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Blues Underground Network Darren Watson "Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy" (New
Zealand)
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 "New
Zealand's Darren Watson has crafted a beautiful album in 'Saint Hilda's
Faithless Boy', a set of backward-looking (but by no means retro) blues
recorded with a bracing, contemporary sonic treatment. Watson pops his
guitar strings like Johnny 'Guitar' Watson on "She Got It All", mines
soulful, Robert Cray territory on "Love Is An Ocean", and channels Howlin'
Wolf in full, stomping intensity on "A Desperate Man". Dig the swampy
roots-rocker "He Don't Love You", the serpentine "The Bitter Suite", and
the acoustic slide reading of "My Love Will Never Die" -- leagues from
Otis Rush's original stylistically, right there emotionally. Watson's
hearty vocal approach sounds utterly honest. The supporting cast is
superb." - Blues Revue (USA)For Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy, Darren Watson has returned to his core business -- the blues -- with a clutch of classy original songs and the hottest band in the land. Drummer Richard Te One and keyboardist Alan Norman had both worked with Watson in Smokeshop, while bass player Elliotte Fuiamaono (Southside Of Bombay) featured on South Pacific Soul. Watson wrote all the songs but one, a bold acoustic reading of the Willie Dixon/Otis Rush classic "My Love Will Never Die". The rest range from shuffles to funk grooves, urban blues to country-soul. There's even an instrumental with a hint of Weimar cabaret. But it is all infused with Watson's deep feeling for the blues. About Darren Watson
Darren Watson is an international
award winning New Zealand blues musician and songwriter. The former
Chicago Smoke Shop frontman is widely acknowledged as one of the country's
best live performers.
No-one plays the blues like Darren
Watson. Over the better part of three decades he has developed a style
that, while touching on all of the greats who inspired him, is personal,
powerful and identifiably his own.
Watson gained national fame in the 80s as the young front-man and guitar-slinger for Smokeshop. The band made two albums, had several radio hits, opened for numerous international blues legends and toured tirelessly, earning Watson a place alongside the likes of Midge Marsden, Hammond Gamble and Rick Bryant as one of this New Zealand's best blues interpreters. 2012 is starting with a trip for Darren to the iconic Australian Blues Festival in New South Wales in February. Additional Artist Info... http://darrenwatson.com/index.htm
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