Dale Watson Truckin' Sessions CD

Personnel: Dale Watson (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Ricky Davis (pedal & Hawaiian steel guitars, background vocals); Preston Rumbaugh (bass); Brian Ferriby (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Arlyn Studios, Pedernales Studios and Cedar Creek Studios, Austin, Texas. Includes liner notes by Dale Watson.
Dale Watson is one of the strongest country & western vocalists around. As always, he is very convincing, and his tribute to truckin' tunes is a delight. All originals, the 14 cuts presented on Truckin' Sessions would make Bakersfield bard Red Simpson proud. Mostly upbeat, Watson manages to tip his hat to his home state of Texas with some swing on "You've Got a Long Way to Go" and the Bakersfield sound on the humorous "I'm Fixin' to Have Me a Nervous Breakdown." Straight-down-the-pike truckin' songs like "Have You Got It On," "Makin' Up Time" and "...Loose Nut Behind the Wheel" keep this project moving along at a nice pace. A more melancholy Watson displays his soft center on the touching "Big Wheels Keep Rollin'." All in all, a great ride. ~ Jana Pendragon
Watson's dedication to country's roots is well documented, but his in-your-face stance toward mainstream country playlists hasn't gained him any footage on the airwaves. That's a damned shame. Following three straight pillar-to-post winners on Hightone Records--CHEATIN' HEART ATTACK, BLESSED OR DAMNED, and I HATE THESE SONGS--hard-core country flag-waver Watson self-released this redline salute to 18-wheel jockeys. Koch International subsequently picked up the album.
The singer wrote all 14 paeans to "white line fever" on this biscuit, and if the subject matter seems a bit cramped in your crib, try gettin' out on the pavement and spinning it as your rig, car, bike or SUV gobbles up some of that endless gray ribbon. Suddenly, it'll make perfect sense. As stubborn, determined, and blue-collared as Merle Haggard (to whom he bears the closest semblance), Watson is a true American treasure.