increase demand for cairn terriers and an increase in puppy mills that mistreat the small dogs. The debate has highlighted some other criticisms of Kansas laws that do not adequately protect animals. PETA also notes that there are a large number of dogs waiting to be adopted in animal shelters and suggests that if an official state dog is named, it should be “the humble, healthy, and 100 percent lovable all-American mutt.”

    Yes, a few states have official state cats. For example, Maryland has the calico cat and Massachusetts has the tabby cat, with both states recognizing a color of cat instead of a breed. Maybe Kansas could avoid the PETA concerns by choosing a dog color.

    Speaking of The Wizard of Oz, there is a funny clip from Sunday’s Academy Awards show that features a focus group evaluating the film. The clip includes members of the cast of Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003): Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, and Fred Willard.

    [March 2012 State Dog Update: The bill to make Toto the State Dog of Kansas died in committee. The representative who introduced the bill noted that he will probably try again next year.]

    Photo Courtesy of Mollie.

    What do you think about the proposed bill to recognize Toto? Who is the Wicked Witch in this debate? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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