FEATURED REVIEW............................................................08 MAY 2006
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Artist:
DALE WATSON |
When it comes to Dale Watson, alt.country fans fall into two camps: they either love his throwback Bakersfield-style honky tonkin' or hate his dated schtick. Trouble is, the style and the schtick are one and the same, which doesn't make for much middle ground.
Watson's latest, Whiskey or God (2006), ought to keep his fans happy. As to converting the skeptics, however, this album probably won't do the trick. Despite a few fine tracks--"Whiskey or God" [REAL AUDIO CLIP], for example--much of the album is marred by Watson's puzzling sense of musical variation.
Three things we could have done without:
1. Maudlin confessionals. Sure, we know Mr. Watson has been through a few rough patches in the past decade, from the death of his fiancée to his much publicized overdose and subsequent hospitalization. While we're glad he's alive and making music, bad times don't always translate into good songs.
Two of the album's most cheezeworthy confessionals--"Darlin' Look at Me Now" and "I Wish I Was Crazy Again"--attempt to take a lighter look at Watson's own mental heath issues. Unfortunately, lines like "You know they say I went crazy, and by crazy I mean mentally insane" and "Crazy again, crazy in love, ignorantly bliss baby, that's what dreams are made of" will leave you cringing.
2. Novelty songs. As novelty songs go, "Truckin' Queen (I Got My Night Gown On...)" is fairly compelling. The tale of a cross-dressing trucker set to what might be described as "Bakersfield funk" is amusing, catchy, and entirely off-kilter. Problem is, novelty songs are, well, novelty songs. It doesn't matter how great the gag, with each subsequent listen the joke grows a little less amusing and a little more grating.
The album's other corny clunker, meanwhile, is "38...31...34." Cat-callin' pedal steel is never a good idea.
3. Lounge cheeze. Whiskey or God offers up two offenders in the lounge cheeze department--"Tequila and Teardrops" (Watson's gift to Mexican Elvis impersonators everywhere) and "Heeah!!" (a swing homage to Al Pacino). What is this, happy hour at Howard Johnson's?
In summation: Even if dated Bakersfield honk is your alt.country, there's a more than a mite o' cheeze here. Horns, dreams, dancing souls and crazy love--this album has it all. Four cheezeballs.
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A NOTE ON THE RATING SYSTEM:
5 CHEEZEBALLS = UNLISTENABLE SCHLOCK
3 CHEEZEBALLS = A DIFFICULT SLOG
1 CHEEZEBALL = THE ODD FORGIVABLE MISSTEP
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