Aaron Watson,
The Honky Tonk Kid

Label: Emergent/92e
Year: 2004

(2½ out of 5)

Aaron Watson displayed a remarkable, raw voice on his 2002 release shutupanddance. Two years later the rawness is gone. It's impossible to know from this recording if Watson has honed his voice or if the rawness has simply been smoothed out by producer Ray Benson.

Whatever the source, the rawness is missed. Slick production and "guest artist" duets have replaced natural energy and that rugged voice.

While The Honky Tonk Kid still is a good album, it sounds like just another Nashville output—not the breakthrough recording of a central Texas budding star.

The opener, "The Right Place," is a pointless name-dropping song. Watson compares himself to Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Johnny Paycheck—all before the chorus.

Next is the overly-long title song duet with Willie Nelson bemoaning the decline of a mythical honky tonk hero. Then comes "Reckless," Watson's chart-climbing, Kenny Chesney-esque homage to youthful passion.

The good news is that it does get better.

"What She Don't Know" harks back to heartbreak songs like "Off the Record" from Watson's previous album. "Let's Lose Some Sleep Tonight" might sound like something Tim and Faith would record, but it's a nice change of pace that actually works. "Diesel Driving Daddy" with Dale Watson is the lone duet that clicks. But that just may be because I have a soft spot for trucking songs.

The closer, "Will You Love Me in a Trailer?" sounds like a polished tune pulled out of the early George Strait songbook (though it was penned by Watson and songwriting partner Neal Lowry): I can't offer you the stars above / Just next to nothing except my love / Every day that I have to live / My everything's all I've got to give.

With The Honky Tonk Kid, Aaron Watson evinces a transformation from a raw and rugged talent to a highly polished, heavily produced, prepackaged star-in-the-making.

It's a bit disappointing to see this sort of change engineered by Ray Benson. But there's no question the digital polish applied to the studio tracks plays a major role in smoothing out the rough spots that made Watson so attractive a talent in the first place.

Buy: Lone Star Music, Amazon

October 7, 2004