Album Feature – Aaron Watson – Red Bandana

By Joshua Wallace

Red Bandana is Aaron Watson’s first studio LP since 2017’s Vaquero.  This album picks up where Vaquero left off and is 20 tracks deep with good country music.  Aaron Watson continues to produce good stuff and Red Bandana is looking like it will be high on my year end album list.  When an album has 20 songs, it often means there can be a few duds in the bunch, but that is not the case here.

“Ghost Of Guy Clark” kicks things off with an nontraditional song that is more of a recitation.  Don’t let that fool you, this song will still get your blood pumping and get you excited about the rest of the album to come.  If that track gets your blood pumping, “Dark Horse” takes hold of that adrenaline and doesn’t let go. I love the banjo riff that opens this upbeat track that almost sees Aaron rapping through the verses, but it’s done in a way that just fits this track.  It reminds me a bit of “Freight Train” from The Underdog, and it should be a similar hit for Watson.

Switching things up a bit, “Legends” is a great song about country music heroes and legends gone by.  It’s a tasteful callback to those old songs that just never die. “Am I Amarillo” is a very George Strait inspired love song about possibly moving on and trying to make that decision.  “Live Or Die Trying” is another favorite that is somewhat in the same vein as “Dark Horse”. It’s a song about never giving up until you’ve achieved your dreams which is something Aaron Watson has done his entire career.

“Riding With Red” is a tearjerker about an old cowboy that has passed but Aaron looks up to highly in this song.  It’s an amazing example of the great songwriting you find throughout this album. “Home Sweet Home” is another great ballad on this album.  I love the line “My illusion’s delusion has come to conclusion / This world’s not what it seems”. Finally, “You On My Hands” is a smooth country love song like only Aaron Watson can do these days.  He’s written a few good ones over the years and this is another.

This album is a long one, clocking in at 69 minutes, but it’s full of good tunes and none of it disappoints.  I saw Aaron Watson back on his tour for Vaquero back in 2017 and it may be time to catch a show again with all of these new songs.  Red Bandana is available everywhere you can find good music as of June 21st, 2019.

Favorite Tracks : Ghost Of Guy Clark, Dark Horse, Legends, Am I Amarillo, Live Or Die Trying, Riding With Red, Home Sweet Home, Shake A Heartache

Aaron Watson – Red Bandana (2019)

1. Ghost Of Guy Clark
2. El Comienzo del Viaje
3. Dark Horse
4. Heartstrings
5. Old Friend
6. Kiss That Girl Goodbye
7. Country Radio
8. Legends
9. Am I Amarillo
10. Blood Brothers
11. Live Or Die Trying
12. Riding With Red
13. Red Bandana
14. Trying Like The Devil
15. Home Sweet Home
16. Burn Em Down
17. Shake A Heartache
18. You On My Hands
19. To Be The Moon
20. 58