Under the careful production of Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones,
singer-songwriter Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek, now on hiatus) shines
on her self-titled solo debut, which combines country, bluegrass, pop
and some Irish-inspired moments in a mix that’s as seamless as it is
enjoyable. Watkins opens with the beautiful “All This Time,” a slow
ballad that sets the album’s tone. She surprises on “Freiderick,” an
instrumental that immediately brings Ireland to mind. Her take on
Jimmie Rodgers’ “Any Old Time” features a jazz-country feel reminiscent
of old-school Nashville, complete with fiddle and lap steel guitar
solos. But she doesn’t seem able to fully embrace Tom Waits’ “Pony,”
which falls a little flat in spite of Jon Brion’s gorgeous guitar solo.
But all is forgotten once you get to “Bygones,” an uptempo country
instrumental and the powerful ballad “Where Will You Be.”
— Ernest Barteldes
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2009.
