ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Unwanted’ is Vintage Dale Watson
Open up the honky tonks and throw away the key, guitar slinger Dale Watson is back in town with a new album, Unwanted, which features his gruff, booming voice and his signature Ameripolitan sound. As always, Watson’s here to deliver a straight-ahead, high-octane blend of country and
Black News 
Open up the honky tonks and throw away the key, guitar slinger Dale Watson is back in town with a new album, Unwanted, which features his gruff, booming voice and his signature Ameripolitan sound. As always, Watson’s here to deliver a straight-ahead, high-octane blend of country and rockabilly, careening between tender ballads and raucous dance hall numbers driven by his psychedelic surf guitar riffs.
The refrain on the album opener, “Willie Waylon And Whiskey,” promises exactly what he delivers on the rest of the album: “gonna have a real good time / it’s going to be one hell of a night.” The song gallops out of the gate with lightning speed and doesn’t look back as the pace increases during this tribute to the heroes of outlaw country and to their down-to-the-bone good timin’ music. Strolling fiddles, aching pedal steel, and shimmering piano create a lush soundscape on the tender western swing waltz “If You Really Love Me (Outlive Me),” while the jaunty “Gotta Try Harder” scampers along sprightly pedal steel.
