Reviews of Preacher Boy's Albums

Demanding To Be Next (Coast Road Records, 2004)

GvonT, Sing Out! Review
"The independent-minded Preacher Boy (born Christopher Watkins) has been playing and recording his refreshing, progressive brand of blues since the early 1990s. Originally based on the West Coast, he now calls Brooklyn home and launches his Coast Road label with this "unplugged" project.

Accompanied solely by his keening, propulsive National and Martin guitar playing, Preacher Boy compulsively unwinds a series of often startling, narcotic tales, that prove image-rich and packed with an aura of sweeping drama - made even more pungent by his gruff, whiskey-soaked vocals. The set's sole cover, an impassioned reshaping of Son House's spooky "Death Letter" is in the same vein.

The 35-year-old Preacher Boy pays homage to another boyhood idol and country blues legend, Skip James, on "Nehemiah James," a nimble-fingered, raspy narrative that cleverly conjures some of James' trademark songs. Further favorites include an Ireland-inspired "Comin' Up Aces" (rife with minor-key slide guitar flourishes), the doleful, tone-setting lead track "A Little Better When It Rains," an intimate and ageless saga of an old "Rock Skipper" from the Great Lakes and the similarly anecdotal, downbeat "Ninety-Nine Bottles." A grin-inducing, bluesy nursery rhyme "My Gold Canoe" (a la Randy Newman) closes affairs on a whimsical note.

Demanding To Be Next offers solid songs delivered in spine-tingling fashion by one of the best contemporary bluesmen on the current scene."

P. Kellach Waddle , Folkwax Review
"What is communicated in these 13 stunning tracks is a sound like old saddle leather with holes poked in it - with molasses then poured through those holes. The sonic color of (Preacher Boy's) voice rubs against your skin like that - something that is at once rough and ragged - but is also comforting and beautiful. Add a voice like that to songs that are virtually all masterpieces and you have one of the MUST BUY CDs of the year"

Joe Cushley, Blues Matters Review
"(Preacher Boy) has a pleasantly gravelly delivery, and plucks and slides on his resonators and other steel-strings with a classy, warm aplomb. Some of the songs recall a straighter Tom Waits, and he's written a very fine tribute to Skip James. 'Demanding To Be Next' is a must for modern blues fans who like their songs with a bit of an edge"

Stewart Mason , All-Music Guide Review (four-and-a-half-stars)
"Preacher Boy might be a young white boy singing the blues, but think Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart more than Led Zeppelin and Bad Company, and throw in some Townes Van Zandt and Gillian Welch as well. For his fifth album, Preacher Boy (known to his mother by the decidedly less bluesy moniker Christopher Watkins) for the first time performs in a strictly solo and acoustic setting: just his agreeably smoky voice and vintage National slide guitar. Waits and Beefheart come immediately to mind because of Watkins' fearlessness when it comes to bending melodies to suit his own whim, not to mention the husky low register of his singing voice. But he's not really out to warp or subvert the blues, as shown by reverential but idiosyncratic readings of standards like Son House's "Death Letter" and Skip James' "Nehemiah James." Watkins understands that the idea is not to mimic one's influences, but to put them in the service of something new. That "old wine in a new bottle" context makes Demanding to Be Next Preacher Boy's best album yet."

Michael Cote, Blues Revue Review
"On his fifth album as Preacher Boy, Christopher Watkins' stripped-down country blues and folk features just him and his guitars: a 1936 National Steel, a 1938 Martin 0018-G nylon string and a Martin D-16 steel string. The solo acoustic format is a first for Watkins, who made his debut with a pair of albums on Blind Pig in the mid-90's and has toured and recorded with pop star Eagle-Eye Cherry. "Demanding To Be Next" demands attention instantly. On the tender opener "A Little Better When It Rains," Watkins blends fingerpicking and slide. His voice, a cross between those of Kelly Joe Phelps and Tom Waits, has an otherworldly quality that, whether natural or an affectation, makes him sound like no one else and suits his quirky songs well. Flatpicked folk song "Whistleman" packs detailed, offbeat imagery that recalls Dylan's best. Its ominous feeling gets under your skin, setting you up for the album's only cover a few tracks later, a strong reading of Son House's "Death Letter." Likewise, Watkins' slide on "Jackson Street" conjures the kind of old-time train songs he aspires to emulate. Watkins peppers his somber tales with sharp wit. On "My Gold Canoe," he tosses throwaway lines like "Jimmy can't crack corn/If he ain't got no ears" with references to a fourth World War and a passionate romance. Good luck trying to keep the chorus - "It's the very last night/Of the world we knew/And we're going to row on up to heaven/In my gold canoe" - out of your head."

Pete Sargeant, Blues Matters/UK Review
"Well, this has reached the top of the review pile...pretty appropriate with a title like this. First play a week ago put one word in my head: intense. Preacher Boy plays a sharp acoustic - slide and straight - and second cut "Whistleman" has distant echoes of the mighty Arthur Lee's "Signed DC" - the Love leader's song to his junkie buddy Don Conka on the first Elektra album. PB has a storyspinner's voice and delivery, stops and slurs present and correct, you almost expect him to launch into Dylan's "Hurricane." Accompanying himself with deft and biting playing, this set of songs is as Roots in style as you can reasonably expect to discover in 2004; it's almost as though he's been locked up since the Woody Guthrie days and released now into the sunlight to get it all off his chest. Any live set based upon these pieces could certainly travel anywhere - Missouri bar, Cambridge Festival, Greenwich Village café. Most pleasing is that to these ears anyway Preacher Boy has no obvious overall inspiration or hero. "Nehemiah James" could be from the Bert Jansch songbook with its rolling descending chord progression; PB's raspy voice almost spits out "Jackson Street." Sometimes the production is almost TOO stark but perhaps this the way our subject prefers to work. No need for any sweetening but an empathetic rhythm section would enhance some of the songs without removing any impact - Daves Bronze and Mattacks would be my suggestions! A decent list of sleeve Thank You's hints that PB cannot be TOO insular and maybe he'll move into band work in the future, who knows? For the moment this is a folk-blues troubadour making an acoustic album mainly comprised of his songs and arrangements and whilst his voice may be an acquired taste there's no doubt he means every word and he weaves a spell of his own. More please."

Don Thomason, Amplifier Review
"This may not be the average listener's cup of tea, although it could be your cup of deep black coffee or dark whiskey. For 13 tracks, Brooklyn guitarist Preacher Boy employs only his Tom-Waits-colored vocals and his fingers or slide on either a 1936 National resonator, a 1938 Martin 00-18G nylon string, or a 2001 Martin D-16 flattop guitar. The result is a trip down emotional backroads running through blues-folk territory, sometimes stark and othertimes enthused. With the exception of Son House's "Death Letter," all songs are penned by the artist. A sense of drama infuses tracks like "A Little Better When It Rains" and the haunting "Comin' Up Aces." Sometimes he's lyrically opaque but he's always earthy, as on the "Ninety-Nine Bottles" avowal "There's ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall/I like wine better but I'll make do, y'all." And there's something about the closing resonator piece "My Gold Canoe" that is somehow reminiscent of John Hartford. Want a dose of country blues? Head over to www.preacherboy.com."

Fran Gray, Two Louies Magazine Review
"Equipped with a whiskey and smoke voice and a whining 1936 single-cone National Steel Guitar, Preacher Boy (is currently touring) in support of his fifth CD Demanding To be Next. This completely solo effort showcases two very unique voicings, his Louis Armstrong-ish vocals and the lonesome twang of his guitar. Demanding to be Next is rich in its acoustic bluesy Americana nature and pure in the power of its soloist delivery. It is a beautiful album that beckons the listener to hear Preacher Boy live."

The Devil's Buttermilk (Manifesto, 2000)

Carl Hanni, Amazon.com Editorial Review
"Preacher Boy stands at the crossroads of the blues, country, rock, and rockabilly, howling his tales into the void of human misery, folly, and (possible) redemption. Preacher Boy is Christopher Watkins, a one-man band of epic proportions, playing virtually everything--shy a few drums and keyboards--on The Devil's Buttermilk, his fourth album. Indeed, "epic" may best describe Watkins' collection of tales that blends the intimacy of a front-porch jam with themes of universal import. With a voice that sounds like he's been gargling gravel and an eclectic grab bag of music that draws on virtually everything with organic roots, Preacher Boy covers a remarkable amount of territory in 14 songs. Misfits, dead friends, brilliant barflies, preachers, lovers, and a whole panoply of losers all stumble, walk, and wail through his songs. Watkins adds mandolin, national steel guitar, accordion, harmonica, and other instruments to the usual collection of guitars, keyboards, and drums. "On And On It Goes" kicks off with an organ-fueled rocking beat before warping through changes that take it to the near operatic and back again--and that's only the first track. From there the journey goes through dusty blues, dark folk laments, country shuffles, the lovely, Leonard Cohen stylings of "This Morning," and a dash of Celtic before ending up somewhere near the local cocktail lounge with "It's Cold Tonight." One can only hope that the absurdly talented Preacher Boy gets at least some of the recognition he so richly deserves."

Keith Gordon, All-Music Guide Review
"From the sound of the hypnotic recurring riff that propels the album-opening "On and on It Goes," the listener is assured that The Devil's Buttermilk is not your typical blues album and that Preacher Boy is definitely not your usual Telecaster-toting modern bluesman. With a guttural black-cat moan to match any death metal howler, Preacher Boy (born Christopher Watkins) sermonizes at the alter of hard knocks, reading from the good book of Muddy Waters and spreading the gospel of Howlin' Wolf. The Devil's Buttermilk, Watkins' fourth album, is lyrically populated with madmen and geniuses, drunkards and dreamers who pursue sin and salvation with an equal zeal. Watkins plays most of the instruments on The Devil's Buttermilk, mixing up thick, ominous, hard-rocking dirges with nightmarish, ethereal ballads, wielding the vivid imagery of his lyrics like a lightning strike, hitting the listener with thunderous tales of woe and redemption. Watkins crosses the traditional country blues of haunted legends like Robert Johnson and Son House with a modern, rock-influenced perspective similar to Jon Spencer or Jack White of the White Stripes, branding the sound with his own distinctive mark. With The Devil's Buttermilk, Preacher Boy stands apart from the legion of Stevie Ray Vaughan clones to blaze his own individual and original path toward the blues."

New Times/Phoenix
"A tour-de-force from a devilishly talented musician."

The Stranger/Seattle
"You don't want to miss this. He's a one-man musician/wizard."

Crow (Wah Tup, 1998)

Mojo/London, England
"Preacher Boy is a songwriter of startling originality."

Melody Maker/London, England
"Country blues that marry Nick Cave, Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie and Tom Waits, honeymoon in the barroom with accordions and banjos and line the wedding bed with sheets of mutant folk, deviant campfire country and beatnik jazz."

Gutters and Pews (Blind Pig, 1996)

Blues Access Magazine
"With some of the most innovative roots music on the scene today, Preacher Boy will make a believer out of even the most skeptical with Gutters and Pews. The album creates dusky lyrical landscapes littered with hobos, ghosts, drunks, loneliness, love, and salvation. The result is a totally unique twist on roots music."

Preacher Boy and the Natural Blues (Blind Pig, 1995)

CD Review Magazine
"Using good ol' down-home blues as the scaffolding for this post-modern exercise in music-making, Preacher Boy delivers an eclectic batch of original tunes on this impressive debut."