​Willie Watson (from the album Willie Watson

​Willie Watson (from the album Willie Watson

​Willie Watson (from the album Willie Watson on available on Little Operation Records/Thirty Tigers) (by Lee Zimmerman) 
 
While this current eponymous effort has been touted as Willie Watson’s solo debut, it belies the fact that he’s had two other individual outings previously in the form of two cover albums of old school standards, expressly referred to as Folk Singer Vol.1 and Folksinger Vol 2. So too, as an early member of Old Crow Medicine Show and an ongoing collaborator with Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, as well as a contributor to an occasional film score, Willie Watson has more experience to his credit than his belated bow might suggest. 

Nevertheless, Watson’s affinity for traditional music remains his prime source, and despite the fact that Willie Watson contains all original material, the archival influence is never far from the surface. Opening track “Slim and the Devil” is an otherwise unassuming offered carried along courtesy of a simple strum and an easy back porch sensibility. “Real Love” is as lovely as its title implies, a beautiful ballad stirred with sentiment and decided devotion. Think Jim Croce’s “Operator” as a ready reference. 
 
Willie Watson’s melodies mostly take the form of traditional tapestries. “Harris and the Mare” sounds like an old Irish Folk tale. Similarly ”Mole in the Ground” assumes the guise of a fanciful Folk tune. “Play It One More Time” makes its own impression in the way it’s so delicately defined. Closing track “Reap ‘Em in the Valley” takes the form of a spoken word narrative that offers Watson an opportunity to draw certain truths from his own personal perspective.
 
To his credit, Willie Watson was able to enlist some exceptional musicians as his backing band  — among them keyboardist Bennett Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Paul Kowert and Gabe Witcher of The Punch Brothers, and Milk Carton Kids’ Kenneth Pattengale, among them. With Witcher and Pattengale sharing production duties, the result is an affecting and yet unassuming set of songs that hold true to Willie Watson’s aforementioned affection for his rustic roots. Suffice it to say, it makes for an excellent re-introduction. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of Willie Watson from AMAZON
 
For more info, check out the Willie Watson website