Blue Dean Carcione: Sound Of Another Era

I've been wanting to write about Blue Dean Carcione for about a week now but was troubled that he didn't have any originals uploaded to his youtube channel. I knew that he recently released a fantastic album called "Bad Things & Good People", so I looked it up on youtube and found a video that goes along with his album's title song. So, let's talk about Blue Dean Carcione.

I discovered Blue Dean a couple years ago when I was looking up some old folks songs, amongst them  "The Ballad of Jesse James" (Bascom Lamar Lunsford). I came across Blue Dean slamming down with his foot and scratching away on his ukulele and was hooked. But the moment he opened this mouth, this tremendously spiritual voice came out of him. As if he's transcending space and time, he brought the reality of the song to my ears, my eyes and my heart. How do you feel about it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOIgWdkGbrY

Ever since I came across Blue Dean Carcione, I've been addicted to his covers and often play them when I need to escape from everyday life, wherever I may be. After listening to his sound I feel like I've been refreshed and am ready to deal with life again. Another cover of his that is phenomenal, musically, cinematically and emotionally is "I Wanna Be In The Cavalry" (Corb Lund). He doesn't just play the song, accompanied by a fantastic drummer. He surrounds himself with nature and the feeling of another era. Listen to this cover now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APP1VctoufE

Now, I can't write about Blue Dean without commenting on his unusual craving for 80's pop. Somehow, he manages to make it seem normal that he's covering 80's pop as well as ragtime and folk music. I wish I could get away with it the way he does. Here's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (Cyndi Lauper) performed by Blue Dean Carcione, accompanied by his trusty ukulele.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZR80hNNgHQ

It's funny how he makes it sound so original yet keeps it so close to the original. I think I might like it a little more than the original although I too love Cyndi Lauper. Now, regarding Blue Dean's original stuff, he's got a great album out that you can buy. It's called "Bad Things & Good People" and the title track is really great. He does a great stunt in the video, one that I'd seen before on his youtube channel (BlueDeanCarcione), and the song itself is a modernised sound of another era. I truly love it when artists bring back sounds that shouldn't have been left behind. Blue Dean Carcione does that and empowers it with his sound unique sound. Listen to "Bad Things & Good People" on youtube and check back tomorrow for another great youtube artist!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78o8SxEkzJc

Alex Hamel