Willie Watson – Folksinger vol. 2 / Acony CD71714

Description

Willie Watson – Folksinger vol.2

TRACK LIST

1. Samson And Delilah (feat. The Fairfield Four)
2. Gallows Pole
3. When My Baby Left Me
4. Dry Bones
5. Walking Boss
6. On The Road Again (feat. The Fairfield Four)
7. The Cuckoo Bird
8. Always Lift Him Up And Never Knock Him Down
9. John Henry
10. Leavin’ Blues
11. Take This Hammer (feat. The Fairfield Four)

Ever since former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson released his debut solo record Folksinger, Vol. 1, we’ve been waiting impatiently for Vol.2, if there would even be one. With only himself and a guitar, Willie Watson was able to accomplish what entire bands struggle to do their entire careers, which is evoke the old memories of songs from the past in a form as rich as when they were originally sung and composed. There’s just a certain magic in the muse and mannerisms in Willie’s music that make it more than just a reconstitution. It’s like you’re witnessing a ghost in your midst.

“I’m not trying to prove any point here,” Watson says about his music. “I’m not trying to be a purist. There’s so much beauty in this old music, and it affects me on a deep level. It moves me and inspires me. I heard Leadbelly singing with the Golden Gate Quartet and it sounded fantastic, and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’ I heard the Grateful Dead doing their version of ‘On the Road Again,’ and it sounded like a dance party in 1926, and I wanted to do that, too. That’s the whole reason I ever played music in the first place—because it looked and sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun.”

Produced by David Rawlings, Folksinger Vol. 2 was recorded on analog tape at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN. The album features 11 songs made famous by folks such as Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis, Furry Lewis, and Bascom Lamar Lunsford. The Fairfield Four joins Willie Watson on three tracks, and the album also features contributions by Gillian Welch, Morgan Jahnig of Old Crow Medicine Show, and Paul Kowert of the Punch Brothers.

Willie Watson is also known to perform with the Dave Rawlings Machine, and made his acting debut in the Coen Brothers’ film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”

– review from Saving Country Music

For nearly two decades, Willie Watson has made modern folk music rooted in older traditions. He’s a folksinger in the classic sense: a singer, storyteller, and traveler, with a catalog of songs that bridge the gap between the past and present. On Folksinger Vol. 2, he acts as a modern interpreter of older songs, passing along his own version of the music that came long before him.

Southern gospel. Railroad songs. Delta blues. Irish fiddle tunes. Appalachian music. Folksinger Vol. 2 makes room for it all. Produced by David Rawlings, the album carries on a rich tradition in folk music: the sharing and swapping of old songs. Long ago, the 11 compositions that appear on Folksinger Vol. 2 were popularized by artists like Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis, Furry Lewis, and Bascom Lamar Lunsford. The songs don’t actually belong to those artists, though. They don’t belong to anyone. Instead, they’re part of the folk canon, passed from generation to generation by singers like Watson.

– review by Larrivée Guitars