Between his doo-wop debut with the Belmonts in the late 1950s and his return to rock in the late ’80s, singer-guitarist and future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dion DiMucci turned his hand to both folk and gospel music.
“Dion,” a 1968 Laurie Records album recently reissued on CD by The Right Stuff, offers a sampling of the Bronx-bred performer in his coffeehouse-acoustic mode. Like the album, the CD includes Dion’s 1968 hit, “Abraham, Martin and John,” plus relaxed renditions, some nearly done in by their string-section accompaniment, of songs such as Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Leonard Cohen’s “Sisters of Mercy” and (yes) Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.”
The one real standout track on the reissue, though, is “Daddy Rollin’ (In Your Arms)”-which was not included on the original LP-a raw, urgent piece of blues-pop that’s both the antithesis of singer-songwriter sensitivity and one of the best things Dion ever recorded.
Other recent releases:
Canned Heat, “Uncanned: The Best of Canned Heat” (EMI)-A 41-track, double-CD collection of recordings from the late ’60s and early ’70s, digitally remastered and remixed, featuring Canned Heat’s country-blues, boogie, rock amalgam. Besides a 1967 demo of “On the Road Again,” previously unreleased tracks include a version of Buster Brown’s “Fannie Mae,” a joint effort with Dr. John on “Christmas Blues” and a track from the sessions for the “Hooker ‘N Heat” album with John Lee Hooker, “It’s All Right.” A spot comparison of three tracks-“Going Up the Country,” “Let’s Work Together” and “Rockin’ With the King” (a collaboration with Little Richard)-to the original vinyl album versions leaves the impression that a bit of remixing and the CD’s more “clinical” sound reproduction are not always bad things.
Various artists, “HighTone Records: The First 10 Years” (HighTone)-California indie HighTone celebrates its first decade with a low-price, 21-track sampler of the roots music that is the label’s staple. Largely devoted to blues (from Robert Cray, Otis Rush and others) and various forms of country (Rosie Flores, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Heather Myles), the CD also contains a neo-surf number from Dick Dale, a rockabilly outing from Sonny Burgess and some silky a cappella doo-wop from the Mint Juleps, a female British vocal group.
Various artists, “Stone Rock Blues” (MCA/Chess)-MCA, source of a long, laudable series of compilations and reissues drawn from the Chess/Checker catalog, comes up with an unlikely package, dipping into the Chess/Checker vaults for original versions of songs covered by the Rolling Stones. Among the 18 tracks are seven by Chuck Berry, five by Muddy Waters and single entries from Howlin’ Wolf and Dale Hawkins.
