Dale Watson is a country-music traditionalist, and while he mines familiar veins on Carryin’ On, he also throws in a dash of the pop/country style that dominated both charts in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

One could compare the track “Carryin’ On This Way” with Glen
Campbell songs of that era. Playing cool lead guitar, Pete Wade leans to the jazzy side while trading fours with Glenn Duncan on fiddle, and Lloyd Green ties everything together with great pedal-steel licks. In fact, if there’s a star, musically, on this record, it’s the veteran Green, who glides in and out of each song with such ease he’s often barely noticeable. Wade is also featured prominently on honky-tonk cuts like “Ain’t That Livin’,” with its melodic solo, and on the full-speedahead country stomp of “I’ll Show Ya.” Watson’s vocals are, as always, right on the money; his deep baritone resonates with the lyrics, whether in remorse for the way he’s living (as on the title
cut), the love he feels in “Flowers in Your Hair,” the melancholy of “How To Break Your Own Heart,” or the swing of “Whatever.”

Country music is an odd world these days, so it’s nice to see E1 Music
lending a platform to a genuine artist.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Feb. ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.