Dale Watson - The Little Darlin' Sessions (2007)

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The legendary Little Darlin' imprint was revived as a reissues label in the new millennium, finally putting back into circulation classic recordings by Johnny Paycheck, Bobby Helms, and others, often under the title The Little Darlin' Sound. Given this, it's easy to glance at the title of Dale Watson's 2007 album and think it's also a reissue, and it even sounds as if it could have been recorded in 1962. Of course, that was the year that Watson was born; yet throughout his 45 years he's held true to the sound of '60s hardcore country. The Little Darlin' Sessions provided a dream come true for Watson: to record with Aubrey Mayhew and some of the label's key studio musicians, to create a record that could have been released in the '60s. And damned if they didn't do it. The Little Darlin' Sessions sounds as good as a lost Dick Curless album, a gritty yet relaxed set of barroom weepers and honky tonk rockers that feel authentic, on an album that lives up to the high standards of the Little Darlin' label.