Dale Watson – Unwanted

Description

With Texas- sized defiance and drive, he’s spent four decades flying the flag for his own brand of honky-tonk, outlaw country, western swing, and rockabilly.
That signature sound has a name — “Ameripolitan” — and its originator is Watson himself: a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor, cultural architect, and rule- breaking traditionalist for the modern world, championing the traditions that fly in the face of the homogenous mainstream. With Unwanted, he fires another double- barreled shotgun blast of country twang and honky- tonk bang fueled by the heartaches, hard- won lessons, and high- speed thrills of a life largely logged on the road. Singing with a booming voice that could cut through the chaos of a packed dancehall, Watson runs the show like a roots-rock ringleader. He salutes his vices on the galloping “Willie Waylon and Whiskey,” reflects upon a lifetime of loss with the gorgeous ballad “If You Really Loved Me (Outlive Me),” and gets wistfully contemplative on “Life is Like a Song.” Entirely written and produced by Watson, Unwanted is the sound of an Ameripolitan diehard with plenty of life left in the tank, speeding toward a horizon of his own making.