Lonesome Road/Look Away!

by Doc & Merle Watson

Overview

Doc Watson's United Artists Records catalog (long-since acquired by EMI) was tapped for two compilations in the fall of 2002, this two-fer combining his 1977 album Lonesome Road and his 1978 album Look Away!, licensed by Southern Music Distribution, and Songs From Home on EMI's Capitol Records label. The flurry of activity can be traced to the success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, with its traditional country and bluegrass music. That's ironic, given that Watson's tenure at UA in the 1970s came due to the success of an earlier traditional country collection, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken album, on which he appeared. The record business is nothing if not trendy, but if that's what it takes to bring two albums as enjoyable as Lonesome Road and Look Away! back into print, so be it. Watson is, of course, joined by his son, Merle Watson, on both releases, as well as by small bands that give the tracks a rocking punch. He essays a variety of country and folk standards, including Mississippi John Hurt's "My Creole Belle" (the only track that overlaps with Songs From Home) and Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." The disc ends with two previously unreleased bonus tracks, "New Born King" and "Peace in the Valley," both of them gospel songs on which Watson is joined by an orchestra and choir. The tracks are not consistent with the feistier material from the original LPs, but they are warmly and sincerely performed and provide a reverent coda to an excellent collection. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	09/03/2002
Label:	Southern Music Dist.
UPC:	0697035197722
Rank:	79659

Tracks

1. I Recall a Gypsy Woman
2. Minglewood Blues
3. Mean Mama Blues
4. Look up Look Down That Lonesome Road
5. My Creole Belle
6. Blue Railroad Train
7. Ain't Nobody's Fault but Mine
8. Stone Wall (Around My Heart)
9. I Ain't Going Honky-Tonkin' Anymore
10. Broomstraw Philosophers and Scuppernong Wine
11. Florida Blues
12. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
13. My Love Come Rolling Down
14. Gypsy Davie
15. 'Rangement Blues
16. You Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often
17. Blues in My Mind
18. It's a Crazy World
19. Under the Double Eagle
20. God Holds the Future
21. Dixie
22. New Born King
23. Peace in the Valley

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Doc & Merle Watson   Primary Artist
Doc Watson   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Guitar (Acoustic)
Merle Watson   Primary Artist,Slide Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Dobro,Guitar
Marcia Routh   Vocals (Background)
Bob Wilson   Piano
Pebble Daniel   Vocals (Background)
Karl Himmel   Drums,Shaker
Gove Scrivenor   Harmonica
Johnny Gimble   Fiddle
Jim Isbell   Drums,Percussion
Joe Allen   Bass
Michael Coleman   Bass
T. Michael Coleman   Vocal Harmony,Bass (Electric)
Lisa Silver   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Merle Watson   Producer,Production Assistant
Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey   Composer
Ria Lewerke   Art Direction
Pat Twitty   Composer
Gary Panter   Illustrations
Lauber   Arranger,Adaptation
William "Bleu" Evans   Mixing,Engineer
Stan Evenson   Design
Jim McGuire   Photography
Bob Maile   Calligraphy
Edwin Hobgood   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
John Underwood   Reissue Art Director
Mitch Greenhill   Producer
Bill Burks   Design,Art Direction
Glenn Meadows   Mastering
Billy Vaughn   Producer
Ernie Winfrey   Engineer
John Hurt   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Bob McDill   Composer
Allen Reynolds   Composer
Noah Lewis   Composer
Doc Watson   Arranger,Adaptation
Fred Rose   Composer
Alton Delmore   Composer
Mac McAnally   Composer
Ernest Tubb   Composer
Jenny Carson   Composer