Customer Reviews

Little Darlin' Sessions - Volume 1

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

 

 

The previous review is indeed taken directly from Dale's website. After listening to the disc, it does indeed sound like what he describes (a first run, unfinished album). That being said, I could listen to Dale doing "Little Darlin' karaoke" all night. How can you go wrong with Dale singing old Paycheck songs with Lloyd Green on steel. Songs such as "Touch my heart", "Apartment #9", "If I'm gonna sink", "The pint of no return", and "Jukebox Charlie" are classics, and among my favorite Paycheck songs. There's a few cuts that aren't on any Paycheck album (that I'm aware of), so they might as well be new. I really love "He thought he'd die laughing (and he did)"! I can probably guess the songs Dale didn't want to cut, but there's no real clunkers here. This certainly would have been a 5 star (or maybe 6?) disc if there had been a few Dale originals, and if he had been allowed to finish the sessions as he wanted to(shame on you, Koch!). That being said, any fan of Dale (and classic hard country) can't go wrong with this one.

Well, Dale may be P.O.-ed about the release of what he considers a subpar record (and has every right to stick up for himself) but I think the one-star review below may be a little misguided. If you rate the record based on what you hear, rather than the behind-the-scenes politics, this ain't bad at all. There are several fine weepers, notably "If I'm Gonna Sink" and the gloomier-than-gloomy "Touch My Heart," and even if he didn't get the chance to make this record as well as he wanted, it's still got plenty of soul. In my book, a Dale Watson demo tape is still more fun to listen to than a Tim McGraw megasmash. Hopefully Dale will get his fair share of the royalties and can go on to make the records he wants to make, the way he wants to make 'em. Meanwhile, fans can make up their own minds about the merits of this album. I'd give it a 3.5.

Wow...every hear truisms like "less is more" or "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"? Great hard core real underground Country Classics and Craftsmen doin their thang on a single take?!!! Dale may not like it (please ask him or his entourage personally at one of his shows), but did Van Gogh love his ear? Sometimes... getting out of one's own way is "the way" when our own perfectionism obstructs the flow of simplicity. The polictics and business of an artist's expression and creative license may be one of the most difficult energies in the world for any outside influence to control or influence. That being said, I absolutely love this CD. It is understated greatness and elegance. From the opening number "Touch My Heart"... the songs clearly, easily, and bawdly meet "the standard" and lineage of easy listening ol honky tonk that touch the heart and move the soul. Dale's smooth vocals blend more (on this "underproduced" effort) as an instrument along side master muscians as their respective influences unassumably interweave to emotive forefronts on this solid and steady CD throughout (plaintive steel guitar, rolling piano, insightful fiddle). When "it" comes through the contours of the complexities of the human heart..."it" stands alone, naked, simple, ugly, pretty, broken, and whole....and sadly sometimes the process of business as usual and not being as good as it gets, sucks. But it is what it is. Make no mistake, from very far outside lookin in, these are "stand alone" gems that have been written by a hand that knows... when old meets new somethings got to give. Though these songs reputedly are of just "demo" quality, - and dale's own written songs did not even make the cut (ouch-hard to believe but true), it's my favorite and best "dale watson cd" for all the reasons listed above.

I'm sorry to hear of dale's protestation, truly... cus this one's a classic and it sure is a beauty!

The Little Darling CD was never finished ( we cut a lot of songs but never were given the chance to correct mistakes or overdub background vocals or anything else.) i.e. We were given one run through and that was it. They wouldn't allow any of my originals and that result is tandem to me doing Karaoke on Little Darling songs. A couple of the songs I begged not to have to sing as I really did not like them. In that regard it really was Nashville 1966. KOCH is releasing it under protest of me and Lloyd Green.

They are basically unfinished roughs. We offered to go in for free and fix the record but they were done spending anything on it. I plan on the next record to be with Lloyd and the guys again but with me and Lloyd producing, and with a lot of my new originals. The next Hyena release will be the monumental record of legendary musicians meeting new originals thus being the record that the Little Darling Sessions failed to be. To those of you that choose to buy the record, please give a sympathetic ear to my vocals and the musicians playing. Many of these recordings were run throughs. It's is not the record we thought we were making. That said, it was a joy to work with these legendary pickers and look forward to recording the next record

with them.

Sincerely,

Dale

If you are a fan of the original "Little Darlin' Sound" you realize that this CD is right on. Who cares if Dale has some originals on it or not, I find refreshing that he doesn't. He latest has all originals so buy that one and everyone should be happy.

Dale Watson, Lloyd Green and the Little Darlin' sound - what a great combination. Dale is wonderful with his own band, but this CD with some other great musicians is something special. Dale's fans get to hear Dale sing some great old songs in his style and with the Little Darlin' sound. It's great to hear Lloyd Green's unique steel guitar sound again.

This is an enjoyable enough CD that undoubtedly would have benefited from more time spent in the recording. There is a spare, unfinished quality that, for me, actually calls attention to itself, particularly when comparing it to some of his other albums like "Whiskey or God" or "I Hate These Songs". As an unfortunate result, many of the songs here don't do justice to the originals, and in at least one case, pale in comparison to covers of the same song by other artists (Neko Case's version of "If I'm Gonna Sink" from the "Touch My Heart" compilation). How disappointing it must have been for Dale to have to rush through this and finally settle for a recording that he knows could have been so much better. And that's not to fault his singing or the playing overall, which is of course top-notch - it just would have been nice to hear an album recorded with more time and attention to detail and craft, that really paid homage to these great songs. So, three stars, no mas - I can appreciate it for what it is, I just can't praise it as something it's not. By the way, I was tempted to dock it a star (but restrained myself) for a jaw-droppingly asinine comment in the liner notes by Tom Kittypaw, a self-described "country music historian and part-time janitor" who states : "the songs on this collection steer away from Dale's Texas or swing roots, which is why this is the best CD he's ever made." WTF? You, Mr. Kittypaw, are a complete dimwit ; please do the world a favor and pursue janitorial service as a full-time vocation.

Buy another Dale Watson recording instead. From the Cradle to the Grave Go see a live Dale Watson show. Buy a Ray Price record. But don't buy this unfinished record that is being released against Dale's wishes.