REVIEW: Dez Dickerson, OneMan (Absolute)
- Jon Steltenpohl
Straight from the "Where are they now?" file comes Dez Dickerson. As the guitarist for Prince on such songs as "1999" and "Little Red Corvette", Dickerson was on top of the musical world. (Dez was the one with the Japanese flag headband.) Turns out Dickerson was going to try a solo career rather than commit to the next few years with Prince, and things didn't go so well. Already a born again Christian, Dickerson ended up in Nashville as a Christian rock producer and executive. Now, some 14 years later, he's released his solo project to launch his own label, Absolute Records.
Make no bones about it, Dickerson is all about Christian rock. He feels like he is a man on a mission. However, unlike some Christian rock artists, Dickerson is first a musician and second an evangelist. He first wanted to be Jimi Hendrix at age 14 and was the only one of hundreds of guitarists auditioned whom Prince liked. 70's and 80's Christian rock was mainly dominated by poseurs that, while theologically correct, didn't really make good music. Amy Grant started the change, and now-a-days groups like The Newsboys have shown that there can be an equal balance between music and message. (Dickerson has been executive producer of bands like The Newsboys for a number of years.)
Prince historians have noted the changes in his sound after Purple Rain, and his subsequent demise on the pop charts. Dickerson's OneMan provides the missing link. Here is the guitar driven, rock sound that allowed Prince to cross over his brand of 80's funk to Top 40. Although Prince regularly indicated that he wrote, produced, and performed everything on his albums, Dickerson's guitar sounds remarkably familiar. "Hello Again" has that melodic pop-rock feel to it that Prince's music had when Dickerson was with the band. "Hello Again" also features The Rembrants' Phil Solem on guitar and backing vocals. "For You For Me" crunches with stadium rock riffs with little choruses of dreamy keyboards and steady drum beats. It's 1984 all over again.
Take a track like "Fall Into Me". It's a power ballad with quiet, atmospheric verses and a guitar driven chorus. It's also half a step away from being an out-take from 1999. Sometimes, Dickerson crosses the line from "atmospheric" into "psychedelic" pop-rock (anyone remember Enuff Z'nuff?), but for the most part it's kept in check. Usually, it feels more like a Beatles knock off. "Real To Me" closes the album with an impassioned ballad about belief that uses the Beatles' patented extended chorus with some horns to great effect. Other songs, such as "The Way I Feel", are just straight on guitar songs.
On the "Christian" side of Christian rock, Dickerson is remarkably low-key. Unlike some albums which are loaded with agenda, Dickerson seems to sing more from the heart than the desire to be featured on the 700 Club. He witnesses rather than preaches, and the effect is an album that won't turn anyone off. In this sense, he's much like an Amy Grant. Dickerson simply includes his Christianity as one of many sources to draw lyrics from. Sure, there's a few songs that are just about Jesus, but most are about Dickerson's own disillusionments and subsequent joy at turning his life around.
OneMan is an album that's a bit unexpected. Take the guitarist from one of the most popular bands ever, convert him to Christianity, hide him from the public eye for 14 years, and what do you have? None other than one of the best Christian rock albums ever recorded. The style is more rock than anything, and reminds you of that cool sound Prince had in the early 80's. Dickerson's guitar is masterful, but his modest approach allows it just to be another instrument. Who should buy this album? Well, for Christian rock fans and Prince collectors, OneMan is a no brainer. For everyone else, the .wav files at http://www.absoluterecords.com/ should be enough to tell you if you'd enjoy it or not. Regardless of the market though, Dez Dickerson's OneMan is a solidly produced, enjoyable album.
