Out in the Country, originally released in 1988 on Sugar Hill and reissued in 2017 on the budget label Quicksilver (QS 5031), collects twelve previously unissued Doc Watson sides from early-1960s sessions captured by Chicago blues producer Norman Dayron. Dayron, best known for his work with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, kept the reels in his vault for roughly a quarter century before they surfaced. Watson plays guitar and harmonica and sings, with informal small-group backing on some cuts. The repertoire — "Doc's Guitar," "Tom Dooley," "Sally Goodin," "In the Pines" — is the same early-Watson canon his Vanguard records would crystallize, here in looser, intimate readings that feel like home tapes rather than studio statements.
Tracklist
- 1 Doc's Guitar 1:20
- 2 In the Pines alt version 2:05
- 3 Mama Blues 1:34
- 4 Sally Goodin alt version 3:19
- 5 Am I Born To Die 2:49
- 6 What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul alt version 3:09
- 7 Tom Dooley alt version 3:15
- 8 Little Stream Of Whiskey 2:18
- 9 Worried Blues 2:59
- 10 Doc's Talkin' Blues 3:57
- 11 Liza Jane 2:20
- 12 Midnight on the Stormy Deep alt version 3:44