Darren Watson - Saint Hilda’s Faithless Boy Album Review
They say good things come to those that wait, and it has been a long wait between albums from one of this country's premier blues men, Darren Watson.
There has been more than half a decade between the release of Watson's previous album 'South Pacific Soul' and his latest 'Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy'.
To label Watson as purely a blues man is perhaps doing him a disservice.
He is as surely rooted in the blues as bad whiskey and evil women, but he is also much more than that.
Not only does Watson have perhaps the finest blues band in the country at present, I'm sure that if he had the inclination and set his mind to it he would have the best soul band, the best R 'n' B band and probably the best pop band in the country too.
In fact, if he wasn't such an excellent blues player and worked more in those other genres he'd probably be more famous.
With a thoroughly excellent band behind him (outstanding drummer Richard Te One; totally in the pocket bassist Elliotte Fuimaono; and keyboard player extraordinaire Alan Norman) Watson rides the groove throughout with exemplary vocal and guitar tone that effortlessly blends the soulful, swamp rock, hard biting blues of tunes such as Love Is An Ocean, Got It All and A Desperate Man with the haunting acoustic slide of My Love Will Never Die.
If you’re looking for a blues record full of blistering, meaningless, endless guitar solos than this record isn’t for you.
If you’re looking for something a bit more grown-up and heartfelt... then you’ve found it.
We can only hope that that the wait between 'Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy' and Watson's next release won't be so long.
But, if that wait produces such results as this latest one, then it will be surely worth it.
About Darren Watson
Since leaving rhythm & blues showband Chicago Smoke Shop in the early 1990's Watson has cemented his reputation as the nation's most original, contemporary, blues-based voice. He's released seven albums including 2002's King Size (which was nominated for Best Roots Album | 2002 NZ Music Awards), 2005's South Pacific Soul, 2010's internationally acclaimed Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy, and Introducing Darren Watson from 2014.
2018's Too Many Millionaires represented a major shift in direction for the veteran musician. The record features all acoustic performances and it got rave reviews in local and international media, as well as hitting the Official NZ Top 20 and IMNZ charts for many weeks.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Darren Watson
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