The Elementary Doctor Watson!

History

The Elementary Doctor Watson! is Watson's first album after leaving the Vanguard Records label for Poppy Records (Poppy Records' founder Kevin Eggers started Tomato Records later and published many of the Poppy Records catalogue as CDs). It was also the first of three successive Watson albums to be produced by Jack Clement. The next two would win Grammy awards.

The cover art was created by one of Poppy Records' favoured artists, Milton Glaser, who also employed his font "Glaser Stencil" on the album's back cover.

Doc dedicated the song "Treasures Untold" to his wife Rosa Lee.

Sugar Hill records re-issued The Elementary Doctor Watson! on CD with four bonus tracks.

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, music critic Jim Smith wrote of the album "... this is a great Sunday morning record, a genuine pleasure from start to finish."

Track listing

1. "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" (Traditional) – 2:48
2. "The Last Thing on My Mind" (Tom Paxton) – 3:19
3. "Freight Train Boogie" (Watson) – 3:00
4. "More Pretty Girls Than One" (Alton Delmore, Smith) – 2:49
5. "I Couldn't Believe It Was True" (Eddy Arnold, Wally Fowler) – 2:50
6. "Summertime" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 3:25
7. "Worried Blues" (Traditional) – 3:12
8. "Interstate Rag" (Watson) – 2:28
9. "Three Times Seven" (Cliff Stone, Merle Travis) – 2:18
10. "Treasures Untold" (Ellsworth Cozzens, Jimmie Rodgers) – 3:07
11. "I'm Going Fishing" (Traditional) – 2:38
12. "Little Beggar Man/Old Joe Clark" (Traditional) – 2:08
13. "Frankie and Johnny" (Traditional) – 3:05
14. "Old Camp Meetin' Time" (Traditional) – 2:08

Personnel