Linda Dickson

Reviews of my debut CD




Singer Magazine - www.singermagazine.com

Linda Dickson's voice is as clear and free flowing as an ocean at sunset. Her truthful lyrics in her latest album, Kudzu, are easy to relate to and also very easy to see, as she enjoys creating a vivid imagery in her songs. Many of her lyrics are even inspired by nature.

Dickson's title track and perhaps my favorite song on the entire album, opens with a simile describing someone's words as "lush and green like a vine in southern Alabama." The additions of nature analogies in her lyrics are not only creative, but also very effective in getting the song stuck in your head. And believe me it will. This, however, is a good thing; her songs are awesome.

This CD has a relaxed coffeehouse quality to it that ablsolutely cannot be matched. Often paired with only an acoustic guitar, her effortless vocals are the perfect prescription for any mood, whether it is happy, sad or even nostalgic. Dickson enjoys singing/songwriting and it shows; this album is obviously a winner.




- Singer Magazine

Natural surroundings inspire Natchitoches native
Music review
Andrew Griffin - Alexandria Town Talk, Alexandria, LA
Posted on September 5, 2003
NATCHITOCHES - Singer and gui-tarist Linda Dickson, a Natchitoches native now living in Eureka Springs, Ark., has just released her inde-pendently produced debut album "Kudzu."

Listening to "Kudzu," it is clear that Dickson is inspired by her natural surroundings. Having spent much time in the Ozarks, I'm not at all surprised.

And just like the leaves turn golden in the fall in northern Arkan-sas, there is an equally autumnal feel to her poetic folk songs.

"October Sky" finds Dickson qui-etly strumming beneath her laid back voice telling a significant other that her "hand don't want any diamond" and that "the only promise I need is your hand in mine."

The cello on "Save the World" is effective and subdued as Dickson faces the world - alone.

Unrequited love appears to be the subject of choice on "Right Into the Sea" while "Miles and Miles" has Dickson heading back home to that special someone.

On "Bridge," Dickson is far more playful and this results in one of the more accessible tracks on the al-bum.

Dickson's voice reminds me of folkcore singer Ani DiFranco or even Tori Amos to some extent. And like those two artists, Dickson's lyrics are very personal, particularly in the relationship department.

For instance, on the mild folk-rock track "Twinkle" featuring drum-mer Darren Novotny and bassist Blake Fougerousse backing up Dick-son as she strums away, she sings;

"How can I escape your poison when it's already under my skin / Why do I need your warmth to keep my sanity / If I wasn't numb I'd know it's burning me."

But not all her relationships have taken a wrong turn. There is an underlying sense of hope to her lyrics that is comforting.

And speaking of hope, I think Dickson has a chance of moving beyond the coffeehouse circuit and finding a niche in the wider world of music.






- Alexandria Daily Town Talk

The Yellow House, West Plains, MO - www.yellowhousearts.org
by Renee Wood

In performance, Linda Dickson presents herself in a very straightforward manner - a song, a few words, another song. She sings with a clear, vibrant alto that ranges from sultry to ironic.

Her music moves from spirited, straight-ahead rock, to songs with a more delicate, soulful, folk-like feel. One tune, Angel, even carries a strong hint of gospel. Most of her tunes, even the more folk-oriented ones, are blues inflected.

Dickson’s guitar work is consistently well-executed and strongly integrated into the music, effectively enhancing the meaning of the songs. She uses intriguing open-ended melodies and strong words-rhythms, and many of the songs have a reflective elegiac quality to them.

Dickson’s songs range in subject from Ozark rivers, to gardens, to the wild, destructive growth of kudzu, used as a metaphor for a love-relationship on its way south. Her song Twinkle, also about broken love, is filled with images taken from nursery rhymes then combined with cliched aphorisms, leading to a powerful and ironic lyric. In fact, it becomes clear, after listening to her CD, that many of the songs she sang on Saturday night are part of a song cycle which begins with Kudzu, about love going wrong, and ending at the end of the relationship, having taken the listener through heartbreak and insight to renewal, new love and a new stronger sense of self.

This is a singer who knows how to tell a story. These are intimate, personal songs delivered with depth and nuance.




- Yellow House community arts center, West Plains, MO