Deryl Dodd – Full Circle

Texas native Deryl Dodd recorded two albums for Sony in the late 1990s. Both they and his singles got short shrift then, with the evil empire of Garth still ruling Music Row. Dualtone’s atmosphere is clearly more to his liking, proven by his excellent 2004 album Stronger Proof. Given Brad Paisley’s success, Dodd, who rocks out with a stripped-down band, sounds more mainstream today than a decade ago. These eleven numbers, beguinning with the crackling “Wearin A Hole”, are lightweight honky-tonkers. Despite that, Dodd s ability to write thoughtful, substantive tunes is obvious with “Solid Ground”, a moving tale of a troubled blue-collar family man, and “Songs Of The Family”, wich celebrates traditional country. The clunker is “Into Outlaw”, a trite bit of radio fodder co-written by album producer Brett Beavers that s more appropriate for Billy Ray Cyrus. Dodd breaks no new ground, but the capably covers the tried and true.