Jarrod Dickenson’s Big Talk will instantly demand your attention from the opening track, “Buckle Under Pressure.” He certainly does not and sustains a resilient, defiant stance throughout. He’s got more than one reason, still fuming over a last-minute rejection for a major label deal, and even worse, the effects of long COVID. Nonetheless, he retreats to what has become his only real comfort zone, his songs, and unleashes a fury of statements that transform his rage to the kind of joy that only the best rock n’ roll brings. Joining him on this quest are Jano Rix (Wood Brothers) on drums and keys, Ted Peccio (Doyle Bramhall II) on bass, JP Ruggieri on guitars, and Claire Dickenson on backing vocals. Oliver Wood sings on “Home Again” and producer Ethan Johns provides a string arrangement for the closer, “Goodnight.”
The lyrics are front and center – “Cause you can knock me down/Baby, I’ll come up swinging/You can steal my songs/But you can’t keep me from singing…” Dickenson follows that opener with the chugging “Born to Wander” where he’s intent on chasing down the elusive dream. Dickenson and Wood sing in unison on the upbeat tale of the weary troubadour looking forward to a respite from the road as Rix with his mix of drums, congas, and hand slaps adds riveting percussion. The sarcastic story song “Prefer to Lose” plays to a funky beat and a five-piece horn section. “Bamboozled” is Dickenson’s blistering response to endless politician babble of the promise of the American dream (“we’ve all been played.”)
“With Any Luck” begins with Stones-like riffs as Dickenson is fed up, really to leave town and chase down elusive greener pastures to the swirling surge of Rix’s B3 and multiple guitars. The mid-tempo “If You’re Looking” sets its cast on a bleak world, only to end with the ultimate resolve – “You and I were built to last.” The prevailing track though is “Long Hard Look,” a gritty tune that starts innocently enough as the protagonist is brushing his teeth. The beauty is in the payoff line which asks the definitive question to those who are too quick to accuse in “Are you picking up your brother, or are you knocking him down?”
“Don’t Deprive Me” lacks the bite of the aforementioned but “Goodnight” delivers an entirely different vibe in its warm, string-bathed tones as Dickenson ruminates on life as an older husband and parent, flirting with thoughts of mortality but paying the ultimate tribute to love in the closing lines – “Oh, as long as you’re here/I could never my dear/Be ready to say goodnight.” It’s one of the strongest album closers heard recently and takes the edge off the hard-hitting statements that make up the bulk of this provocative, lay-it-all-out-there effort.
