New Dale Watson Album “El Rancho Azul”

dale-watson-rancho-azul2013 is already shaping up to be an excellent year for real country music, with some of the heavy hitters slating new releases before we even hit Easter. Just announced, Dale Watson and his Lone Stars have a brand new album titled El Rancho Azul to be released January 29th through Red House Records, featured 14 original songs and being touted as his “honkiest tonkiest” album yet of his 21-album career.

Recorded at Willie Nelson’s legendary Pedernales Studio in Austin, Dale used his own band of Chris Crepps on upright bass, Mike Bernal on drums, Don “Don Don” Pawlak on pedal steel, with Danny Levin sitting in on piano and fiddle.

Originally it was announced that the album would be titled I Lie When I Drink (the opening track) when the first single from the album “Daughter’s Wedding Song” was released in late August of 2012. “I’m often asked to recommend a song for the father/daughter dance,” Dale says. “I usually say Merle Haggard’s ‘Farmers Daughter.’ The only problem is that, in the song, the mother is gone. So one day I told this couple I would write one special for the dance. While writing, I drew on my two daughters for inspiration and started crying halfway through it. I figured if it hit my heart strings, maybe it’ll hit the heart strings of fathers and daughters everywhere.”

The recently-divorced Dale takes the listener on a journey through love and heartache in El Rancho Azul. As you can expect with Dale spending most of his time entertaining Texas two-steppers in Austin’s dancehall haunts like The Broken Spoke, the album includes some songs written specifically for dancing. “Quick Quick Slow Slow” is a two-step tune, while the following “Quick Slow Slow” is a waltz.

dale-watson-lonestarsLook for the Saving Country Music review coming soon!

Pre-order El Rancho Azul from Amazon

1. I Lie When I Drink
2. Where Do You Want It
3. I Drink to Remember
4. Cowboy Boots
5. We’re Gonna Get Married
6. Daughter’s Wedding Song
7. Quick Quick Slow Slow
8. Slow Quick Quick
9. Give Me More Kisses
10. Drink Drink Drink
11. I Can’t Be Satisfied
12. I Hate to Drink Alone
13. Smokey Old Bar
14. Thanks to Tequila
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