BLOBBY'S BLOG

RECORD OF THE MONTH

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!

These may or may not be newly released disks. They might not even be a good disk - just what is been in heavy rotation in my car (as usually the iPod is playing anywhere else).


Don Dixon is a triple threat. He sings, he dances and......he sings. Ok - he doesn't. I stole that line from SCTV/Sammy Maudlin skit. However, he sings, plays, produces and is a great songwriter.

You might think you don't know him - but you do. Dixon has produced early R.E.M. and Smithereens. He co-wrote arguably the best song on the Counting Crows debut disk. He's played on (among others) members of the dBs, and Mary Chapin Carpenter disks. This is addition to his eight or so solo disks. Which is in addition to the collaboration he's done with his wife, Marti Jones.

Oh - and if you've ever seen the movie Heathers, you'll know the song "Teenage Suicide (Don't Do It)". That's him.

Though I could have picked just about any of his disks, I have a soft spot for his Chi-Town Budget Show. Normally I'm not a fan of concert disks. Usually they are too polished and the artists/record companies cherry-pick the best takes from multiple recorded shows...rendering them void of any personality. That doesn't even count the overdubs and mixing most 'live' records have.

Dixon's show is human. Besides the obvious talent, there is humour (check out the end of the opener "Heart in a Box".) There are musical and vocal mess-ups ("February Ingenue") and you know, Dixon and the band exhibit that they are just having fun! So is the audience. They truly enjoy it - as have I the three or four times I have seen him and his wife perform.

I'm a big fan of the songs I mentioned, but my favourite is probably "You're Sister Told Me". But it's all good.

The disk isn't long (or the show wasn't) and the audio itself could probably use remastering, ...but is worth checking out...if it's available (though there is always eBay). If you can't locate a copy, I suggest his retrospective: If I'm a Ham, Well You're a Sausage.