Doc Watson (CD)

Blind North Carolina guitarist Arthel "Doc" Watson did more than anyone other than Earl Scruggs to popularize the guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass. Watson's trademark two-fingered flatpicking style is one of the most influential in the genre, and has proven influential to all who followed in his wake. He became a professional musician in the 1950s, and was in the right place at the time for the folk boom of the '60s, which made him a star in roots music circles. For many years, Watson worked in a duo with his son Merle, but the latter was killed in a 1985 farm accident. Doc eventually soldiered on, becoming one of the most respected elder statesmen of bluegrass, earning Grammys and plaudits along the way.

• Category:  Music  »  Country  »  Bluegrass
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: March 15, 1990
• Label: Vanguard Records (USA)
• UPC: 015707915229
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106624901
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #27120 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #85142 in Country (See Top 100 Country Bestsellers)
• #167 in Bluegrass (See Top 100 Bluegrass Bestsellers)

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Solo performer: Doc Watson (vocals, guitar, 5-string banjo, harmonica).

Includes liner notes by Ralph Rinzler.

This legendary singer/guitarist is viewed primarily as a bluegrass musician, but as this solo debut makes clear, his work encompasses folk, country, and blues as well. Watson is first and foremost an avatar of American music. Doc had already been recorded singing with his family, but this 1964 release was his real introduction to the world at large. Watson's strong, fluid (but never showy) flatpicking and subtle, penetrating singing are well displayed, as he's unaccompanied for most of the album.

His version of the Dock Boggs favorite "Country Blues" captures all the pathos and regret of the song's narrator, a man undone by his vices, by maintaining a calm, unruffled tone even at the most stirring moments. On the a cappella spiritual "Talk About Suffering," Watson gives off an air of determinism, unflinchingly cataloging the world's misery with the certainty of one who expects a better world in heaven. It's Watson's ability to express bleakness and hope with equal sincerity and humility that makes him such a convincing vocalist, and it's his prowess as an acoustic guitarist that makes this sparse sonic landscape so inviting.

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