People I've Known Places I've Been

Dale Watson has long established himself as a torchbearer for the hardcore honky-tonk tradition of Merle Haggard, Del Reeves, et al. But this outing makes it clear that there's more to Watson's trick bag than just recreating an authentically old-school sound. Like Haggard, Watson is adept at capturing slices of life in his songs. As this album title indicates, the tunes here are musical snapshots of the colorful, downhome characters and places that live in Watson's mind's eye. Some come straight from the annals of country music history, like "Luther," a loving tribute to Johnny Cash's original lead guitarist, Luther Perkins. But mostly, the people who pop up in Watson's tales are of a more everyday variety, like the subjects of "Blue Our Old Cell Block Guard" and "Whatever Happened to Sam." And while he remains a traditionalist, Watson still keeps things varied, finding room to wander through everything from Western swing ("That Man in the Lloyd Cross Crease") to lonesome balladry ("England to Texas").