Sara Watkins

Sara Watkins (Nonesuch)

By Aiden Landman
Published: April 17th, 2009 | 9:00am

Sara Watkins' self-titled solo debut on Nonesuch Records is an album of two speeds: up-tempo country-pickin' dance and downtrodden introspective balladry. She is proficient at both, but the record leaves much to be desired.

Watkins is perhaps best known as the fiddle player for the immensely popular group Nickel Creek. For her self-titled effort, she is surrounded by many of the same players — in addition to Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, who produced the record and played on many of its songs.

The album's highlight is Watkins' cover of the Tom Waits penned “Pony.” When Watkins sings lines like, “I've seen it all boys / I've been all over / Been everywhere in the whole wide world,” one gets the feeling that instead of channeling Waits, Watkins is drawing heavily from experience to make the song her own, while staying true to the original.

The rest of the record operates as a showcase for Watkins' voice, which can be haunting or happy as she explores themes ranging from love to religion to friendships present and past. While the songs certainly don't suffer from the ultra-clean production and pitch-perfect playing, on the whole it all seems a little forced. Heartfelt, but at times transparent, Sara Watkins is a decent start to what promises to be a lasting solo career. All in all, a good record that just doesn't seem to put enough at stake.

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