Willie Watson - Folksinger Vol 2 review: songs sung pure

Producer David Rawlings nailed it on what makes Old Crow founder Willie Watson so special: "Willie is the only one of his generation who can make me forget these songs were ever sung before."

The American folk canon has been well aired by the great and the ordinary, but Watson's take on songs made famous by the likes of the Rev Gary Davis, Leadbelly and Furry Lewis are marked by a determination to "live" the song. "I'm not trying to be a purist," he says. "There's so much beauty in this old music and it affects me on a deep level." Folksinger Vol 2 builds on the bare bones of 2014's Vol 1 with the mellifluous gospel of Fairfield Four helping out on three tracks, including the tasty opener, Samson and Delilah.

Still, essentially it remains his voice, guitar/banjo and these indelible songs. Once again less is more. williewatson.com