Dion: Bronx In Blue : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

As doo-wop giant Dion points out in the liner notes to Bronx in Blue, there was no rock & roll back when he was growing up in New York, and so it was the Southern sounds of the blues and country coming over the radio that set him off on his brilliant musical career. On Bronx, the former Belmonts frontman delivers deeply felt, stripped-down takes on some of his favorite songs from the likes of Robert Johnson ("Walkin' Blues," "Travelin' Riverside Blues" and "Crossroads"), Jimmy Reed ("Baby, What You Want Me to Do") and Howlin' Wolf ("How Many More Years"). Accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and a little percussion, Dion delivers stunning versions of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonk Blues" and Jimmie Rodgers' "You're the One." At age sixty-six, Dion has made a moving, graceful piece of work and proved that the Bronx actually is part of the country.