It’s no mystery why Texas singer-songwriter William Clark Green is so popular. He writes relatable songs, has catchy sing-along choruses, clever wordplay, and his unifying rebel persona. Besides, his sentiments are generally right on target. He’s the modern-day Pat Green, for whom he is sometimes mistaken, because of the same last name.
Yet, for his seventh studio album, Watterson Hall. Now a father and husband, he has naturally changed his priorities. He took five years to write this album, hired a new producer, Nashville’s Logan Wall, assembled first-call Nashville studio musicians, and continued his trademark life narratives. Yet, although still present, the drinking songs, the rowdy college days, which are ‘bro’ songs to these ears, take a backseat to peans to wife, children, and the loss of his father. Call it maturity or at least a new perspective.
Sometimes this new approach works, but too often the production is overwhelming. Green is shouting over a din of instrumentation, rather than settling into a more natural, storytelling vocal approach. Every song has background vocals. There is a crying need just to dial it down. The lyrics, though strong in many places, are far too predictable in others. The mood is heavy; hence the ‘bro’ songs to lighten the fare and to remind his fans that he still has those in his bag. Also, despite the presence of country musicians such as guitarist Bryan Sutton, bassist Lex Price, and others, the sound reads more as pop-rock than true country, not surprising given Green’s past efforts and radio-friendly approach.
There are the odes to resilience, the us-against-the-world songs (“Stubborn & Remains,” “Hawks Don’t Fly with Chickens,” and “Dear Life’). The latter is by far his best, like packing tons of racing thoughts in those last five minutes between wake and sleep. He covers early life, marriage, fatherhood, and the loss of his father in one fell swoop. These lines are devastating – “Then you, you took my dad’s last breath/He had a lot of good living left/And you never even let me say goodbye/I built a cradle, you dug a grave.”
His love songs, sincere odes to his wife, hit the mark (‘Something You Would Die For,” “Waterson Hall (“Me & You),” “I Am The Kite,” “Fight to Love Another Day,” and “Let You Go. The former casts very plainly the weight and joy of newfound responsibilities. The title track is a nostalgic ode to the dancehall in his wife’s hometown, a chance to relive their first date. “I Am The Kite” was co-written with Travis Meadows, probably the best among the slew of co-writers Green enlists. The strings give the music a softer edge, and the sentiment expressed is precious – “I am the kite, she is the string/I’m a fly off and leaving it behind me/Forget it and keep moving on/She’s the fearless, come out and find me/Forgive me and bring me back home.” He examines both angles of negotiating arguments in “Fight to Love Another Day” and “Let You Go,” offering rare, insightful looks at early marriage. Related ot these is “Where the Wild Things Are,” a spacier feel in the music and a tender toast to imagination, and that all one needs is a lover and a backyard. Another promising sentimental gem is the closer “Man on the Moon,” but he opts for a rollicking tempo when a ballad approach may have served him better.
He nods to his hometown, Fort Worth, in “Cowtown,” one of the three ‘bro’ tunes that he somehow felt obliged to include, perhaps to cement his connection with past works. “Good Time” is another, heralding the merits of a cold beer and a lakeside lawn chair. Yet, we’ll give him a break on “Drinking and Driving,” a witty song about playing golf with your buddies, while downing a few adult beverages. The song may already be a hit. It is chock full of witty lines – “Drinkin and drivin’/Swerving and slicing/There’s no DUI-ing/On private property.” Not surprisingly, his fist-bumping “Whole Lotta Lubbock” has become the anthem for Texas Tech Red Raiders home football games.
Green’s Watterson Hall reveals painstaking songwriting and deeply felt emotions, but the balance isn’t quite right, topically or in production values, despite a fair share of lyrical gems.
