Published on Oct 24, 2000
Deke Dickerson is a man who recognizes that change is sometimes
good. He could have rested on the laurels of the success of his
previous two albums and made another disc which was light-hearted
and kitschy. But circumstances would lead to his third album,
Rhythm Rhyme And Truth, to be a darker look at life (with an
occasional light moment thrown in), but proves to be Dickerson’s
most mature effort yet.
After experiencing a rather nasty streak of bad luck in his
personal life (which is briefly mentioned in the liner notes),
Dickerson apparently decided to get somewhat serious with this
release. No more Billy Barty appearances; no more “Beverly
Hillbillies” voice-overs… no more fun? We’ll get back to that
question in a minute.
Working more closely with labelmate Carl Sonny Leyland,
Dickerson quickly gets down to business and begins baring his soul
for the world to see. It’s sometimes a difficult picture to take
in, but one has to admire the way that Dickerson tackles adversity
through some powerful music – and in the end, it’s a journey well
worth taking. Whether it’s through cover versions (“Have Blues Will
Travel”, “Don’t Push Me Too Far”, “Hello Blues”) or it’s the blunt
force of his own compositions (“Where to Aim,” “Where Am I
Goin’?”), Dickerson creates music that you’ll remember long after
you stopped tapping your foot to it.
By doing this, Dickerson has helped himself break out of any
musical pigeonholing that people might have done with his previous
work. This isn’t rockabilly in the strictest sense of the word, but
it’s also not country. Even “roots-rock” doesn’t quite act as the
right sized blanket. In the end, each listener will find themselves
taking with them a certain portion of Dickerson’s music; this will
differ with each listener. If anything, this should help to broaden
Dickerson’s fanbase.
But not everything is tears and warm Michelob on
Rhythm Rhyme And Truth; Dickerson and the Ecco-Fonics (along
with the doo-wop group The Calvanes, who make a few appearances on
this disc) know when the right time is to open up the pressure
valve and release everything that’s built up. Tracks like “(If I Go
To Heaven) Give Me A Brunette,” “Wang Dang Dula” and “C-A Boogie”
all serve as bridges to Dickerson’s musical past. Why, I can almost
even forgive the “hidden” track buried at the end of “Where Am I
Goin’?”, even though there’s far too much silence between the
fade-out and the final kick-in for me.
Rhythm Rhyme And Truth is an album that Dickerson had to
make, if only to keep some level of sanity around his life. We
should be thankful that he did make this disc – and hope that he
won’t have to go through any more personal upheaval in order to
keep making music this powerful.