Who knew Desert Water had found its way into Europe?
Duncan Warwick, the editor of Country Music People magazine gave us a fantastic 4 star review in the September 2016 issue!
We’re so excited for the positive feedback and have decided to release our singles into Europe… so keep an eye out!
“Good country music can come from anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s the US, Europe or Australia. It’s not that long ago we had a country album from Brazil, but I don’t think I can remember ever hearing an Aboriginal country singer.
Warren H Williams is just that and has teamed up with emerging singer and fellow Aussie Dani Young to make an album of traditional country duets in Nashville. With the ever reliable Billy Yates producing you know you’re onto a good thing and with a guest spot from Jim Lauderdale the good got even better.
Warren Williams’ voice has a nice lived-in quality with hints of Kenny Rogers meets George Jones that works well with the younger and cleaner vocals of Dani Young. The songs are strong and as you might expect the production is sensitive to a traditional sound.
The track featuring Yates and Lauderdale is the honky tonk singalong killer, two-stepper, My Friend Bottle. This track alone would justify the purchase of this album, but throughout, with Yates at the helm, it’s a delight.
Almost as good as My Friend Bottle are Nothing Left to Burn and These Eyes which are both similarly uptempo and laden with fiddle, steel and honky tonk piano, whereas Dusty Ute is the only thing that hints that they are Australian.
Desert Water is stone country and fabulous and One Lifetime could have been a hit in the 90s. I could imagine it being cut by any number of singers back in the day, gentle, catchy and positive and instead of “One lifetime ain’t enough for loving you,” I might have preferred the lyrics, “One month is 29 days too long for loving you!”
On Two Ships the Rodgers quality of Williams’ voice really comes out and the song itself seems to have aspirations of being a Kenny Rogers crossover type song. It might be the least best song on here but it’s still more palatable than some big names I could mention who have dragged their unsuspecting other halves into the studio.
The influence of Billy Yates cannot be underestimated but I get the feeling that these two could make a good album anywhere. However, I’m glad they went to Nashville to cut this, I’m delighted they chose Yates to produce it and I’m even more delighted at the brief guest appearance of Jim Lauderdale. Desert Water is sure to quench your thirst for traditional country with catchy songs and a production that could have come from any time in the last twenty years.”
Duncan Warwick