Album Review – Cliff Westfall’s “Baby You Win”
Hot damn. I don’t know who the hell Cliff Westfall is or where he’s been hiding out for so many years, but he just released a hot shit country record that will whip the pants off of most others released this year and many from years prior, and get you making room on your list of favorite artists. Called Baby You Win, it’s a self-released project with all but one of the songs solo written by Westfall himself, and it includes some of the sharpest and true country music material you can latch your ears onto, and enough twangy lead guitar and a little bit of old school Chuck Berry boogie to get you feeling right.
One thing I do know is Cliff Westfall is originally from Kentucky—Owensboro to be exact—and no locale is growing country music savants right now like the Bluegrass State. But he’s been hiding out in Brooklyn for many years, which for those familiar with the New York burb and artists like Zephaniah Ohora, The Brother Brothers, and the scene surrounding the Skinny Dennis honky tonk, they know Brooklyn has become a unexpected bastion of badass country itself, and Cliff Westfall is further evidence of this emerging trend.
You will not be able to get enough of Baby You Win, and it will continue to impress you at every turn. It starts off with the songs, which one after another work in that intelligently simple way all great classic country songs do. Pining to be somebody’s someone special as a stop gap in “Till The Right One Comes Along,” or competing with a younger version of yourself in “The Man I Used To Be” is the type of sardonic and heartbreakingly true-to-life stories that nearly everyone with a pulse and a penchant to fall for the simple poetry of country music will immediately find favor with.
Baby You Win is also masterfully produced and performed. Bryce Goggin, who is known for working with The Ramones and Phish, helms the project, and assembles an A-Team of musicians including co-producer and guitar player Scott Metzger, Graham Norwood of Shooter Jennings and Phil Lesh fame, Dan Iead known for working with Norah Jones and Valerie June, and Charlie Giordano from the E Street Band. That may not sound like you’re typical assemblage of traditional country talent, but the lead guitar parts indicative of top notch 70’s country twang from Don Rich and Dwight Yoakam projects do battle with the songs for the reason to fall in love with this record.
Ultimately though, the songs may win out. The stories are classic, but Cliff Westfall makes them feel fresh by putting a spin on the perspective from where the heartbreak is portrayed. In the opening song “It Hurt Her to Hurt Me,” Westfall feels bad for making his lover have to break his heart. Self-deception as a way to stave off loneliness is at the core of “I’ll Play The Fool” and “A Lie If You Must.” Baby You Win feels like a classic breakup record, but in a weird way where Westfall’s underpinning sense of humor is a vehicle to describe very unhumorous scenarios of human heartbreak.
Baby You Win is also a “cool” record for a lack of a better way to say it, and not just because there’s a couple of the drug-laced tunes on it—“Off The Wagon” and “The Odds Were Good”—which battle for some of the best material on the record. It captures a good energy and entertaining vibe. It stimulates the mind and shakes the legs, and is indicative of the style of throwback country that’s really hot in east Nashville and Southern California at the moment, but frankly this is done better and not burdened by bad-sounding recordings. Everything here is crisp and tight, with no fat to trim, and no song to second guess.
Maybe this is one of those records that a musician had their entire life to write and will never be able to be duplicated in stature. But what Cliff Westfall has here is something well worth listening to, and probably will be for many years to come.
Bravo.
Two Guns Up (9/10)
– – – – – – – –
July 14, 2018 @ 8:51 am
Is this not on iTunes or Apple Music? I can’t find it.
July 14, 2018 @ 8:59 am
it’s available on Spotify
July 14, 2018 @ 12:51 pm
And Bandcamp
July 14, 2018 @ 6:59 pm
Not on Amazon streaming either!
July 14, 2018 @ 9:39 pm
It looks like it’s on Apple Music now
July 15, 2018 @ 8:50 am
It took a minute to find it on Amazon. Trigs link worked but I wasn’t setup to make purchases from there. Eventually got it to come up on the usual page.
July 16, 2018 @ 5:24 pm
On iTunes now
July 16, 2018 @ 6:24 pm
It’s on those platforms now, and also Spotify and Amazon. Great album!
July 18, 2018 @ 7:07 pm
it’s on iTunes
July 14, 2018 @ 9:03 am
Instant buy of the vinyl after 10 seconds of listenting, thanks Trigger!
July 14, 2018 @ 9:22 am
This is really good, thanks for highlighting it. Couldn’t find it in Apple Music or iTunes but it was available as an MP3 download on Amazon for under ten bucks…
July 14, 2018 @ 9:28 am
Holy snot balls!! That jam on ‘Off The Wagon’ is blazing hot. Can’t wait to dive into the rest. Sweet find. ‘Preciate
July 14, 2018 @ 9:49 am
The album was on my list & i am glad found some time to listen to Baby You Win. (It’s on Google Play too).
Trigger is spot-on. It’s a great album. It starts with the cover & ends with the last track.
Other new releases:
David Nail is back. Well…it’s David Nail & The Well Ravens now (his live band).
First single is called “Heavy” & it’s not what i expected.
Only This & Nothing More (EP) will be released on 09/14.
JJ Ford – Last Carousel – 6 Track EP – 07/01
70’s sound. Not bad & but not outstanding.
Rodney Crowell – Acoustic Classics – Album – 07/13
Rodney Crowell sings Rodney Crowell songs (“Please Remember Me” & “She’s Crazy For Leaving” + 10 other songs). Necessary? Well…
+ The best is yet to come:
James Ellis & The Jealous Guys – It Ain’t Texas (But It Ain’t Bad) – Album – 06/29
Just another great album with throwback sound. You like Cliff Westfall? Try it out!
July 15, 2018 @ 6:24 am
“Heavy” is different but still very, very good.
July 14, 2018 @ 9:53 am
Excellent
July 14, 2018 @ 11:10 am
Thanks! Instant purchase. Exactly what I needed after trying to get thru that Desperate Eric Church song.
July 14, 2018 @ 11:27 am
At first listen, I can’t help but be reminded of Moot Davis.
July 14, 2018 @ 11:38 am
My definition of bad ass is obviously different- Waylon was bad ass.
If I had the inclination I could list every singer I’ve heard and like/dislike and elaborate on the differences- I don’t have the inclination except to say what I said and that there are singers, there are story tellers and there are those who mix both well- today everyone’s voice sounds like everyone’s voice- there is little or no character and the 1 song I listened to from the videos didn’t dissuade me.
July 14, 2018 @ 5:48 pm
Seems a strange thing to get caught up on—that his voice is not “badass” when I didn’t even say it was. I did say there’s a badass scene of music coming out of Brooklyn right now, which there is.
Comparing anyone to Waylon is unfair.
July 14, 2018 @ 8:26 pm
Excuse me- I thought a voice was music- I do think the jeep pickup is bad ass. Does that count? Next time I’ll check in before I give my opinion.
July 15, 2018 @ 8:53 am
A voice is part of the music but not the most important part. Just listen to country radio for evidence.
July 15, 2018 @ 2:02 pm
Yeah I’m a little stupefied why so many folks are hung up on the voice here. First off, I never said a single word about Cliff Westfall’s voice, so I’m not sure why folks feel the need to disagree with me on that point. I think his voice is fine. It’s not great, not bad. That’s why I didn’t remark on it. John Prine sounds like shit, but do you listen to John Prine for his singing? No, you listen for the songs. On top of that, this Cliff Westfall record has some excellent music.
If you listen to modern music judging every singer against the greatest of all time like Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn, you’ll never find anything new to enjoy.
July 14, 2018 @ 1:22 pm
Mixed feelings.Off the Wagon is quite the rockabilly, Carl Perkins meets Don Rich Bakersfield Tele-Twangin’ kinda thing I love. Good song, killer pickin, nice steel playing as well.
But im with DJ in that even though he’s from Ol’
Kentuck’ his voice lacks a hillbilly nasal twang!
That authentic twangin’ vocal style just seems to be about as common anymore as a dodo bird, meaning of course, few have it.
That said, if he came around I’d go see him, if only to enjoy the songs and hot pickin’.
July 14, 2018 @ 3:01 pm
I’d go see him provided it wasn’t a large venue and tickets were reasonable (no more than 50 bucks) but the twang isn’t what I’m talking about- it’s character and I can’t help but think of the old RnR song Mr. Bass Man. But I’m not even talking talking about a bass singer as that is more an Oak Ridge Boys Richard Durbin, I’m talking “character” – I heard an interview down here years ago on KIKK AM (with Waylon just as he was beginning to gain a little notoriety) about his voice, his reply was it’s just whiskey and cigarettes- I’m not advocating that life and Waylon was still relatively young at that time- but there’s just something, a certain quality good singers have that others don’t. Of course good is subjective, as is bad ass- but, Waylon was bad ass. There’s never been another and likely won’t be- though I do admire Colt Walkers voice- I’ve said the same thing about the girl/lady/female/women singers of today- they all sound alike- no character and most of them are nasally almost to the Valley Girl persona nasally- bad ass is reserved for Waylon- I’m a *big* fan of Cody Jinks but I’d never say he was bad ass in his singing-
July 14, 2018 @ 1:38 pm
Ordered the CD
July 14, 2018 @ 2:16 pm
Sounds like Las Vegas /surf rock hybrid. Not bad, but not particularly my taste of country.
July 14, 2018 @ 4:12 pm
Fake.
July 14, 2018 @ 8:42 pm
And so it was written. Everyone cancel your orders, stop your streaming, and Trigger change your review.
July 14, 2018 @ 9:33 pm
Why would you change what you buy because of what an anonymous commenter on the internet thinks? That’s dumb.
July 14, 2018 @ 10:35 pm
You think?
July 15, 2018 @ 7:47 am
Yes.
July 20, 2018 @ 8:06 am
Mr. Negative weighs in with his wordy review. Thanks, I’ll stick with Trigger on this one. If he says it’s worth a listen, I’ll have a listen. Your opinion carries literally no weight with me because I have yet to see you post anything positive about anything since you have been posting here.
July 23, 2018 @ 10:14 am
You should do what you want to do.
July 14, 2018 @ 6:43 pm
I listed to “It Hurt Her to Hurt Me.” Great song, especially the “I feel almost as sorry for her as I feel sorry for myself” line, that was good writing. I’ll have to give this album a listen if it goes on Apple Music.
July 15, 2018 @ 6:45 am
This fantastic album is now on Apple Music for streaming.
July 14, 2018 @ 7:45 pm
Can’t wait to check this out
July 14, 2018 @ 10:04 pm
Just a heads up about the availability of this great sounding album. This album is now on Itunes.
July 15, 2018 @ 3:07 am
Reminds me of Joshua Hedley. I dig it. Ordered the CD. Thanks.
July 15, 2018 @ 3:47 am
‘Let’s go Scotty!’ Now, where have I heard that before? Nice!
July 15, 2018 @ 4:31 am
If I had heard this when I was in my teens I would most likely loved this album. Most of the songs are very catchy and has lot of nice guitar picking. But when comes to his voice, I’ve played the album 3 times on Spotify and really tried to hear what you hear. And in some songs his voice sounds good but overall I find his voice a bit average.
That said, I still like the album as whole but I just wouldn’t give it 9/10
I’d also like to say that since I have not heard him before, it can also be about production.
Because at times I think his voice gets a little bit drowned. For a while back in the 80’s I was often listening to Joe Sun. And he’s voice wasn’t that great. But it always shine through And I sometimes think the production was better in the 79/80s. Back then the voice of the singer was sort of in front of the backing music, nowadays, at least my view ,are the voice often sucked in to the music and in worst cases behind it. But I might be completely wrong and just me rambling 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68LfG8FTdMs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivcBVFN52s4
July 15, 2018 @ 11:44 am
I love Joe Suns “shotgun rider”.
July 15, 2018 @ 1:48 pm
Yes I do too. It’s on the album “Out Of your Mind” I like the whole album but in particular the A-side. But to be frank i haven’t played him that much the last 25 years.. I was just trying to find an artist to illustrate what I meant with a voice being in front of the music when Joe’s voice pop up in my head…
But anyway I’ve listen Cliff Westfall two more times know, and his voice has gotten better for every listening so maybe I’ll have to change my mind. 🙂
July 20, 2018 @ 4:09 pm
I think about Dierks Bentley that way: not the greatest voice but (usually) good tunes and the production does bring out the grit and ache in his voice. I think he is an anomaly in this day and age. I think a lot was spent in 80s and 90s on proper production because labels recouped it through sales. Nowadays, so few units are shifted that labels don’t want to advance the money and artists don’t want to have to pay it back.
A perfect example is Iron Maiden (from a different genre I know, but still the same issue). In the 80s their production was pristine, you could hear every instrument with crystal clarity and Bruce Dickinson’s vocals rode above it all to the point that he was recognized as one of the best singers, if not the best singer, in metal. Since reforming in 2000, it is clear that they have chosen to save money on the production and it shows in the murky sound. I have no doubt that this is due to their business sense and the knowledge that they are unlikely to recoup a big recording budget on sales of records.
…but hey, that’s the cost of everyone choosing to download music for free because they can rather than compensating the artists for their work.
July 21, 2018 @ 5:29 am
Yes, trying to keep production cost as low as possibly, may very well explain it. In particular since they don’t make as much money from selling their music, as they did back then. And nowadays they have to tour more to earn money.
And artist that doesn’t draw big crowds, they can really get problem
I’ve read that for example that the Secret Sisters ran into economical problem after their release of the “Put Your Needle Down” album, because it didn’t sell enough.
“that’s the cost of everyone choosing to download music for free because they can rather than compensating the artists for their work.”
That’s true And then these so called “fans”, who are uploading “full albums” on youtube….
There is a Swedish band called “First Aid Kit”. For their latest album they spent six weeks in a studio and had very well know musician accompanied them So the production cost must have been quite high.
Only a couple of weeks after its released (January 19 this year) the whole album was uploaded to youtube. Now it has about 337K views.If only 1% of those bought the album instead that would ruffly means 3400 more albums sold.
And their second album It has been on youtube since 2014 and will soon reach 2 millions views. And their third album (which is thus far their best selling album) was on youtube for about 9 month before it got blocked, but by then it had about 1,4 million views. And there are loads of program you can use to download music from youtube
But on the other hand, where may very well be that some of these viewers also has bought a copy after hearing it on youtube..But in the long run I think artist loose on having their whole albums on youtube.
July 15, 2018 @ 6:26 am
Which coffee house are you guys posting from?
July 15, 2018 @ 9:29 am
I can dig it. It’s not “lock up your daughters” dangerous, but it’s got a cool sound. I’ll buy it.
July 15, 2018 @ 10:11 am
Sometimes re-inventing the wheel is just wasted time and energy and leaves you with a new design that is just nowhere near as effective as what you already had . … (I’m looking at you Zak Brown , Eric Church , Sam Hunt et al …) . I love when an artist understands that . When they realize they don’t need to invent a new language to say what they wanna say . They just need to use the one they already have in the best way possible .
i totally appreciate Westfall working from that understanding and doing a helluva job with some tried and true tools that are as effective now as they ever were because they are timeless . The bugs have been worked out , refined WHERE NECCESSARY , and successfully used on ”job sites ” for years . This is some nice COUNTRY stuff . Kudos to Mr Westfall for not wasting energy building and testing new tools to get the job done . Sometimes we’re looking for solutions to problems we just don’t have . Cliff didn’t waste time doing that .
July 15, 2018 @ 11:43 am
Listening now. It’s alright. It’s not going two guns up for me, though. 6.5 out of 10. It seems like he’s doing a Sam Outlaw impression. The new Ward Davis is more my style.
July 16, 2018 @ 10:24 am
Wait did Ward release something already?
July 16, 2018 @ 10:37 am
He released a song near the 4th, but I think it was a one-off thing. Expecting a new album from him later this year.
July 16, 2018 @ 11:19 am
Yeah he put out an operation freedom song. I was wondering if Karl was referring to something from the anticipated album.
July 16, 2018 @ 12:08 pm
No just the operation freedon song. Anticipating more.
July 15, 2018 @ 1:51 pm
I was watching a show on the RFD Network the other night of Loretta Lynn performing at the Grand Old Opry. All this talk of who sounds country and who doesn’t sound country brought to mind… I was struck by the fact she didn’t need to “sound country” because she is country. It is in her heart and soul. Some of these artists today sound like they are trying mighty hard to “sound country”. As Alan Jackson said….they’ve gone country/look at them boots. Something Loretta Lynn never had to do because she is country.
July 15, 2018 @ 3:18 pm
EXACTLY Bill……
…..’ sounding country’ is what all of the lost pop artists are trying to do ….and can’t .
Its what all the pop/country upstarts are trying to do in cranking out the generic radio stuff with no point of reference outside of last week’s top 40 .
You don’t ‘ sound country’ by making a ‘country album ‘ . You ARE or you AREN’T . It’s that inculcating authenticity that breeds the BEST , most honest and timeless music . You’re country cuz you can’t help it ….not cuz you choose it .
July 15, 2018 @ 6:10 pm
Bill, you’ve got your finger right on the deepest pulse of the issue. You’re right, people like Loretta ARE country — but the problem is that there are fewer and fewer people in the USA like her. It’s a fact that we’re majority urban, for the first time in US history. If country music is to survive, we either need more people to move back to the countryside, or we need people in suburbs or cities to love country music so much that they become more knowledgeable and passionate about country music than the people living in the countryside. If we get that, we’re not going to get “country” music, we’re going to get “border music.” Some of that music will go more native than the rest. Three good examples are Zeph OHora, Whitey Morgan, and Sam Outlaw, but there are many others. In my view, we need to support that movement in ADDITION to supporting all the genuine country up-and-comers like (fill in the blank, Cody Jinks, Courtney Andrews, etc).
By the way, I’d love Courtney to make a stone-cold country record. Her voice is like Gillian Welch’s — it suggests a whole world.
July 16, 2018 @ 3:53 am
Cornman,
I live in a small town on the edge of cornfields in the midwest. My work has me supervising contractors who are by and large, “from the country”. There’s a fair amount of honest to goodness rural folks around. But the issue I see is that the kids in these areas aren’t starting bands and they listen to Bro Country if they listen to “country” at all. There’s a real cultural shift that’s been going on among the young. So that “authenticity” thing will be an issue unless more young folks start getting hungry for the real country music.
July 15, 2018 @ 4:56 pm
The first song “It Hurt Her to Hurt Me” reminded me a bit of Roger Wallace with Jim Stringer on guitar from down in Austin. Just listening to the three songs posted I can’t tell if the album is more Country or Rockabilly?
July 15, 2018 @ 6:40 pm
It’s a country record with Chuck Berry influences.
July 17, 2018 @ 11:43 am
With all due respect, I like my country records with country music influences.
Daryle Singletary made country records with George Jones influences.
With that being said. It’s not bad. However, this is not ground-breaking stuff. Lyrically, musically, or vocally. Its average. Obviously this is only my opinion. But your comment struck a chord with me. ‘Singer makes country record with non-country influences.’ That is not a country record in my opinion. I am not trying to be a negative Nancy so I apologize if it comes across that way.
July 17, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
Completely misunderstood my point. I in no way said this album doesn’t have country influences. The primary influence is country music, period. The reason I mentioned it also has Chuck Berry influences is because Clyde asked if it was more country or rockabilly, and Westfall specifically cites Chuck Berry as an influence. Not as a primary influence, or the only influence. But an influence, which you can hear on the record.
This is a country record. If it’s not a country record, there’s no reason for this website to exist, and I’ve just wasted the last ten years of my life. It is more country than 99% of all other records released in “country” music. It is very country, extremely country. Perhaps the three examples I posted don’t accurately represent that, but I’m stupefied why we’re even having this discussion.
If you don’t like it, that’s totally understandable. It’s your taste, and I would never argue that. If it’s just average to you, fair enough. But I will argue against the idea that it’s not a country record.
July 19, 2018 @ 7:51 am
I finally got my first listen this morning to the complete album and I totally love it. Id have to say it’s my favorite record you’ve review this year – another great find that I otherwise would never have known about. My favorite songs so far are “More and More” and “I’ll Play the Fool”. Thanks Trigger!
July 17, 2018 @ 1:19 pm
Sometime in the 90’s, I was watching a special on Chuck Berry. On it, Carl Perkins said that the first time he heard Chuck Berry, he thought “now there’s a black man who likes country music.” Another time (or maybe the same special), Ike Turner was talking about how black people could get into Jimmy Reed and then started singing Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me To Do” to illustrate his point, but had little use for Chuck Berry, after which he made fun of the opening lyrics for Johnny B. Goode, like they were hillbilly lyrics.
July 16, 2018 @ 3:06 am
Looks like tony Clifton
July 17, 2018 @ 3:13 pm
Upon further listening, I will adjust my above score to 7.5 out of ten. It’s growing on me.
July 29, 2018 @ 7:54 am
There are some miserable people in these comments lol. Maybe the album of the year so far.
July 29, 2018 @ 7:57 am
Also his singing style is fine, it reminds me a little of Johnny Rivers. Don’t really care if that isn’t “country”.
July 29, 2018 @ 9:04 am
I agree. His singing is just fine. Made me think of Mike Harmeier from Mike and the Moonpies. And if it wasn’t for him singing these songs, we wouldn’t get to hear them.