Customer Reviews

I Hate These Songs

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had begun to despair of finding any real country music left in the world, other than oddball releases like "O Brother Where Art Thou" and Dwight Yoakam, neither of which were making the "Country" radio waves, and I began to believe that it was true, that country music was a dying genre.

Then a friend recommended me Dale Watson. I ordered this album on the strength of that recommendation, it arrived, and I stuck it in my CD player.

I only needed to hear the opening bars to know I'd found my answer. Here were the fiddles, here the crying steel, all the beauty and pain and joy of real country music was etched in every "groove" (I know, a passing reference to a time gone by); this was magic. Before the end of the opening song, "Jack's Truckstop and Cafe," I also knew I had a brand-new favorite singer.

Dale is uncompromisingly country. This music doesn't apologize for its pain ("Holes in the Wall"), doesn't hold back from the one-two punch at Nashville ("Nashville Rash") nor does Dale apologize for it ("That's Pride"). This is the real thing. Forget what they play on so-called "country" radio and buy this CD. Rejoice that real country music is alive and well and living in Texas.

Wow! When I first heard Dale Watson about a year ago, I thought that Merle had come out with a new song--only this voice sounded younger and better. What an awesome discovery Dale Watson has been. I didn't think anyone sang like this anymore. In a day when all of my country heroes are dying or dead, it's great to know this guy is out there writing and playing some awesome songs. Thanks Dale!

Hey, none of that pop-sounding, distortion effects, synthesizers, over-harmonized stuff here. No, Dale Watson delivers the goods without any such interference. These are self-penned tunes all graced with ample clean and country sounding guitars.

At times, Dale's vocals are rich and meandering, in a style not unlike Merle Haggard. At other times you can feel the strong pounding style of fellow Texan Waylon Jennings. Of course, these blend into a style is Dale Watson's own.

Dale knows how to pick guitars and backup musicians. Redd Volkaert--now one of Merle Haggard's Strangers-- handles the lead guitar while Lloyd Maines covers the pedal steel guitar. (Lloyd backs his daughter, Natalie Maines, on those great recordings by The Dixie Chicks.)

Don't wait to hear these songs on today's FM country radio. It ain't gonna happen and that's a disservice to radio listeners everywhere. Fans that like their music country should buy anything with "Dale Watson" on the label and, by all means, go see his show.

One thing's for certain, I sure don't hate these songs. Those of you lucky enough to have caught Dale Watson's show at the Iron Horse recently, Know that at least some of the acts in country music aren't fluffy "hat acts". This guy is almost like a trip back in time but he's absolutely on the cutting edge of today's country. Whether it's a tear-jerking ballad or something more rockin', Watson delivers the goods. In the last few years, country music has enjoyed a huge renaissance. Country music today is big,bigger than rock has ever been. Early next year is is expected that Garth Brooks will surpass the Beatles as the biggest selling recording artist of all time. Unfortunately, most of the acts are so trivial and poppish that the true roots of this essential American music are quite obscured. And I have to say that line-dancing is arguably the most embarassing part of being white. Here in The Valley, however we are fortunate to have great clubs and radio shows like the excellent " Counry Show" on WRSI. So we're not chained to the satelite-fed so called "country stations". "I Hate These Songs" is Watson's third release on the classy Hightone label and maybe his best yet. For many, the earmark of good country music is the story told within the song. There's no shortage of stories here sung in the richest baritone voice around.The band is a svelt four man combo including Dale."Hair Of The Dog", one of my faves, is a hangover anthem that harkens back to early Merle Haggard. The title cut follows and is a classic ballad recalling the names of past songs, something Watson seems to do on all of his albums. "Life Is Messy" uses the "twin guitars" sound to great effect and "Count On You" has an almost Marty Robbins feel to it. The playing and production values are all first rate. My only complaint is that at 43 minutes, it's a trifle short though most country albums today seem to be about a half-hour in legnth. This disc pure honky-tonk the likes of which hasn't been heard since the early sixties, and that Dale Watson isn't a superstar by now is a true shame.

If you've been in the South, particularly TEXAS, this is a set of cuts that'll remind ya of bein' there! I'm from Bossier Parish, Louisiana, and lived several years in Biloxi MS, and this is MY KINDA MUSIC. Movin' groovin, beer-drinkin' and hard-drivin' kinda music. Don't care if you drive a truck or a Honda (or ride a Harley, like me!) this Watson set-a-cuts will get yer blood flowin', yer feet-a-movin', and yer heart a poundin'. Buy it. Do it. Now.

This guy is amazing,a real honkytonk hero I've seen him several times, blessed or dammed, cheatin heart attack, I hate these songs are three of the BEST country albums made in the last ten years by anyone-and I mean anyone

From a man who admired Australia because it has Kenworth commercials on TV(and who by-the-way signed my Kenworth cap)a maximum album! A late night tear in yer beer weepie or a high octane gear crunching odyssey down the highway, this album captures the raw elegance of country music's days gone by.

American country radio will play watered-down pop sung by big-voiced females (Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood) and dull, fake male cowboys (Toby Keith, Lonestar). They won't play this. Even once-popular true country singers such as Mark Chesnutt, Dwight Yoakam and Ricky Van Shelton have been all but struck off radio playlists. This review is not from someone who only listens to indepedent label artists, although the year's best album, Rodney Crowell's Houston Kid, is on a non-major label. I am a fan of Alan Jackson, George Strait and Brad Paisley. None of these can even begin to approach the genius of Dale Watson. I've seen Dale three times in concert and his appreciation of the roots of country are as clear as his superb guitar playing and country-to-the-core vocals. His songwriting is also of the highest standard. It's because he won't compromise his style of country - the style that gave Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings decades of success - that he'll always be a forgotten figure at CMA awards. Who needs the CMA anyway, when Tim McGraw is named their entertainer of the year?

I have all but the new "Every Song I Write Is for You", which I just ordered, and I love them all. Dale Watson is a Great Singer, and we love to listen to his songs while traveling to work, on trips, or to the store! I have them in the house and in the car and truck! Keep up the good work Dale! I am sure fans are sorry about his personal losses and are praying for him, and it comes out in his music. God has a plan for us all. So God Bless him. He sings with such true heart and soul.