Gene Watson’s Peers within the country music industry believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas, so much so that Gene is regarded by many of them as ‘the singer’s singer’ – and rightly so!
All of Gene Watson’s Peers, who were contacted during 2018, were most gracious with their time and words.
It is here, within this special part of The Gene Watson Fan Site, that you have an opportunity to read a quote from Cliff Westfall, which he submitted to this site on Sunday 26 August 2018.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to Cliff Westfall who made a special contribution to this unique part of this online ‘celebration of a Lone Star Hero’.
Cliff Westfall
This quote was submitted on Sunday 26 August 2018.
‘Gene Watson is one of those singers who just knows exactly what to do with a song.
He can sound laid-back and effortless, or really swing for the fences, and either way he’s always note-perfect.
And, so many great songs too.
I’ve always been especially obsessed with ‘Love in The Hot Afternoon‘, which was written by Kent Westberry and Vincent Wesley Matthews (1940 – Saturday 22 November 2003).
Truly, he’s a living legend and a link to the golden era of country music’
Thank you, Cliff Westfall, for your support of Gene Watson.
About Cliff Westfall…
Cliff Westfall is a New York-based country music songwriter, who writes songs about heartache, loss, addiction…you know, funny songs!
Cliff Westfall can turn on a dime and dive headlong into a sentimental weeper. The Kentucky native delivers with a mixture of wit and bravado that, for Cliff Westfall, is central to what country music is all about.
On his new album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018), Cliff Westfall assembled a crew of some of New York’s best musicians to explore a new idea of Americana, drawing inspiration from sources often forgotten by the current country music scene.
‘I feel like the humour of people like Roger Miller (Thursday 2 January 1936 – Sunday 25 October 1992), Don Gibson (Tuesday 3 April 1928 – Monday 17 November 2003) and Del Reeves (Thursday 14 July 1932 – Monday 1 January 2007) is neglected nowadays’, Cliff Westfall says.
A lot of current country music makes you want to ask, ‘Hey, does anybody remember laughter?’ And you know, it’s not really anything against what anyone else is doing, it’s just that the ability to laugh at your troubles seems to have gotten lost’.
The songs on Cliff Westfall’s ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018) are bitingly acerbic, dependent on the twisty puns, bittersweet humour, and turns of phrase that used to define country music.
Cliff Westfall is a true son of Kentucky and is an honest student of the genre, but refuses to be constrained by its definitions.
Cliff Westfall cites Chuck Berry (Monday 18 October 1926 – Saturday 18 March 2017) as his favourite lyricist, arguing that some of Chuck Berry’s songs were much closer to their country cousins than lines of race and genre might have suggested. This is Americana outside the box, made by an artist gleefully rifling through the dusty record bins of American roots music and converting them into something new.
The songs on Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018) draw from his abiding love of great songwriting.
Cliff Westfall has an obsessive passion about the smallest details of his favourite songs and albums, and he has lived a life chasing those obsessions.
Cliff Westfall is an avid fan of Dwight Yoakam, Jerry Lee Lewis (Sunday 29 September 1935 – Friday 28 October 2022), Bob Dylan and Laurel Canyon.
Cliff Westfall was born and raised in Owensboro, not far from tiny Rosine, Kentucky where Bill Monroe (Wednesday 13 September 1911 – Monday 9 September 1996) invented Bluegrass music, and he grew up listening endlessly to Kentuckians like The Everly Brothers – Phil Everly (Thursday 19 January 1939 – Friday 3 January 2014) and Don Everly (Monday 1 February 1937 – Saturday 21 August 2021) – who changed the path of popular music.
Though he got his start playing cowpunk music in Kentucky, Cliff Westfall soon left his home state behind for the bright lights of New York City. ‘The term ‘country music’ is almost a misnomer anyway’, argues Cliff Westfall. ‘A big part of the original audience was people a generation or two removed from the farm who had migrated to the city. People more familiar with factory work and honky tonks than with the back end of a mule, you know? The music they wanted to hear was as much about cutting loose, dancing and having a good time as it was about sadness and hardship. That was kind of the story of my family. Or maybe, I’m just attracted to neon lights, I don’t know’
On Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Self Release, 2018), he brings his Kentucky roots to a very urban New York world, opening up the old country sounds to a much wider vision of Americana.
Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018), which was produced by Bryce Goggin and Graham Norwood, was recorded and mixed, over a period of nine days, at Bryce Goggin’s recording studio; the album included the following tracks:
‘It Hurt Her To Hurt Me’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘Baby You Win’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘Til The Right One Comes Along’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘More & More’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘Off The Wagon’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘(Just Enough To Keep Me) Hangin’ On’, which was written by Ira Bridges Allen (Monday 1 November 1937 – Sunday 25 July 2021) and William (Billy) Robert Mize (Monday 29 April 1929 – Wednesday 1 November 2017)
In 1976, Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 – Tuesday 28 April 2009) signed with Elektra Records and saw the release, in July 1977, of his debut album, ‘Till The End’ (Elektra Records, 1977); one of the included tracks was ‘(Just Enough To Keep Me) Hangin’ On’, which was written by Ira Bridges Allen (Monday 1 November 1937 – Sunday 25 July 2021) and William (Billy) Robert Mize (Monday 29 April 1929 – Wednesday 1 November 2017), which reached No.16 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1976 and featured harmony vocals from Emmylou Harris.
Vern Gosdin‘s debut album, ‘Till The End’ (Elektra Records, 1977), reached No.10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1977; in 2008, Collectors’ Choice Music re-issued the album, complete with an essay from noted author Colin Escott.
‘I’ll Play The Fool’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘The Man I Used To Be’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘A Lie If You Must’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘The End of The Line’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘Sweet Tooth’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
‘The Odds Were Good’ (written by Cliff Westfall)
Personnel involved in the recording of Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Self Release, 2018), included the following:
Cliff Westfall (lead vocals, acoustic guitar)
Scott Metzger (electric guitar, acoustic guitar)
Graham Norwood (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmony vocals, backing vocals)
Dan Iead (pedal steel guitar)
Jeremy Chatzky (upright bass, electric bass)
David Christian (percussion)
Charlie Giordano (keyboards)
Matthew Horn (harmony vocals on ‘Sweet Tooth’ and ‘Hanging On’, additional backing vocals on ‘The Man I Used To Be’ and ‘More & More’)
Barbara Endes (harmony vocals on ‘A Lie If You Must’)
This is Sean Brady’s review of Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Self Release, 2018), which was published on Thursday 25 October 2018:
‘Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018) is, in a word, glorious, and is a superb throwback to the golden days of country music.
Cliff Westfall may be a New York-based country music singer and songwriter, but this Kentucky native has written and presented an essential album, which any true star from Bakersfield would be proud to deliver.
As far as ‘Baby You Win’ is concerned, Cliff Westfall really has come up with the goods; a strong set of self-written songs (with one exception, which I’ll come to later), which clearly deliver Cliff’s take on what he feels country music should be.
I would place Cliff Westfall’s debut set in the same league as some of the greatest debut albums in the country music genre, albums such as Dwight Yoakam’s ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc’ (Reprise Records, 1986), Rosie Flores’ ‘Rosie Flores’ (American Beat Records / Reprise Records, 1987), Steve Earle’s ‘Guitar Town’ (MCA Records, 1986) and Randy Travis’ ‘Storms of Life’ (Warner Bros. Records, 1986).
These are country music albums which immediately grab you and won’t let go.
And Cliff Westfall’s ‘Baby You Win’ does exactly that from the first beat from your CD speakers, with the twang sound of ‘It Hurt Her To Hurt Me’ and the title cut.
The playing on Cliff Westfall’s ‘Baby You Win’ features superb musicianship from beginning to end, with exquisite use of acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, upright bass, electric bass, percussion and keyboards.
Cliff Westfall has assembled some of New York’s best musicians to bring out the best of his country music vision, and they have gone beyond the call of duty to achieve Cliff’s dream of a perfect country music album.
Cliff Westfall has delivered a wonderful set of exemplary country music, and all of the tracks are unique in their own way.
The set begins with a dream double take of honky tonk magic, ‘It Hurt Her To Hurt Me’ and ‘Baby You Win’, continues with the pure country sound of ‘Til The Right One Comes Along’ (which reminded me of early Eddie Rabbitt), the 1960s beat and clever wordplay of ‘More & More’, and the very Rodney Crowell-like sound of ‘Off The Wagon’ (which is a compliment!).
Just listen to the play out on this cut!
I did mention that Cliff Westfall had written all the cuts, with one exception; ‘(Just Enough To Keep Me) Hangin’ On’, which was written by Ira Bridges Allen (Monday 1 November 1937 – Sunday 25 July 2021) and William (Billy) Robert Mize (Monday 29 April 1929 – Wednesday 1 November 2017), was originally recorded by Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 – Tuesday 28 April 2009) in 1977, and featured harmony vocals from Emmylou Harris.
Cliff Westfall’s version of ‘(Just Enough To Keep Me) Hangin’ On’ is the equal of Vern Gosdin’s, and Matthew Horn’s harmony vocals add flavour to the cut.
The range of musical styles on Cliff Westfall’s ‘Baby You Win’ is wide-ranging, from the Buck Owens sound of ‘I’ll Play The Fool’, the Summer-time beat of ‘The Man I Used To Be’, the Everly Brothers’ influenced ‘A Lie If You Must’ (harmony vocals from Barbara Endes are a delight), the Beatles-esque sound of ‘The End of The Line’, to the swinging ‘Sweet Tooth’.
Cliff Westfall’s ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018) draws to a resounding close with ‘The Odds Were Good’, which could be a musical cousin for Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billie Joe’.
The songs on Cliff Westfall’s debut album, ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018) spring from his abiding love for traditional country music.
Cliff Westfall’s song-writing is on a par with the very best, and ‘Baby You Win’ (Cliff Westfall Independent Release, 2018) is an album I’ll be returning to time and again’
• Visit Cliff Westfall’s official site at cliffwestfallmusic.com
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