Review: DeDe - Love & Fairy Tales

Inspiration comes to an artist through many different means. Some draw their muse from experience, the happenings of their life informing their art. Others draw their creative verve from relationships, tales of love and loss coloring their work. Deborah (you can call her "DeDe") Wedekind draws her inspiration from the well of faith, believing that it’s God that’s drawn her back to using the talent she’d stepped away from.

"I'm a classically-trained singer and pianist, and flute player, and now also a songwriter who for the most part, abandoned music for a marketing career because it made 'more sense'," DeDe explains. "But about seven years ago, the music came back for me. I started hearing my songs in my head - songs I've never heard before - and dreaming about music. I said to my husband, Larry, 'Honey? I think something’s going on here.'" He agreed that I needed to get back into music.”

Believing that to have been the gentle nudge of God, it was a journey the artist feels was necessary, allowing her to grow and mature, understanding the whole process of the music business, as opposed to the green and ultimately unready singer she was years ago. She dove headlong back into the craft, receiving “her associate's degree in music - re-learning vocal performance, piano, songwriting, and musical theory - and regained confidence and belief in her life’s calling.”

Her hard work has paid off for the rising artist as she’s already won several accolades, being named a finalist in the UK Songwriting Competition, winning “Top 5 Best Vocalist” from SingerUniverse.com, and more. Much of the praise has come from the artist’s latest EP, Love & Fairy Tales.

The album opens up with the rich adult contemporary pop of “Blame it on the Summertime,” the artist showcases her strong vocals right off the bat. Her voice is reminiscent of old school singer-songwriters like Karen Carpenter or Eva Cassidy, her phrasing clear and consistent. The song itself is a warm, breezy affair driven by plucky piano tones and insistent guitar work, providing a perfect canvas for DeDe’s vocal delivery.

“The Fairy Tale Song” draws things into playfully upbeat A/C territory, elements of pop informing the arrangement while the artist sings of love, invoking classic fairy tale characters as a muse, sharing the ultimate message, “There’s a story being written every day/So follow your heart/And play the part that you can play.” DeDe’s faith steps to center stage on “The Plans I Have For You,” a ballad-styled worship track that speaks from the heart of God, recalling early CCM work by Sandy Patty and Twila Paris.

“Just Desserts” is a slightly country-styled affair, rocking guitars setting the stage for the artist’s vocals to her tale of cheating and lies. The vocals and delivery are rather sunny, contrasting with the “she’s gonna get hers” implication of the lyric which is an interesting juxtaposition while “We’ll Never Part” takes an entirely different direction as DeDe showcases the theatrical side of her abilities, delivering a ballad worthy of Broadway. A track of love and dedication, the track is DeDe’s most classical feeling, buoyed by a soulful string section, and is also where she seems most at home, the structures of the composition allowing her to shine.

 
On Love & Fairy Tales, DeDe Wedekind showcases the benefits of waiting for the right timing. Her talent is obvious throughout every track, her vocals strong and controlled while her songwriting complements it perfectly. And while some may long for her to push herself just a bit more, to stretch her vocal range a bit and show a bit more emotion, this EP still delivers more than enough beautiful music for those looking for an old soul in a beautiful package.