Dale Watson Albums (13)
'The Truckin' Sessions, Vol. 2'
Release Date 4/21/2009
Tracks 14
Label Hyena
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What The Critics Say
In 1998, Texas country & western singer and songwriter Dale Watson issued his debut volume of Truckin' Sessions for Koch International. It was a stunning collection of 14 self-penned tunes written in the tradition of Red Simpson, Dave Dudley, Merle Haggard, and Red Sovine. Since that time, Watson's cut over a dozen more records in studio and live. All of them could have been written in the 1960s. This is not to say that Watson's merely a historical revivalist: he simply writes and records his songs without the use of modern effects and takes no note of what's happening in the music world of the 21st century. What's more, it works. Watson is one of the most remarkably consistent, prolific, and significant songwriters to emerge from Texas since the '60s, even if no one outside of Americana and hardcore country & western music fans know it. This second volume in the Truckin' Sessions, issued on New York's Hyena, is every bit the monster its predecessor was and mirrors it from the cover -- which merely shows an older Watson in the same coveralls get-up and pose as he was on the first volume -- to the song count, production values, and excellent sense of craft. For those who think that Watson employs irony in his music, it's best to get that notion out of your head. He is as authentic as Texas two-lane blacktop in the Hill Country outside Austin. Accompanying the songwriter on this set are the venerable guitarist Redd Volkaert (formerly of the Haggard band) pedal steel boss Don Pawlak, fiddle master Don Raby, bassist Gene Kurtz, and drummer David Bowen. This quintet lays down the hard swinging trucker country of the Bakersfield sound in "10-4," the Dave Dudley burners such as "Drag 'n' Fly," that opens the set, and the rockin', honky tonk storytelling country of Haggard in "Yankee Doodle Jean," just to name three. The twinning of the guitars and fiddle make for an irresistible front line, while Pawlak's steel is a shuffling, whining, hot pickin mess of sound right dead set in the center of the mix. Another stunner is "No Help Wanted," just before the end of the set, with a smokin' vocal chorus, and the anthems "I Got to Drive," and "Me and Freddie and Jake" rank with the best of truck driving country from any period. For any punter who enjoyed the first set of these killer trucker's tunes, or any of Watson's albums for that matter, this one will prove just as satisfying. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'From the Cradle to the Grave'
Release Date 4/24/2007
Tracks 10
Label Hyena
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What The Critics Say
If the ghost of Johnny Cash hovers throughout the grooves of From the Cradle to the Grave, that's not coincidental. The recording was made in a Hendersonville, TN, cabin once owned by the late country icon -- all the better to showcase Dale Watson's deep, Cash-like baritone -- and the no-frills settings Watson brings to the songs bear more than a faint echo of the Man in Black: on "Hollywood Hillbilly" that might as well be the minimalist Tennessee Three twanging behind the singer, and ol' JC even gets name-checked in the lyrics (as do Willie, Hank, and Lefty, but still...). Then there's the story that introduces the record: "Justice for All," a tale of righteousness fighting the good fight against vengeance and coming up short. But to peg From the Cradle to the Grave as a Cash tribute and nothing more would be to sell it short. The Austinite's been at it for a long time himself, and his renegade credentials are well established and verifiable. The song material here may ring familiar -- "Yellow Mama," is, after all, an ode to an electric chair -- and so may the voice, but Watson puts enough of his own personality into his delivery that the album is never in danger of being saddled with a copycat tag. Watson can't help it if he's got good taste in influences, but he's sharp and smart enough to pay his respects while also shaking free of them, and he leaves no doubt whose album this is. ~ Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With his beetle brows, his occasional penchant for lyrics dealing with damnation and salvation, and his startlingly deep and resonant voice, you might be forgiven for mistaking Dale Watson for a honky tonk version of Nick Cave. Then again, the whole idea of a honky tonk version of Nick Cave is weird enough that maybe you wouldn't be forgiven after all. And besides, for all of his themes of heartbreak and loneliness, Watson is clearly having much more fun than Cave ever has, and this odds-and-sods collection (containing "some old songs that I had written but never recorded and have received many requests for at live shows") finds him having even more fun than usual, with tunes that he takes just seriously enough to keep in the repertoire but not seriously enough to weigh them down. Hence the barroom genius of songs like "It Hurts So Good" and the joyfully anguished "Sit and Drink and Cry," and the rip-roaring Cajun two-step of "I Ain't Been Right, Since I Been Left." "I Wish I Was Crazy Again" contains the brilliant couplet "You know they say I went crazy/And by crazy I mean mentally insane," "Truckin' Queen (I Got My Nightgown On)" is, yes, about a transvestite truck driver, and "Tequila and Teardrops" flirts dangerously with Latin jazz. What kind of honky tonk country music is this? The whacked-out kind, which is to say, just about the very best kind. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A natural-born honky tonk genius who's had the poor fortune of being born in the wrong decade, Dale Watson is the closest thing to Merle Haggard country music has produced since the late '70s, and his rough-hewn cry-in-your-beer style is as sincere as the day is long. For his seventh studio album, Watson has teamed up with another Texan with a fondness for country & western's noble past, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, and though Dreamland sounds a bit more polished than Watson's best work, Benson certainly understands Watson's approach, and they make a pretty good team for these sessions. If there's a flaw in Dreamland, it's not so much Benson's work as that of engineer Chris Burns, who gives the proceedings a slick, digital sheen that doesn't quite mesh with the material. Also, Watson has moved the emphasis from his harder-edged material to songs with a less flinty approach. But Watson himself has rarely sung with greater strength and confidence, he's written some terrific songs (favorites include "Pretty Girls," "Honky Tonkers Don't Cry," and "I Wish You'd Come Around"), and Benson has rounded up a great set of pickers to back him up, including Redd Volkaert, Ralph Mooney, and Cindy Cashdollar. If the result isn't hardcore honky tonk, it's still honky tonk through and through, and it's an album that'll sound great in a beer hall as you knock back cold ones on a Friday night. I'd advise Benson to hire Ray Kennedy to man the boards for their next session with Dale Watson, but otherwise Dreamland is a step in the right direction. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'One More, Once More'
Release Date 4/22/2003
Tracks 12
Label Continental Song City
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'Live in London, England'
Release Date 6/25/2002
Tracks 21
Label Audium
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'Christmas in Texas'
Release Date 12/4/2000
Tracks 12
Label Continental Song City
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What The Critics Say
Thanks to its semi-tropical location and polyglot historical influences -- German and Czech settlers blending with Mexican traditions leading to such cross-cultural oddities as traditional crèches dolled up with jalapeño pepper lights and luminarias -- Texas just isn't Currier & Ives country, and so the more traditional Christmas iconography gets skewed. Good luck getting a white Christmas in San Antonio, after all. Austin-based honky-tonker Dale Watson (recording at Sun Studios in the dog days of summer, no less) delivers a more regionally appropriate set of holiday songs on Christmas Time in Texas, 12 songs that range from heartfelt seasonal tunes like the title track and a sweet duet with Joy Lynn White on "Christmas Love" to more tongue-in-cheek romps like the trucker goof "Santa and My Semi" and the chile-head Western swing anthem "Hot Texas Christmas Day." A pair of classics, "The Christmas Song" and a gorgeous pedal steel-led version of "Silver Bells," round out the catalog. Overall, Christmas Time in Texas is enjoyable enough to overcome the faint sense of cheesiness that usually accompanies Christmas albums. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
'Every Song I Write Is for You'
Release Date 10/1/1999
Tracks 14
Label Koch
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What The Critics Say
Watson puts together a collection of songs about grief and loss for his fifth release, which is dedicated to his fiancée, who died in an automobile accident. The album is pining and remorseful and features string accompaniment on most of the 14 tracks. On it Watson still harbors a deep appreciation for the Merle Haggard-perfected Bakersfield sound, but here he does so without the usual honky tonk grit that he has when he's accompanied by his band, Lonestar. This is a quiet set dripping with romantic longing that's elevated occasionally by the upbeat "Your the Best Part of Me" and the swing-inflected "Money Can't Buy Her Love," but that's anchored in the deep despair that led Watson, who nearly lost his own life during a drug and alcohol binge brought on by the loss, to write these songs. ~ Travis Drageset, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Dale Watson is one of the strongest country & western vocalists around. As always, he is very convincing, and his tribute to truckin' tunes is a delight. All originals, the 14 cuts presented on Truckin' Sessions would make Bakersfield bard Red Simpson proud. Mostly upbeat, Watson manages to tip his hat to his home state of Texas with some swing on "You've Got a Long Way to Go" and the Bakersfield sound on the humorous "I'm Fixin' to Have Me a Nervous Breakdown." Straight-down-the-pike truckin' songs like "Have You Got It On," "Makin' Up Time" and "...Loose Nut Behind the Wheel" keep this project moving along at a nice pace. A more melancholy Watson displays his soft center on the touching "Big Wheels Keep Rollin'." All in all, a great ride. ~ Jana Pendragon, All Music Guide
