Gene Watson CMP Album Reviews
Gene Watson has been singing professionally since the
late 1950s & has been a country music (album) recording artist since the late
1960s.
Gene
Watson steps into a recording studio and, like a great chef, uses the perfect
ingredients to create an aural feast. When Gene Watson takes a step behind the
microphone, magic happens.
Gene Watson's contribution to the country music genre is immeasurable and it is
here that you have an opportunity to read reviews of Gene Watson's albums, as
published in Country
Music People.
Country Music People is the United Kingdom's No. 1 Award Winning
Country Music Magazine, and was the recipient of the Country Music
Association's 2003 Wesley Rose International Achievement Award.
Country
Music People was first published in 1970 and protects its
integrity fiercely. The magazine has always brought its readers
detailed, honest record reviews untainted by advertising considerations,
as well as genuine interviews with country stars that are not faked from
interview discs sent out by publicists and record labels.
Country
Music People have long ago nailed its colours to the mast
where Gene Watson is concerned. The magazine has rigorously championed
Gene's cause down through the years and have published a number of
reviews of his album releases. A number of these reviews can be
read on this page.
Please note that all reviews have been reproduced with the kind permission of Craig Baguley, the Editor of
Country
Music People, to whom a heartfelt 'thank you' is expressed.
 Old
Loves Never Die
MCA Records MCA 5241 (1981)
This review by Alan Cackett, which was published in the December
1981 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Alan Cackett
(**** out of 5)
'Watson re-affirms his reputation as one of the finest country
singers with this album containing a wide variety of songs.
He tackles them with a straight-forward interpretation and
innocence that leaves nothing to the imagination.
The
title tune sets the mood for the album; slow, moody, soulful.
That track also establishes the basic musical pattern of the
album; acoustic guitars dominating with the electric instruments
lending colour and occasionally coming forward to take the lead
as they do quite effectively on 'Speak softly (you're talking to
my heart)'.
On 'Til Melinda comes around', a Glenn Ray
song about a man's temptation with a former lover, and Buzz
Rabin's 'Roads & other reasons', Watson proves he can handle
soft and sensuous ballads as well as the hard country songs that
initially established him. His singing throughout is
superb, brilliantly recorded and in perfect unison with the
backing sounds. All in all, soft and pleasant fine country
music'.
Alan Cackett
Country
Music People
December 1981
 Sometimes
I Get Lucky
MCA Records MCA 5384 (1983)
This review by Alan Cackett, which was published in the July
1983 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Alan Cackett
(**** out of 5)
'Gene Watson has once again put together a fine new album
containing country songs old and new. This is a bit
shorter on classics than Gene's previous releases, but for those
who are dedicated Watson fans, this is just for you. The
finest cut on an album filled with good ones is Sonny
Throckmorton's 'She sure makes leavin' seem easy'. Here
Watson summons up the precise tone of pain and pride to burn in
Throckmorton's precise images.
He does it again with his
incisive interpretation of 'Thinkin' 'bout leaving', a song
tailor-made for the Watson style. As usual the album is
full of soft ballads, but he does include a couple of up-tempo
honky-tonkers like 'You're just another beer drinkin' song', a
message song with a sing-along chorus that comes across both
lively and heartfelt, and his latest single, ''You're out doing
what I'm here doing without.
For the first time on record
he is accompanied by his excellent road band, and the overall
sound is little different to that usually provided by the famed
Nashville session men. Assisting the Farewell Party Band
are Dave Kirby on guitar and Lisa Silver and
Buddy Spicher on
fiddle'.
Alan Cackett
Country
Music People
July 1983
 Little
by Little
MCA Records MCA 5440 (1984)
LP
MCA Records MCAD 22009 (1990) CD
This review by Bob Powell, which was published in the March 1984
issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission
of the publishers.
Album Review by Bob Powell
(**** out of 5)
'When Gene Watson hit the country charts way back in 1975 he was
singing honky tonk song, and now nearly nine years later he is
doing exactly the same thing, and achieving great success with
it. He once told me that if he couldn't perform the sort
of music he liked, he would go back to repairing cars, and I
believe him.
At time of writing, Gene's only single from this
LP, 'Drinking my way back home', is a top ten hit, and a real
raunchy tune it is too, the unusual thing about it though, in
these days of four minute hits, it is barely two minutes long.
There are plenty of potential hits here, but my favourite is the
title track, a great tune, but a sad song, about a family
breaking up, 'Little by little'. It is composed by Danny
Morrison and Larry Keith.
The better known pair of Warren
Robb and Dave Kirby (both formerly on major labels as singers)
have a fine treatment done on their song 'Forever again', while
another of my favourites is Ronny Scafe and Jerry Hays' 'The
Chesapeake Bay'. The straight down the line production is
by Watson, and the man who has been with him throughout, Russ
Reeder, and the basic backing is by Gene's own Farewell Party
Band that now includes former hit-parade singer Tony Booth and
his brother Larry. A good, if unexciting, honky tonk album
this'.
Bob Powel
Country
Music People
March 1984
 Memories
to Burn
Epic Records BFE 40076 (1985)
This review by Bob Powell, which was published in the October
1985 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Bob Powell
(***** out of 5)
'Gene Watson once said to me that if he was forced to record
material he didn't like, he would refuse, and go back to
repairing cars in Texas. Well the body shops in Texas
haven't got a new worker yet, but I bet Gene is just a little
bit nervous after his last single on MCA, reaching only number
43, and more importantly, his first for Epic, achieving a very
poor high of 24.
Sad because this is a very fine album, and the
song in question 'Cold Summer day in Georgia' is a very good
song. Maybe it should have been truer to life and called
'Cold Summer day in Britain'. Gene and his long-time band
leader Larry Booth produced this album, and among the pickers,
and another band member Larry's brother Tony Booth, once a
rising star on Capitol Records.
As so often seems to be
the case lately, Dave Kirby is here represented as a picker, and
a writer with the title track no less, and 'Stranger in our
house tonight', a nice if sad ballad. Canadian
Dallas Harms wrote Gene's initial biggie 'Paper Rosie', and he is
represented here on 'Get along little doggie', a rather clever
song that incorporates the old cowboy ballad.
My two
favourite songs though, are the ballad 'The note' about a 'Dear
John' letter, a sad song that is greatly complimented by another
long-time member of the Farewell Party Band,
Tiny Olson, on
steel.
The other highlight to me is a much faster number
composed by O.B. McClinton who I never rated as a vocalist, but
he wrote a hell of a good song in 'The New York Times' about a
recurring theme in Gene Watson songs, a departed lady.
Gene's got an excellent voice, the production is good and
country, and the songs are of a very high quality. All we
need now is a hit'.
Bob Powel
Country
Music People
October 1985
 Honky
Tonk Crazy
Epic Records FE 40644 5170 (1987)
This review by Bob Powel, which was published in the
June 1987 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Bob Powel
(***** out of 5)
'I hope that there is a big hit on this album as Gene's three
singles of 1986 only managed a high of 29, and that is simply
not good enough for a major label. He's pinning his hopes
on the title track 'Honky tonk crazy', a new song that
Harlan
Howard wrote with Ron Peterson. That to me is one of the
highlights of a very good album, as is the final song that
Harlan also wrote, but some three decades or so earlier, 'You
took her off my hands' on which Harlan had as the co-writer the
legendary and late Skeets McDonald.
Pretty much the same
high quality fare from Gene this, with another highlight being a
really beautiful 'broken heart' song 'I didn't think of you at
all'. Although Texas based, Gene records in Nashville, and
here is joined by the likes of newer pickers such as
Mark O'Connor (fiddle) and Terry McMillan (harmonica) as well as the
old pros Weldon Myrick (steel), Kenny Malone (drums), Jerry
Kennedy (guitar), Henry Strzelecki (bass) and Pig Robbins
(piano).
Billy Sherrill did the neat production job, and
let's hope that there is a whopper in here, so Gene can release
many more fine albums such as this'.
Bob Powel
Country
Music People
June 1987
 Back
in the Fire
Warner Bros. Records 9 25832-2 (1988)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
March 1989 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(**** out of 5)
'It's certainly good to see Gene Watson back on record again.
A man who has always remained faithful to his country roots,
totally unwilling to compromise the music he loves, Gene has had
a bit of a hiatus since leaving CBS last year and his presence
has been sorely missed.
Now signed for management with Lib
Hatcher (she of
Randy
Travis), his resurrection on Warner Bros.
is a fine piece of work produced by Paul Worley. Leading
off with his current single biggie, 'Don't waste it on the
blues', a swing-influenced mid-pacer that features jaunty fiddle
from Mark O'Connor, Gene works his way through a selection of
varying tempoed numbers that prove honky tonk country ain't dead
by a long chalk.
'Dreams of a dreamer' is straight off a true grit Texas dance
floor (and almost matches my favourite
Darrell McCall version of
the song) with its typical nick-nick lead off fiddle while
western swing is well served by Buddy Cannon's 'Ain't no fun to
be alone in San Antone'.
Slow pacers include a good
version indeed of the
Randy
Travis co-written weepie, 'The great
divide', with a plaintive Gene expressing his sorrow over love's
parting of the ways. The break-up theme is continued with
'Somewhere over you' but this time the man's feeling a bit
better about the new life ahead.
'Just how little I know' is a little on the funky side with Pop
telling son that on the road of life 'the longer I live, the
more I learn just how little I know'. Fiddle lead-off
tells us we're in for a solid country rendition of Lefty
Frizzell's 'She found the key' and this country shuffler in no
way disappoints.
The medium tempoed cryin'-in-my-beer 'The
jukebox played along' leads into the soft, meaningful vocalising
of the ballad, 'When a fool learns', to finish off a very tasty
set from one of the best country melodists around'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
March 1989
 Greatest
Hits
Curb Records D2-77393 (1990)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
February 1991
issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(***** out of 5)
'Between 1975 and 1984, Gene Watson's pure brand of honky tonk
balladry enjoyed immense success on the country charts via the
Capitol and MCA labels. Then, despite a Top 5 entry in
1985 with his debut single on Epic, 'Memories to burn', the
Texan's career went into a dive. The country music world
ignored him and Watson admits he gave serious thought to
quitting the game for good.
In 1988, Lib Hatcher (of
Randy
Travis fame) appeared on the
scene like a guardian angel and took Watson under her wing,
gaining him a new record deal with Warner Brothers. Alas,
that relationship has now soured with the news that each has
issued a suit against the other over management fees.
Although he a new album out on WB, I hope his problems with
Hatcher don't hang a question mark over his label contract.
Gene Watson, by an accident of birth, just happens to be one of
the greatest exponents of honky tonk this li'l ol' world has
ever seen and those in power should be thoroughly ashamed of
having allowed the artist to slip from grace these past few
years.
This compilation of hits includes some of Watson's greatest
recordings. No-one can question the classic status of the
lengthy 'Farewell party', or the erotic duo of 'Love in the hot
afternoon' and 'Where love begins' (the
line 'c'mere, let me take down your hair' always floors me)
while on the plaintive and tenderly-delivered 'I don't need a
thing at all' the singer raises country vocalising to the level
of high art. And that standard hardly falters throughout
this formidable set.
I always remember the first time I saw Watson live. It was
at Nashville's Exit Inn in the mid 70s and, resplendent in a
sparkling green Nudie creation, the man put on a killer show
that I've never forgotten. I hope for my sake and for all
true country music fans that Gene Watson can regain the status
that is deservedly his'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
February 1991
 At
Last
Warner Bros. Records 9 26329-2 (1991)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
April 1991
issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(** out of 5)
'A
new album from one of the greatest honky tonk singers in the
world, a voice so pure and soulful that one wonders what it
takes to get Gene Watson back up there where he belongs. If
veteran Vern Gosdin can re-launch his career against a backdrop
of stetson hats and pretty boy faces, why not Gene?
Watson's last album, 'Back in the Fire', was a fine piece of
work that failed to ignite and I certainly don't see this
release helping any - there's a lack of heavyweight songwriters
and the material is much weaker than on that last outing.
There's just nothing in this set that makes one sit up in awe
and say 'Jeez, what a song'. There's no 'Chiseled in
stone', no 'Wind beneath my wings', no 'Where love begins',
nothing, apart from that perfect, passionate voice, to raise
this album above the mundane.
And the inclusion of the pop ballad standard 'At last' seems
cock-eyed. Although Gene sings the heart out of it, it's more
suited to Jack Jones than a true blue country boy. There
are just too many good songwriters in Nashville for the need to
revert to this, unless it was a tryout for a new direction in
Watson's recordings. Or maybe Gene can't get the monster
songs because he's not hot enough and Music City songwriters are
nothing if not royalty-minded.
That's not to say there isn't some pleasant listening here.
The ballads 'A gifted hand' and 'Only yesterday' are quite
appealing, while the fast-paced 'You can't take it with you when
you go' has a walloping backing track. 'You can't get
arrested in Nashville' is probably a little too close to Gene,
telling of an old country music star who can't get a record deal
any more.
A rethink and an appeal to writers like Buddy Cannon, Max D.
Barnes and Troy Seals is urgently required'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
April 1991
 In
Other Words
Broadland Records BRI CD01932 (1992)
Mercury Canada 3145141612 (1992)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the January
1993 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(••••••• out of 10)
'A new release from one of my very favourite singers. Although
Gene Watson attempted a major label comeback on Warner Bros. two
or three years ago (thanks to signing with Lib Hatcher for
management), it was not to be, and the star's relationship with
his then benefactor got caught up in icy words and law suits.
Now, Canadian Gary Buck takes Watson on board and produces an
album that, while better than his Warner Brothers releases,
still falls short of Gene Watson at his best. There are
some good tracks, notably the delectable Buddy Cannon/John Northrup ballad 'One and one and one', but the fact that I
prefer the former cut on this song by
Shane Barmby (even though Barmby isn't half the singer Watson is) may be a pointer to my
slight dissatisfaction with this release.
Where Barmby
enjoyed a zestful production, Buck's is workmanlike rather than
spirited; similarly, with the musical backup, which has a
limited budget feel despite the presence of great session
players like Rob Hajacos, Buddy
Emmons, Weldon Wyrick and Pig
Robbins. As for Watson's voice, it's still marvellous even
if it's lost a little of the old edge, and he remains one of the
finest honky tonk balladeers around.
Other prime cuts are
Doodle Owens and Dennis Knutson's mid-stepper 'I don't think
she'd really mind at all' (with its oh-so-country opening line,
'I've got her right where I don't want her'), and 'Winds of
change', an effective song on the old
wife-finds-better-love-outside-home theme. So, a must for
Gene Watson fans, though some-ways from his classic cuts of
old'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
January 1993
 'Hank
Williams Tribute'
EMI 0777 7 81301 2 3
(1992)
Track Listing
1 'Honky tonkin' (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
2 'Half as much' (Glen Campbell)
3 'Hey good lookin' (Faron Young) - RIP
4 'I just don't like this kind of livin' (George
Jones)
5 'Your cheatin' heart' (Jody Miller)
6 'A mansion on the hill' (Slim Whitman)
7 'I
can't help it (if I'm still in love with you)' (Gene
Watson)
8 'Jambalaya' (Wanda Jackson)
9 'There'll be no teardrops tonight' (Willie
Nelson)
10 'Lovesick blues' (Sonny James)
11 'House of gold' (George
Jones
& Melba Montgomery)
12 'May you never be alone' (Tennessee Ernie
Ford)
13 'Nobody's lonesome for me' (Ronnie Hawkins)
14 'Move it on over' (Rose Maddox)
15 'I could never be ashamed of you' (George
Jones)
16 'I saw the light' (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band &
Roy Acuff)
17 'I'm so lonesome I could cry' (Glen Campbell)
18 'Kaw-Liga' (Frank Ifield)
19 'You win again' (Wanda Jackson)
20 'There's a tear in my beer' (Big Jim Lister)
21 'Why should we try anymore' (Ferlin
Husky)
22 'I'll never get out of this world alive'
(Asleep at the Wheel)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
March
1993 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(•••••••••• out of 10)
'That Hank Williams is the most influential figure
in modern country music cannot be denied. His
legacy of songs has had a massive impact on all fields
of popular music and is familiar to households
throughout the world. That, therefore, he is one
of the greatest of country songwriters is indisputable,
though I would hesitate to place him on a solitary
throne in that respect. For my money, Willie
Nelson ranks alongside Hank as a writer and had the
taxman's favourite already been dead, gone and a legend,
this would probably be accepted as received wisdom.
This various artists collection (compiled once more by
Tony Byworth - hasn't he been busy?) is a hit list of
typically wonderful Williams compositions. From
the musically brilliant 'Honky tonkin' (you try writing
a great one chord song) through the awesomely sorrowful
'I'm so lonesome I could cry' to the gospel joy of 'I
saw the light', this is a master at work and many of the
performances here do full justice to the quality of the
material.
Personal preference in that respect includes
Gene Watson's tender cut of the lovely 'I can't help
it (if I'm still in love with you)', an excellent
performance by the unstoppable Slim Whitman on 'Mansion
on the hill', a young Willie Nelson from his United
Artists days on 'There'll be no teardrops tonight', a
sparsely backed version (guitar and bass) of 'May you
never be alone' from Ernie Ford who is nowhere near my favourite singer, but whose vocal here is very
appealing, the rockabilly girl Wanda Jackson on a
straight country cut of 'You win again', a newly
discovered cut on 'There's a tear in my beer' by Big
Bill Lister (who he?) who gives a very good imitation of
the great man himself, and any track by
George Jones.
As fans will know, two of the songs here were not
actually written by Hank Williams. Indeed, his
first number one hit and a song forever indelibly
attached to his name, 'Lovesick blues', was written in
the twenties by Cliff Friend and Duke Ellington's
long-time lyricist, Irving Mills. The other, 'Half
as much', so beautiful one can be forgiven for thinking
Hank did write it, was written by namesake Curly
Williams and allows Glen Campbell to give one of his
finest performances.
Diehard fans will surely have many of these cuts
already, and I know compilation artist sets are not the
most welcome additions to a record collection, but I
suspect this might do quite well through non-specialist
outlets such as Woolies and Smith's. And there
must be more than a few fans who would jump at the
chance of listening to nearly one hour of Hank Williams
by proxy'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
March 1993
 Gene Watson performs 'I can't help it (if I'm still in love with
you)', a track which was originally included on the 'Should
I Come Home' album, which was released on Capitol Records in 1979.
 Uncharted
Mind
Step One Records SOR 0079 (1993)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the February
1994 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(8 out of 10)
'Another label change for this great country singer following his
traumatic time with Bugs Bunny and his regrettably less than
successful last album on Canadian Broadland/Mercury.
Uncharted Mind is a fine album with
Gene's voice in cracking form, as he proves on the power ballad
'You gave me a mountain', the Marty Robbins song that was a big
hit for the fabulous Johnny Bush back in '69 (does anyone know
how Bush is getting on?). Watson also pulls off a riveting
vocal on 'Mirrors don't lie' that is probably better than the
song itself.
There are a couple of below average numbers in the set - the
title track and 'Glass hearts' could get lost - but the standard
of material is fairly sound. 'Simple minded heart' is a
tasty ballad, 'Snake in the house' treads the Ronnie Milsap
country-soul path, 'He's back in Texas again' is a rare old
swinger, and 'Give her my best' is an easy shuffle with unlikely
references to caviar and string quartets as singer's ex gets to
marry above her station: 'Give her my best, 'cause I never did'.
Best track, however, is the wonderful 'Hold that thought'
written by Canadian Ray Griff whose
'Where love begins' gave Watson one of the most memorable hits
of his career. This time around Griff serves up a delicate
shuffle ballad that, in song, feel and vocal performance, harks
back to the singer's glory days on Capitol. Heavenly.
Aided by quality sessioners like
Buddy Emmons, Rob
Hajacos, Jerry Kroon and Roger Ball, this outing proves that
Gene remains an awesome vocalist and it p***es me off that
current trends, where youth and looks override talent, confine
such greatness to the sidelines. Keep with him, Step One'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
February 1994
 The
Good Ole Days
Step One Records SOR 0104 (1996)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the January
1997 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(9 out of 10)
'Gene Watson's second album for Step One proves yet again that
the wider country music world is missing out on one of the
greatest artists of the genre. On one hand, I'd love to
see the impossible happen with Watson on a major label and back
high in the charts; on the other, I've always loved Ray
Pennington's productions, and this blend of straight country and
fine western swing is no exception.
What also impresses me about Pennington is his ability as a
songwriter. Of course, the fact that so many Pennington
compositions appear on Step One recordings has not a little to
do with the fact that he's head man at the label. With
other producers, this would customarily lead to mundanity, but
not so with Ray. He's one of the good ol' boys from way
back who knows what a country song's all about, and when his
writing is combined with the artistry of a singer like Gene
Watson, magic happens.
Take the three swing numbers, 'The good ole days are right now',
'You pushed me to the limit' and 'Where I'm concerned' -
excellent band arrangements and spot-on vocals from Gene make
for an irresistible formula. I suspect the musicians had a
ball, too, particularly
Buddy Emmons on steel, because western
swing of this calibre is being cut nowhere else in Nashville
these days.
On ballads, too, Watson is a killer, up there with
Jones and
Gosdin, and his vocal attack on
'Change her mind' proves he's
still in magnificent form. As a bonus for yours truly,
he's also re-cut probably my favourite Gene Watson track ever,
the inimitable Joe Allen ballad, 'I don't need a thing at all',
though memory suggests his original cut had the slight edge.
Gene's also re-recorded his big hits from 1975 and 1982
respectively, the steamy 'Love in the hot afternoon' (together now, in your best low
voice, 'Filet, Gumbo') and 'Speak softly (you're talking to my
heart)', though I would
have preferred two more originals rather than a replay of these
so-well-known tunes.
It's good to see the name of Tommy Collins up there in the
co-writer credits on 'The man that broke your heart', a
mid-tempo mover about a guy thankful to the title's protagonist
for walking out on his lady so he could walk in ('if I met him,
what the heck, well, I'd hug his old red neck'). Gene also
offers a fine version of the old Ray Price slow shuffle, 'Getting
over you again',
with Buddy Emmons
adding a lovely steel backup.
If only we could have a new Gene Watson album every six
months...'
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
January 1996
 A
Way to Survive
Step One Records SOR 0111 (1997)
This review by Chris Bolton, which was published in the
February
1998 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Chris Bolton
(**** out of 5)
'CMP long ago nailed its colours to the mast where Gene Watson is
concerned. There are few more stylish interpreters of the country song,
and few who have managed to be so unerringly consistent over so great a timespan.
Not only does he have one of our music's greatest voices - and one that really
IS getting better with age - he still has a knack for interpretation that makes
whatever song he sings his and his alone.
By working with a producer who knows how to get the best out of a great voice -
and a man who, in his day, was no mean song stylist himself, Ray Pennington -
Gene Watson has ensured that his latest records continue to number among his
greatest records.
Gene's last Step One album (excluding the recent gospel set) featured a textured
blend of Texas swing and the kind of wrenching heart songs that had become
practically extinct - or, at least, the exclusive domain of George Strait! -
before Pennington started to engineer Watson's deserved return to the forefront
around three years ago.
So good was that release that even country radio couldn't ignore the contents -
and few among us weren't chuffed to see Gene back on the airplay charts that
have abandoned so many of his contemporaries for younger, not-as-talented acts.
If there's any justice in this world, things will pick up just where they left
off last time around where 'a Way to Survive' is concerned. Once again,
Pennington and Watson have selected a stack of songs - primarily from
fairly-obscure 16th Avenue second-stringers - that demonstrate every facet of
Watson's delivery and performance skills.
The emphasis this time is on balladry (although the short, sprightly two step
'All hat, no cattle' provides both a dancers' delight and a good-humoured dig at
cardboard cowboys everywhere) but that's very much in 'A Way to Survive's favour.
Outside of Strait and Mark Chesnutt - and, of course,
George Jones, who cut such
a magnificent original version - few singers in or approaching their prime could
imbue a song like Curly Putman and Bucky Jones' 'Couldn't love have picked a
better place to die' with the desperate believability that Gene brings to
the song, while the revival of Hank Cochran's much
covered classic that gives this record its title is delivered with a slow
shuffle beat and world-weary resignation that only one who's lived the lyric
could bring to it. Watson's take on the song is as effective as Ray
Price's stellar original from nearly three and half decades ago.
Still on the downbeat, 'Someone's child' is a bitter, reflective update of the
old 'tramp on the street' theme and Gene paints a blunt, all-too-depressing
picture of a place that none of us should ever want to go of our own volition,
turning it into one of the album's highlights.
For all its plus points there is an element of the curious about this record,
and it comes with the inclusion of the last three tracks.
I can understand Gene and step One wanting to revive his older hits for a new
generation of buyers, but there's so little difference between this version of
'Fourteen carat mind' and his original take on the same song that redoing it was
a pointless exercise.
Even more baffling is the inclusion of the final pair of cuts, both of which
appeared on Watson's Broadland album, 'In Other
Words', back in 1993. Same performances, same mixes, same everything -
and, good though they are, I find it hard to believe that any long-time Watson
collector won't already own them via that CD.
Of course, if that album by-passed you then this one is a must to acquire - but
if it didn't, the committed Watson fan is going to have to shell out for just
seven new recordings. I'm intrigued to know why they had to use the
Broadland tracks...
Those criticisms aside, 'A Way to Survive' is another fine record from one of
country music's more important and enduring talents. Like the other two
great Watsons (who else but Dale and Doc) he
continues to make it all sound so elementary. Recommended with or without
reservations...'
Chris Bolton
Country
Music People
February 1998
 From
the Heart
RMG Records 8202-2 (2001)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
December 2001 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(**** out of 5)
'It's great to have Gene Watson back after his health scares, and in such
excellent voice. Produced by the ever dependable Ray Pennington, 'From the
Heart' may not be the best album Watson has recorded overall (not quite up there
with 1997's 'The Good Ole Days') but at least
one track here would be labelled a classic had it been cut by Gene during his
Capitol Records heyday: the sprightly tale of a rich lady wooing an unimpressed
cowboy in 'This circus that you call a rodeo' is pure Watson all the way.
Zippy Bobby All guitar licks, Aubrey Haynie mandolin chops and nifty
Buddy Emmons steel help drive it along to story
end as Gene quickly tires of the 'dog and pony show' he's been dragged into.
Slowing the tempo, Gene offers a superb cover of 'The truth is I lied', a
perfect country ballad from the perfect country pens of Bill Anderson and Skip
Ewing, previously cut by Ricochet but which Watson returns to its rightful place
as a down-home country ballad.
Staying in down-tempo mode, there's a splendid
Leslie Satcher/Max T. Barnes ballad, 'When you're not looking back', in
which Gene's vocal moves from a softly sung verses to a reach-out chorus,
reminiscent of his classic recording, 'Where love begins'.
Wasn't as impressed with the languid-paced 'Would it be cheating', whose banal
melody lets down its interesting premise of a worn relationship in which a man
asks his woman if it would be considered cheating for him to love her as she
used to be, not as she is now.
Other highlight cuts include the nimble, brush-driven 'Next to nothing' ('I'm
next to nothing when I'm not next to you'), the pacey 'Drivin' me sane', where
wild man Watson is tamed by the new lady in his life, the great put-down of 'No
trash in my trailer' ('since the day I threw you out of here') and warm,
caressing takes on the old Ray Price hit, 'Take me as I am or let me go' and
Lefty's 'I never go around mirrors'.
It's been said that no matter what kind of country music people like - roots,
honky tonk or Nashpop - everyone just loves Gene Watson. 'From the Heart'
shows why'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
December 2001
 Ultimate
Collection
Universal/Hip-O Records 112730 (2001)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
May 2002 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(***** out of 5)
Without his signature song, 'Farewell party', and the glorious 'I don't
need a thing at all', this may not be the ultimate Gene Watson collection but, I
kid you not, you will never hear better country music anywhere than on this CD.
Gene's most recent original release, 'From the
Heart', was one of the most welcome events of 2001, and this compilation of
hits from his Capitol, MCA, Epic and Warner Bros. years is a further treat for
followers of one of the finest voices to ever grace the country music scene.
'Love in the hot afternoon' was the smash that started it all for Gene Watson
back in 1975. Originally released on the independent Texas label, Resco,
it was reissued on Capitol and made it to the Top 3. I had always assumed
that Capitol signed Gene on the strength of 'Afternoon', which had become a
regional hit; however, it's implied in the accompanying booklet with Gene that
'Bad water', a prior minor chart entry on Resco (not included here), was the
song that attracted the major's interest.
The interview also tells us that Gene was sceptical about recording 'Paper
Rosie', written by Canadian Dallas Harms, but did
so at the urging of his record company, although he had to record it twice
before he caught the magic that made it one of his biggest hits.
Another Canadian writer, albeit Nashville based at the time, who worked with
Watson was Ray Griff, an association that produced
the impeccable ballads, 'Where love begins' and 'Between this time and the next
time'. This was in the mid '70s when Griff was one of the hottest writers
and performers in country music, scoring with his own recordings such as 'If I
let her come in' and 'I love the way that you love me'. It was a loss for
16th Avenue when he relocated back to Canada.
Another loss is that of Watson from the country radio airwaves. Like other
brilliantly gifted singers of a certain age, he has been sidelined in favour of
youth and image. Gene Watson once said that if he was ever forced to sing
anything but country music, he'd get out of the business. Luckily for us,
Gene has never wavered and, despite some recent tough times with his health, is
still delighting us with the majesty of his voice.
If you're a Gene Watson fan, you'll be in hog heaven. If you're not, buy
'Ultimate Collection' immediately and become one...'
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
May 2002
 Love
in the Hot Afternoon & Paper Rosie
Hux Records HUX 036 (2002)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
February 2003 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(***** out of 5)
Reissue of two classic Watson albums on one CD. 'Love
in the Hot Afternoon' is the one that started it all, and began Watson's
relationship with Canadian songwriter Ray Griff who
gave him the terrific 'Where love begins'. Griff also contributes 'If the
shoe fits, wear it' and the cute-titled 'Don't look at me (in that tone of
voice)' on the 'Paper Rosie' album, the title
track of which was written by another Canuck, Dallas
Harms.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
February 2003
 Gene
Watson...Sings
Intersound Records 5563 (2003)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
December 2003 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(****½ out of 5)
'I was long-neckin' with the boys at the local hot spot', sings Gene Watson as
he kicks off this, his finest album in years. And even though he indulges
himself with a touch of country croonin' on the standard, 'What a difference a
day makes', 'Sings' is proof positive once again that Watson could never be
anything but country.
The Texan born vocalist has been mesmerising audiences for 30 years although his
commercial glory days faded away in the mid 80s after a boom period that added
such mighty cuts as 'Where love begins', 'I don't need a thing at all', Nothing
sure looked good on you', 'Fourteen carat mind' and, of course, 'Farewell
party', to the catalogue of classic recordings in country music.
Where the combination of Gene Watson, singer, and Ray
Griff, writer, created magic in the 70s, now that of Watson and songwriting
genius Bill Anderson does the same with two meticulous ballads. In the
break-up song, 'Make sure you got it all', a co-write with Steve Wariner, Gene
tells his ex to take everything with her when she leaves, begging her to 'take
my heart, take my soul, just leave the floor here to catch me when I fall'.
A faultless lyric wrapped up ina faultless performance.
Similarly cheerless is Anderson and Sharon Vaughn's 'When a man can't get a
woman off his mind' with a desperate Watson driven to sweaty, sleepless nights
while the lady he loves is out enjoying herself with someone else.
Another fine country writer who provides a brace of songs is
Billy Yates, with Gene covering his ironic tale of
alcohol, tradegy and redemption, 'Flowers', and 'Hold me' in which the danger of
drink is cleverly assayed by singing the song from the point of a view of a
bottle outlining its role as a comforter.
Moving up a gear in pace, 'New woman' turns the tables on Gene as a man happy
to divorce his wife, only to see her enter his favourite
watering hole looking a stunner and chatting up his mates: 'it's a hell of a
time for me to be her ex old man', he moans to himself. 'The coast of
Texas' delightfully two-tempos between a sunny south-of-the-border rhythm and a
straight-to-the-floor Texas shuffle.
Musicians include steel player Sonny Garrish, fiddlers Rob Hajacos and Aubrey
Haynie, and solid rock pianist Pig Robbins, whose presence indicates these
recordings were laid down at least three years ago. No matter, though,
that we've had to wait a while - Gene Watson is a true great and we should be
thankful he's still putting albums out when many of his fellow veterans are
being passed by'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
December 2003
 The
Gospel Side of Gene Watson
Intersound Records 5668 (2004)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
March 2004 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(*** out of 5)
A collection of gospel songs from one of the greatest voices in country.
Five of the 10 cuts are written by one Bobbie Bost, whom I know not, and they're
pretty much standard fare with 'Shine from the mountain' particularly nice.
'Amazing Grace' is given a lengthy, almost slumberous reading, with veteran
Buddy Emmons lightly sweeping the strings.
Throughout, Watson gives a gentle performance on a workmanlike album'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
March 2004
 Gene
Watson...Then & Now
Koch Records Nashville KOC-CD 9867 (2005)
This review by Al Moir, which was published in the October 2005 issue
of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Al Moir
(***** out of 5)
'Since his first chart entry in 1975 with 'Love in the hot
afternoon', Gene Watson has seen a lot of
chart action on various major labels, namely Capitol, MCA, Curb,
Epic and Warner. However, he made it all the way to the
top just once, with 'Fourteen carat mind' in 1982, and many would argue that this
instantly recognisable vocal stylist has never had the
recognition he fully deserved.
Over the years he released consistently good albums that
included a wealth of material never released as singles and
which were therefore overlooked by DJs. Watson has now decided
to dig out some of these great but ignored songs and re-record
them.
Gathering together a number of Nashville's finest including
Jimmy Capps, Pig Robbins, Gregg
Galbraith, Sonny Garrish, Hank
Singer and Hoot Hester, he self-financed ten of the tracks
before Koch Records stepped in to take the album on.
Only four of the songs - 'Back in the fire', 'You could know as much about a
stranger', 'Sometimes I get lucky' and 'The jukebox played
along' - were released as singles, the remainder being relegated
to album tracks. On these newly-cut versions, Watson is in
terrific vocal form, as good as when he originally recorded
them.
Making no concessions towards what is today considered
commercial or radio friendly, Watson remains solidly country,
and it is genuinely refreshing to hear him singing with more
passion and soul than many artists we are asked to accept as
being dyed-in-the-wool country these days.
Watson drips with country soul on ballads like 'Only yesterday',
'I didn't think of you at all', 'I wonder how it is in Colorado'
and 'I catch myself', and his reading of the more up-tempo tunes
such as 'I'm a fool for leaving' and 'You put out an old flame
last night' are flawless.
According to Watson, he intends to delve back into more of his
earlier recordings to find material worthy of renewed exposure,
so 'Then & Now' could well be the first in a series of similar
releases. If this is the case, Gene Watson fans, and
indeed anyone seeking the real deal in country music, really do
have something to look forward to'.
Al Moir
Country
Music People
October 2005
 Because
You Believed in Me & Beautiful Country
Hux Records HUX 072 (2005)
This review by Craig Baguley, which was published in the
February 2006 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Craig Baguley
(***** out of 5)
'Two things about Gene Watson. Number one, he's indisputably a
country singer's singer, number two, during his heyday his
albums were riddled with fabulous songs. This 2CD set,
combining the mid '70s releases, 'Because
You Believed in Me' and 'Beautiful Country', proves both points.
Watson had already scored hugely in 1975 with the sensual 'Where
love begins' from Nashville-based Canadian tunesmith
Ray Griff, and he continued to extol the latter's writing
talent. Here, on 'Because You
Believed in Me', there are no less
than four Griff
compositions.
'How good a bad woman feels' is a marvellous song that was
incredibly denied single status. Its theme of taking
refuge in a honky tonk's girl's arms was surely not considered
too risqué, particularly as Griff's more
directly suggestive 'Her body couldn't keep you off my mind' was
pitched to radio, although it received a lukewarm response,
peaking outside the Top 50. 'Hey Louella' is a fun
up-tempo thing, while 'And then you came along', the final Griff
entry, is just perfect, with its memorable sing-along chorus.
That Griff, who enjoyed several hit singles as an artist,
failed to maintain the momentum in Nashville and returned back
north was a great loss to Music City.
The major hit here was Joe Allen's tender love song, 'I don't
need a thing at all', which Watson imbues with such sensitivity
and soul it must rank as one of his greatest performances, if
not country music's. Also a biggie was
Dallas Harms' 'Cowboys don't get lucky all the
time', with its droll tale of
a singer whose advances get him no further than sleeping alone
on the couch...
But it's not just the hits that make these two albums
remarkable. The standard of the material is first-class
throughout with a zero percentage of makeweights.
Larry Gatlin's tortuous 'Bitter they are, harder they fall' is simply
wonderful, and the wordplay in 'She caught me lying, then she
caught a train, then I caught a fever walking home in the rain'
is worthy of the great American lyricists.
There's so much more, including an absolute cracker from
Hank Cochran, 'He little thinged her out of my arms', in which the
protagonist, with all his wealth, is usurped in his woman's
affections by the simple offerings of a competitor-in-love.
Of course, Gene Watson has the vocal
mastery to make the most tedious of material listenable, so when
the songs are as magnificent as these, the result is country
music perfection'.
Craig Baguley
Country
Music People
February 2006
 In
a Perfect World
Shanachie Records 6206 (2007)
This review by Jon Philibert, which was published in the
October 2007 issue of
Country
Music People,
is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.
Album Review by Jon Philibert
(***** out of 5)
'The good news is that one of country music's greatest singers Gene
Watson ('Gene Watson is one of my all-time favourite ballad singers' -
George Jones) will be heading for these shores
for an October tour. The bad news is that said tour will only be taking in
a few dates in Ireland. Good for our Irish friends but for us benighted
folks on the mainland, should we not be able to get to the likes of Letterkenny,
Castleblaney and Sligo, we do at least have this superlative album as a
consolation.
First things first. Gene Watson is a commanding singer who has never been
less than 100% country and who always manages to select great material that
suits him to a tee. A quick glance at the track listing indicates that the
album consists of much loved comfortable country standards mixed in with newer
material and that Watson has invited some stellar friends in for the session.
Most of the guests though - which include some of the best voices in the
business - make respectful background harmony contributions as opposed to
trading lines or verses, so 'In a Perfect World'
is not a duet album in the classic sense.
An exception is Rhonda Vincent's duet with
Watson on a sublime 'Together again' which finds equally upfront vocal wise with
Watson, but only Mark Chesnutt busts loose and
has a verse and some lines of his own on the hard rocking and menacing 'This
side of the door'. This is an effective
Tim Mensy/Shawn
Camp leaving song which Chesnutt first aired on his own 'What a Way to Live'
album in 1994 (other versions include cuts by co-writer Mensy and recent Warner
Brothers singing and one-time Nashville demo regular Lance Miller).
The album kicks off stunningly with Watson's take on one of the finest country
shuffles ever minted, Hank
Cochran's 'Don't you ever get tired of hurting me'. Watson's smooth,
poised, almost insouciant vocal is close enough to a perfect performance as I've
encountered all year. Wonderful. Other recognisable fare, meanwhile,
include 'Today I started loving you again' which might have suffered from
overkill by anyone else but sounds like it was written yesterday in Watson's
hands, such is the freshness he brings to the table. A little wiggly
guitar riff accompanies him during the opening chorus with
Lee Ann Womack joining him for the repeat
chorus in a fiery and abandoned performance.
An undeservedly little known
Harlan Howard song,
'Let me be the first to go' (only a Wynn Stewart track seems to be on record) is
an ace tearjerker in which Watson asks the Lord to call him home first and take
him rather than his wife as life without her would not be worth living for him
or the children. This is a superb vehicle for Watson who handles the lyric
in supreme and sensitive fashion and
Vince Gill's bright,
crystal clear backup vocals add tremendously to the cut.
The title track, 'In a perfect world', with Joe
Nichols in support is a slow, dark song full of sorrow and troubled
emotions. Watson, a man anchored at the bottom of his life, imagines it as
he wishes it to be and how it was before he lost his love, not how it is today.
The chorus runs: 'In a perfect world it never rains on
Saturday, In a perfect world I wouldn't hate the holidays, I'd sleep just like a
baby and have one down the hall, You'd still be my girl, in a perfect world',
and, believe me, it is almost too much to take.
More suffering and anguish come with the closing slowie, 'Like I wasn't even
there', which, musically, is a little more contemporary, with chords other than
the usual 1-4-5 changes found on most of the rest of the album. Yet it is
still classic Gene Watson and a great way to round the album off.
I had the enormous pleasure of writing the sleeve notes to a recent
Hux Gene Watson twofer
reissue, 'Because You Believed in Me/Beautiful
Country' - a real labour of love - and if you don't know Gene Watson, it's a
good place to start, covering the period when the artist was at his commercial
peak. However, once you have that one, turn your attention to this mighty,
flawless piece of work that is 'In a Perfect World'.
Probably the best album I have heard in 2007. Hmm, maybe Ireland isn't so
far after all - 'Hello, Ryanair'?'.
Jon Philibert
Country
Music People
October 2007
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