Search - Deryl Dodd :: Pearl Snaps

As country and as comfortable as a pearl snap shirt

Alison Peveto | Buna, TX United States | 02/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nashville has been known to make more than one man fall to his knees and struggle to get back up. It's a busy city filled with needless efforts to build images and mold artists into what the executives want. When Deryl Dodd arrived in Music City in the early 1990s, he was willing to almost anything to succeed in the music business. He had the right looks, a great sound and by the mid 90s, had a record deal. When Dodd became very ill and weak while traveling to promote his debut album, friends and physicians alike dismissed it as one of the details of playing the Nashville game. When it was all said and done, Dodd had been the victim of a much more serious situation. He had been battling viral encephalitis, has been recovering slowly over the past three years and has now presented country fans with another great collection of music. His sound is as fresh as every, as he rediscovered his music by playing the honky-tonk circuit in Texas and testing his music with the common man, the person country music is written for.
Dodd's newest album is entitled Pearl Snaps. With a title like Pearl Snaps, the product is bound to be good and the listener will not be disappointed with the album Pearl Snaps or the title song. It is an upbeat song that pays homage to the trusty pearl snap western shirt. Dodd doesn't end his tributes with pearl snap shirts. He goes on to sing a tribute to his home state with the toe-tapping "On Earth As It Is In Texas." No Texan can hear the song without their hat-size growing a few inches.
Dodd includes a healthy serving of honky-tonk music as well as a couple of swing numbers that are reminiscent of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. His Bob Wills tendencies come through on the playful, bluesy "Cows" and he swings it on "Back to the Honky Tonk." In addition to the standard tearjerkers and fun songs, Dodd treats us to a couple of remakes of the songs we all remember from the 90s. "A Bitter End" is the song that Dodd seems to be best known for as the song made a strong run up the mainstream country charts. He also includes re-recordings of earlier numbers such as "How I Got to Memphis," originally recorded by Bobby Bare, and the emotionally charged "One Ride in Vegas."
For those of you who wondered why the immensely talented Deryl Dodd just seemed to drop from the country music scene in 1998, your worries are over. He is back and in full force. This collection of songs comes from the honky-tonks and they will put you in a honky-tonking mood."

Fun, good-natured country music... with a rootsy sound!

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 12/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I like this guy! Coasting on the razor edge between "young country" Top 40 and Joe Ely-style bar band rowdiness, Dodd has a pleasantly un-perfect voice which makes him human enough to be a little "alt"... The title track to the best-of set is pretty irresistible and catchy... it's followed up by two more great tunes, "She's Have You Back" and a nice rendition of Tom T. Hall's "That's How I Got To Memphis." From there it's a steady slide into commercial formulae, but on the whole this is a pretty decent collection. Plus, I have to confess I've always been partial to Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown..." Dodd's version ain't as great as Lightfoot's, but that's a tough standard to live up to, and Dodd does alright. This album is a little bit on country's poppier side, but definitely worth checking out."

Third time's a charm

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 02/17/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Stardom is hunting Deryl Dodd. Having broken into country as a hot-shot guitarist with Martina McBride, Dodd got his own contract with Columbia just a few years later. His debut LP garnered attention, and a cover of Tom T. Hall's "That's How I Got to Memphis" started climbing the charts. But fame's call for self-promotion ran against the grain of Dodd's upbringing, and combined with the struggle of a divorce to knock the rising star off the ladder of success.Two years later, with his direction sorted out his, Dodd waxed a second LP, and with an original single, "A Bitter End," he once again enjoyed radio play. Opening slots with Brooks and Dunn and The Dixie Chicks beckoned him to a second chance at success. But that second shot was cut short by fatigue that turned out to be viral encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that eventually robbed him of the energy to get out of bed and the dexterity to pick guitar.Another two years on, Dodd was recovered enough to get a band together, and finding inspiration in Lance Armstrong's Tour de France rides, he began rebuilding his career. First came a switch from Columbia to its rootsier subsidiary, Lucky Dog. While most of Lucky Dog's roster consists of edgier artists looking to enlarge their audience, Dodd clearly saw the label as an opportunity to edge away from the mainstream, a place where he could reconnect with his musical self, away from the glare of major label publicity.With so many false starts in finding his audience, this third album is something of a reintroduction. Three of the tracks (his first two album's singles, plus the first album's title tune) are reprised here. The latter, "One Night in Vegas," a rodeo-themed tune about persevering to achieve one's goals, is a theme song for Dodd's career.The rest of the album's songs (including a fiddle-driven cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown") show off a tremendous range. The album's first single, "Honky Tonk Champagne," is the sort of barroom dance tune plied by fellow Texans Jack Ingram and Charlie Robison. The closer, "Where the River Flows" features beautiful acoustic guitar and faith-based harmonies. A live recording of the fiddle-and-steel weeper "She'll Have You Back" (previously recorded by Tim McGraw) shows off the vibrancy of his concert performances.Once can ponder whether the ups-and-downs of Dodd's career have been a trial or a blessing, but there's no doubt that his talent deserves the extra chances to be heard.3-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings"