From The Cradle To The Grave is an album of remarkable depth and complexity (that is, with the exception of the atonal "Hollywood Hillbilly," a shout-out to Johnny Knoxville), tackling issues of spiritual and intellectual resonance. And, with only one of its 10 songs exceeding three minutes, it's also an incredibly dense record (Watson puts more into a single line than most Music Row acts put into a whole career's worth of albums), making it just that much more forceful a gut-punch. It's in that regard that Watson is able to draw comparisons to Cash, even as he crafts a sound that's definitively his own.  Full text...

From the Cradle to the Grave is an absolute must addition to any fan of the artist. My only complaint is that at just over 26 minutes that album is entirely too short!  Full text...

A very folksy, almost bluesy at times, take on some good old country music.  Full text...

The record has a lonesome sound that could easily be attributed to his graceful bowing out of the music scene for a while… a swansong of sorts. Filled with songs of longing and leaving and loss, From The Cradle To The Grave is the least honky-tonk of Watson's recordings, but probably the most deeply introspective.  Full text...

Dale Watson has a big deep authoritarian voice that can sound resigned or righteous or outraged or horny or devotional, depending on the needs of the song—Johnny Cash comes up as a comparable, but also Tennesee Ernie Ford and Ray Price. Believe me: when Dale Watson sings something, it stays sung.  Full text...