Chris Watson
Just For Show…
Just For Show… may not be the best title for the debut CD by 21-year-old Denton guitarist Chris Watson. You see, unlike a lot of young players more interested in being just for show, eagerly adapting the 6-string slinger persona, Watson proves on this collection of seven originals that he knows it’s not all about him and his guitar – it’s about the song. Sure there’s guitar here – he’s a guitar player and it’s his project – but he’s smart enough to step back and let the vocals or the organ or the groove itself step into the spotlight. What a refreshing change that is, and it puts him ahead of the pack of the young bloods in the area.
Chris not only wrote all the songs, but shares a co-producer credit with his dad Wallace “Wally” Watson. He handpicked a top notched seasoned band to take in to the studio: Bill Cornish on bass and Brian “H-Bomb” Ferguson on drums provide a base that’s at once rock steady AND rocking. And Eric “Scorch” Scortia never overplays on the delicious grooves he’s laying down, whether on organ, piano or B3.
As someone who’s watched Chris develop his style and confidence at jams all over the DFW Metroplex during the last few years, the project is a joy to listen to. But even if this is your first time to hear him, Watson proves he’s been listening and learning from the best North Texas has to offer. He and this CD are proof that although it’s lying pretty damned low some days, the blues is not dead around here. You can’t beat the Blues masters, but every time someone under the age of 25 takes a serious, respectful interest in it, and gets others excited about it, the Blues gets a transfusion and roars back to life again. And the blues is in need of that now. Right now.
It will be interesting to see what path Chris chooses to go down to develop his talents. Many a young guitarist has been wooed away from blues by rock - enticed by the glitter and the call of cold hard cash. Hard not to blame them. A blues musician’s life is not an easy or glamorous one. But for now, Chris Watson feels the blues and shares them with us all on Just For Show… Time will tell if it’s for keeps.
- Blue Lisa -
Southwest Blues CD Review - September 2008
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