Dale Watson - Unwanted (Red Vinyl)

Dale Watson is a living legend of American roots music. With Texas-sized defiance and drive, he's spent four decades flying the flag for his own brand of honky-tonk, outlaw country, western swing, and rockabilly. That signature sound has a name - ""Ameripolitan"" - and it's originator is Watson himself: a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor, cultural architect, and rule-breaking traditionalist for the modern world, championing the traditions that fly in the face of the homogenous mainstream. With Unwanted, he fires another double-barreled shotgun blast of country twang and honky-tonk bang fueled by the heartaches, hard-won lessons, and high-speed thrills of a life largely logged on the road. Singing with a booming voice that could cut through the chaos of a packed dancehall, Watson runs the show like a roots-rock ringleader. He salutes his vices on the galloping ""Willie Waylon and Whiskey,"" reflects upon a lifetime of loss with the gorgeous ballad ""If You Really Loved Me (Outlive Me),"" and gets wistfully contemplative on ""Life is Like a Song."" Entirely written and produced by Watson, Unwanted is the sound of an Ameripolitan diehard with plenty of life left in the tank, speeding toward a horizon of his own making.