“This is a rock ’n ’roll album . . . if that means anything to anyone anymore,” says Scott Kempner of his forthcoming album Saving Grace (00:02:59 Records, street date June 10, 2008). “It sure as hell means something to me!” Kempner’s rock ’n’ roll career dates back 30 years to his stint as co-founder of The Dictators (when he was known as “Top 10”) and later the Del-Lords, who in turn inspired the comeback of Dion, with whom Kempner recorded as the Little Kings. That’s a lot to look back on — and Kempner can reminisce with the best of ‘em — but he is squarely focused on the present and the future.

“This album is the first record in my career that I feel 100% about,” says the South Bronx native, who was born the year Elvis Presley recorded his first Sun Records single. “It’s who I am, for better or worse.” The album, his first solo work since 1992’s Tenement Angels (which featured Springfield, Mo.’s mighty Skeletons), includes no other guitarists — Kempner plays all parts. However, he did surround himself with an array of kindred musicians: Del-Lords drummer Frank Funaro, Smithereens bassist Mike Mesaros, Chris and Mike Russo, Chris Amplo, and last but not least Dion, with whom he sings “Heartbeat of Time.” Recorded mainly at Coyote Studios in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg district, Saving Grace was co-produced by Kempner and Mike Caiati.