Russell Dickerson - Famous Back Home

by Kevin Wierzbicki

This hot young country music star begins his latest effort with a nod to another country music star, David Lee Murphy. Opening cut "Dust" is a reference to Murphy's hit "Dust on the Bottle," a cut about how memories can grow more precious as time passes. In his song, Dickerson portrays a guy who is reminiscing about a long gone relationship and a time when the couple is riding along in a truck and listening to "Dust on the Bottle" which the girl is singing along to. The cut is emotional and Dickerson's voice drips with yearning and many fans will relate to the situation, no doubt making their own memories about "Dust." The rest of the album is relatable to Joe and Jill Everyman too; "Sippin' on Top of the World" is about enjoying a post-workday beer or two while booze also plays a part in "Happen To Me" where the song's male character meets a girl in a bar who is drowning her breakup sorrow in tequila; the song has a bit of a rock feel to it and clever lyrics like "I don't know what happened to her/She's bound to happen to me." The lyrics are fun and built for a singalong on "Worth Your Wild" too; "Then she looked at me like t.r.o.u.b.l.e. was on her mind and in her head/So I said, I'll make it worth your wild." Other fun cuts include "For a Truck" where a guy obsesses over a pick-up until he meets a special girl, and title cut "Famous Back Home," the closing cut that makes the realization that family is more important than glimpses of fame. Famous Back Home is very well done blue collar country music and the dozen songs contained within will ensure that Dickerson's star keeps rising.

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