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 a review of Gene Watson's 'Because
You Believed in Me & Beautiful Country' (Hux
Records, 2005), as published in the
February 2006
issue of 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.
'Because You Believed in Me & Beautiful
Country' (Hux Records, 2005)
This CMP 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
