Album Review – Dale Watson “The Sun Sessions”
With popular music coagulating into the two super genres of country and hip-hop, rock music finds itself the odd man out. An inadvertent by-product has been the emergence of rock n’ roll as bona fide roots genre. Along with that, in the last few years there’s big a big resurgence in the Memphis sound centered around the historic Sun Studios. Sun has always been influential on music, but now we are seeing a slew of new projects squarely focused on trying to recapture that Sun sound.
Chris Isaak’s newest album Beyond The Sun was recorded at the historic studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash, and so many others got their start. Justin Townes Earle has iterated that his next album with have a distinct Memphis/Sun vibe to it, and he recorded a version of his song “Ain’t Waitin'” at Sun Studios in May. But beating them both to the punch is Austin, TX’s Dale Watson with The Sun Sessions, recorded with Mike Bernal and Chris Crepps, named the “Texas Two”, an homage to Johnny Cash’s original “Tennessee Two”.
And this isn’t where the homages to Johnny Cash end. In fact in The Sun Sessions, it’s hard to determine where Johnny Cash ends, and Dale Watson begins. Dale isn’t simply trying to capture the essence of an era and adapt it to his original material, he is mimicking virtually everything about Sun-era Johnny Cash, from the tic-tac rhythm, to Cash’s singing style, to the themes and verbiage in the songs. Aside from the songs being original compositions by Dale, this is Dale Watson doing his best Johnny Cash impression circa 1955.
I’m concerned this avant-guarde approach will make this project polarizing in certain circles. It also makes it a very difficult one to grade and criticize. Am I supposed to grade it on how uncannily close Dale mimics the Johnny Cash character? Because if so, give it a 10 out of 10. Or does mimicking Johnny Cash so closely somehow make the album less authentic, or less of an original artistic expression?
It also is worth noting that Dale’s approach to album making has always been unique. He’s not going to waste time trying to cut hit singles or try to garner a mainstream following, so instead he can just have fun, and do whatever he wants. His last album Carryin’ On was unusual because it was one of the few straightforward albums he’s ever done.
In the end, I had to simply try and listen to the songs, and judge them on their merit. I can’t lie, shaking the Johnny Cash similarities was not easy at all, but boiled down, the album is solid, and very fun. I wouldn’t call it a deep or soulful or original album, though it has moments of all three, this is more of an entertaining and engaging album, full of simply-written, honest and tasteful, sweet and primitively-themed songs, that remind you that despite all the great advances of society, we still may never top the simple sweetness of those 50’s-era compositions.
Aside from the Cash similarities, many of the songs have original appeal, like the opening track “Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down.” The only track I felt like I could connect the dots to a specific Cash song was “Drive, Drive, Drive”, which felt a little too close to “Cry, Cry Cry”, but the remarkable thing about this album is with songs like “Johnny At The Door” and “George O’Dwyer”, there is a haunting exactitude to Cash in the simple way the lyrics work.
I’m not sure many other artists, even the ones that are big Johnny Cash fans, would be up for pulling this project off with this adeptness. It would almost take a small team of musical historians, creative writers, and musicians to evoke what Dale Watson does in a seemingly effortless manner simply from his fandom, understanding, and deep appreciation for The Man in Black.
The approach of this album is so unique, I really think it will be years before we really know the impact of it and how to judge it in the chronology of Dale’s albums and career, and the current and upcoming crop of Sun Studios-inspired projects. I could see it becoming a fey, but interesting little project that only core Dale fans know about and can only be bought as an import in the US like so many of his other albums, or it could explode into a cult classic buffered by Dale and Cash and Sun Studio fans alike. Either way Johnny Cash…I mean Dale Watson…has put an album out that both Watson and Cash fans can enjoy.
1 1/2 of 2 guns up.
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Preview & Purchase Tracks from The Sun Sessions
The release of The Sun Sessions was accompanied by numerous “official videos” that can all be seen below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8gC2am8jG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljmULpS93Fw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmFNbgVnXcQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UyOPHpc9Zw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq4yHs84iwU
October 17, 2011 @ 11:24 am
I sure do love Dale Watson! Every time I hear his voice I smile. Loving these videos just like all of his videos.
November 1, 2011 @ 8:27 am
Great country voice!
October 17, 2011 @ 11:31 am
I’m trying to understand why the world needs another faux Johnny Cash? It reminds me of the kit car craze in the 70’s and 80’s when you could buy a fake Ferrari body and tack it on top of an old Beetle chassis….it was still a VW underneath.
October 17, 2011 @ 12:27 pm
Though I personally decided to look at the music and judge it on its own merit, I can totally understand why some people would feel this way, and I honestly can’t argue against it. I will say I don’t think Dale is trying to be a Faux Johnny Cash in general, I think this was an approach for one album. If his next album comes out with this same approach, then it is time to plan the intervention.
October 18, 2011 @ 3:59 am
He used this approach on “From the cradle to the grave”.
October 18, 2011 @ 6:43 am
Though the muse for both projects is Johnny Cash, the approach is completely different.
October 17, 2011 @ 1:39 pm
I kinda of look at this as a tribute album, even though the album is original songs. All you have to do is listen to Carryin’ On to know that Dale doesn’t always sound like Johnny. I think his sound should continue to evolve on the next album.
October 17, 2011 @ 6:46 pm
I think Dale has a classic country sound that happens to emulate Johnny at times. Doesn’t make him fake at all.
October 18, 2011 @ 4:02 am
It only matters that he does it for the love of it, not money
November 1, 2011 @ 8:27 am
Love Dale!
October 17, 2011 @ 7:51 pm
Dale Watson is a well-established honky tonk singer and songwriter. If every album he did was like this, it would be another thing. But the guy has payed his dues and earned the right to have some fun. Personally speaking, I’ve been awfully excited about this album, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be disappointed.
October 18, 2011 @ 8:18 am
If you like Dale and Sun-era Cash, you won’t be disappointed. That CD hasn’t left my truck’s CD player since I’ve got it. He is paying tribute to Johnny Cash, of course, but it still sounds like Dale. He also does a good job of capturing that early “gothic/menacing” Johnny Cash sound, especially on “Down, Down, Down, Down, Down” and “If You Know What’s Good For You”.
October 31, 2011 @ 8:59 am
Spot on.
I gotta say, this album is amazing. Easily one of my favorites this year (hell, one of my favorites of the last few years), and an album that will certainly be on heavy repeat for a long time. These songs really get stuck in your head, my family is even walking around humming/singing them – and this is definitely not their kind of music. 😀 Love it.
October 18, 2011 @ 11:11 am
He wrote something like 9 or 10 of the songs in 10 hours!!! The band had 1 to 2 takes to get a song they never herd right. I love this album.
October 19, 2011 @ 8:59 am
I saw Dale Watson at Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion and he did a couple of songs from the new album. It had the boom-chicka-boom thing and was obviously a homage of sorts to J Cash but still sounded like Dale Watson. I liked what I heard.
I guess the production on the record could have it sound more ‘cashesque’ than what I heard live but I’m looking forward to picking this album up.
October 21, 2011 @ 2:02 pm
Dale Watson is the Real Deal, when it comes to country-music. It’s his life, the man IS a country-song. I’ve listened to him since Cheatin’Heart Attack, met him a few times,but that’s some years ago.
I had sort of lost track with Dale, didn’t feel like buying another one of his cds, but this one got me excited once more again. This is what I always hoped he would do, and I knew he could. He is maybe the best vocalist in country-music, but he has also made cds that I don’t really care about. I’ll get this one, because it sounds like originals from the 50s. This is no gimmick, this is an album Johnny Cash could have made, and Dale can be proud of that.