Aaron Watson
Shut Up and Dance
By Jud Block
 This
revelation begins on February 13th of this year in the small
college town of Ruston, Louisiana, at the latest and best incarnation
of a local establishment known as the Dawg House. I was merely
passing through to visit my brother en route to the now legendary
Rockzillaworld Music Awards, when I noticed that Cooder Graw
was playing. Well, to make an extremely esoteric personal narrative
as painless as possible, my brother and I went to see Cooder
Graw that evening but noticed, compliments of a strategically
placed flier, that we would first have to suffer through a set
by someone named Aaron Watson and the Orphans of the Brazos Band.
Well, that's why the good Lord invented alcohol, we assured
ourselves, and ordered another pitcher and settled in.
When Aaron Watson and the boys hit the stage, it didn't look
promising. His guitar was covered with stickers from some of
the best acts out of the Lone Star state, which was good, but
he and the band were dishearteningly clean cut and sober. I
could feel the Diogenes in me rising to the surface and was just
on the verge of telling someone to get the hell out of my light,
when Aaron and the band kicked off their first song. Damn, I
hadn't heard this kind of country since George Strait's early
years, and Aaron Watson and the Orphans of the Brazos didn't
let up. For at least an hour they played some of the best real
Texas honky-tonk country that I've heard in well over a decade.
Naturally, I played the Rockzillaworld card and procured
a copy of his latest disc, Shut Up and Dance, and after
a few shots of something that came in a test tube and tasted
like cough syrup, stumbled off into the night.
I waited a few days before actually listening to the CD because
I'm more than aware of how a shining live performance can often
exacerbate the effects of a weaker studio offering, and figured
what better place than a recently once again ice-encrusted, grayer-than-a-Catholic-retirement-home-on-Ash-Wednesday
Charlotte, NC to see if Mr. Watson's music would have the same
impact it had on that ethanol fueled evening in Loozianne. Well,
it did, and I'm not hesitant to say that I believe Aaron Watson's
Shut Up and Dance may just be the country music CD of
the year.
Priding himself on making music that is a return to real country,
it's hard to argue that Aaron Watson hasn't done just that; especially
when the energetic acoustic guitar lead-in to the opening track
on the disc, "I Don't Want You To Go (But I Need You To
Leave)" backed by a pedal steel evolves into a high-octane
two-stepper with just enough Western Swing influence to avoid
any mistakes as to where the music generated. This is the kind
of song that could contribute to a lot of dislocated shoulders
and worn boot soles on the dance floor.
You're too hard to handle
Scandal after scandal
You must think I'm naïve
I don't want you to go, but I need you to leave
It's wild alibis
And those outrageous lies
You expect me to believe
I don't want you to go, but I need you to leave
"The Notel Motel" is a song that addresses what
was once one of country music's favorite past-times: cheating.
It's not a celebration of adultery; in fact, as any good cheating
song should, it has an oppressive air to it that leaves the listeners
feeling almost claustrophobic with a knot in their stomach.
Watson does a brilliant job of creating the atmosphere for the
song by beginning it with only his voice and an acoustic guitar,
which is then joined by the chime of an electric guitar and a
fiddle on the first chorus before the entire band kicks in with
the second verse. The music and words do a wonderful job of
evoking the red plastic cushioned booths, darkened corners, and
tawdry places where such things traditionally take place -- Presidents
of the United States excluded, of course. This is the kind of
song that, had it been done by George Jones or the late Johnny
Paycheck, would've been an instant classic, and it still deserves
to be.
Once again another man walks in and orders him drinks for
two
Despite his wife and picture perfect life he's too good to be
true
While he's flirting she'd swear he's working on a job out of
town
A married man, you know he's got no business messing around
And there's a vacancy at home but not tonight at the Notel
Motel
In a room full of lies where love's stolen or put up for sale
If the walls could talk you know they'd have some stories to
tell
There's a vacancy at home but not tonight at the Notel Motel
Now to the song that I think should be turned up to eleven
and blasted twenty-four hours a day all along Nashville's so-called
Music Row, "Something With a Swing To It." This is
hardcore, unapologetic Texas Swing and takes to task all the
soft pop dregs who are currently being passed off as country.
And what can I say, if the red maple leaf fits . . .
Well, I was thumbing through the channels when I saw a
sight to see
A so-called country singer there singing on MTV
Then I began to think had she ever heard of Hank
Had she ever been to Texas where Bob Wills is still the king
(a-haw)
From the Houston Rodeo to any old dance hall
Cowgirls and cowboys know how to have a ball
And every night they'll tip a toast to the Lone Star State
Where the women are so fine and the music is so great
'Cause I want to two-step to a real dance hall swinger
Don't wanna see no wannabe country western singer
Don't call it country unless you can prove it
I want something with a swing to it
The only real problem with a CD like Shut Up and Dance
is that it is thirteen original songs that are all good. There
is not a weak moment on the entire disc and, as a reviewer, I
wish I could talk about each one, but that's just not feasible.
So, if you want to hear someone who is doing real country music
without concern for current fashion or test marketability, you've
already wasted enough time reading this review; get out there
right now and pick up a copy of Aaron Watson's Shut Up and
Dance. It'll leave you speechless.
* Swing by www.aaronwatson.com
and get a copy of Shut Up and Dance right now. If you're
a fan of great music, you'll wonder how you've gone this long
without it.
Contact Jud Block at jud-at-rockzilla.net
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