Gene Watson - Real Country Music
Fourteen Carat Music
As I pressed the play button for this latest Gene Watson album I had to do a second take and check that I had placed the right CD in my player. I wasn’t expecting the lush strings that introduced the opening Enough For You, a Kris Kristofferson song that I recalled from a Brenda Lee album from more than 40 years ago. Once I recovered from the minor shock, I sat back and found myself once again enjoying the Texas balladeer’s relaxed yet soulful voice, that is so perfectly suited to his impeccable choice of traditional-styled country songs. Despite those tasteful strings that took me aback, it’s fair to say, in fact, that REAL COUNTRY MUSIC lives up exactly to what it says on the tin. Throughout, strong lyrics and impressive vocal performances are complemented by intelligent and restrained musical arrangements … an education in classic traditional country music for anyone who listens. This is the kind of music that you can sit in a booth with a beer and a tear or stretch out and take a twirl with some like-minded stranger. Sadly, there’s not as much call these days for the seasoned, adult ballads at which Gene Watson excels, which is why he now self-releases his albums for those dedicated fans who appreciate quality, old-school traditional country music by a true vocal master, illustrating why he’s one of country’s most enduring and successful male artists of the past 40 odd years.
I have to say that the strings on Enough For You are a perfect fit as the vulnerability in Gene’s voice chimes as true as the clink of a quarter in an old jukebox and the pedal steel comes in to add to the overall pathos. It’s sawing fiddles that set up When A Man Can’t Get A Woman Off His Mind. Co-written by Bill Anderson and Sharon Vaughan, this song and performance are wonderfully country to the core. Couldn’t Love Have Picked A Better Place To Die, a post-heartbreak, pure country waltz, is the kind of thing that nobody does better. Likewise, David Ball’s A Girl I Used To Know, seems to have been almost written for the singer; the weeping steel guitar underscores the emotion in his voice on this fine song about trying to avoid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime relationship.
Several of these songs Gene has previously recorded, but these new versions add greater maturity and fresh new arrangements. Larry Gatlin’s Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall he originally recorded 40 years ago. The song has a wistful, seen-it-all lyrical tone that befits Watson’s age and history and takes on a whole new meaning. If you’re in the mood to have your heart ripped out, this song and performance does the job beautifully. Ashes To Ashes, another previously recorded song, is a bleak heartbreak song that plumbs the depths of despair. All the power and passion we have come to expect from Gene Watson are present in abundance, but this time there is even more of a pensive tone that works so well. I’ve long been a big fan of Nat Stuckey, one of the unsung greats of the 1960s. Gene takes his All My Tomorrows and completely owns this well-written ballad about a man realising that his woman’s feelings towards him have changed.
Gene Watson has maintained a strong association with the basic sounds of country music throughout his recordings. His choice of songs can hardly be faulted, his sure sense of purpose is aided by a keen attention to detail, reflected in the studio band’s sparkling accompaniment and the evocative arrangements that render this album both traditional and timeless in scope. As fine an album as he’s ever done, REAL COUNTRY MUSIC is certainly the real deal.
genewatsonmusic.com
As I pressed the play button for this latest Gene Watson album I had to do a second take and check that I had placed the right CD in my player. I wasn’t expecting the lush strings that introduced the opening Enough For You, a Kris Kristofferson song that I recalled from a Brenda Lee album from more than 40 years ago. Once I recovered from the minor shock, I sat back and found myself once again enjoying the Texas balladeer’s relaxed yet soulful voice, that is so perfectly suited to his impeccable choice of traditional-styled country songs. Despite those tasteful strings that took me aback, it’s fair to say, in fact, that REAL COUNTRY MUSIC lives up exactly to what it says on the tin. Throughout, strong lyrics and impressive vocal performances are complemented by intelligent and restrained musical arrangements … an education in classic traditional country music for anyone who listens. This is the kind of music that you can sit in a booth with a beer and a tear or stretch out and take a twirl with some like-minded stranger. Sadly, there’s not as much call these days for the seasoned, adult ballads at which Gene Watson excels, which is why he now self-releases his albums for those dedicated fans who appreciate quality, old-school traditional country music by a true vocal master, illustrating why he’s one of country’s most enduring and successful male artists of the past 40 odd years. I have to say that the strings on Enough For You are a perfect fit as the vulnerability in Gene’s voice chimes as true as the clink of a quarter in an old jukebox and the pedal steel comes in to add to the overall pathos. It’s sawing fiddles that set up When A Man Can’t Get A Woman Off His Mind. Co-written by Bill Anderson and Sharon Vaughan, this song and performance are wonderfully country to the core. Couldn’t Love Have Picked A Better Place To Die, a post-heartbreak, pure country waltz, is the kind of thing that nobody does better. Likewise, David Ball’s A Girl I Used To Know, seems to have been almost written for the singer; the weeping steel guitar underscores the emotion in his voice on this fine song about trying to avoid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime relationship.
Several of these songs Gene has previously recorded, but these new versions add greater maturity and fresh new arrangements. Larry Gatlin’s Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall he originally recorded 40 years ago. The song has a wistful, seen-it-all lyrical tone that befits Watson’s age and history and takes on a whole new meaning. If you’re in the mood to have your heart ripped out, this song and performance does the job beautifully. Ashes To Ashes, another previously recorded song, is a bleak heartbreak song that plumbs the depths of despair. All the power and passion we have come to expect from Gene Watson are present in abundance, but this time there is even more of a pensive tone that works so well. I’ve long been a big fan of Nat Stuckey, one of the unsung greats of the 1960s. Gene takes his All My Tomorrows and completely owns this well-written ballad about a man realising that his woman’s feelings towards him have changed.
Gene Watson has maintained a strong association with the basic sounds of country music throughout his recordings. His choice of songs can hardly be faulted, his sure sense of purpose is aided by a keen attention to detail, reflected in the studio band’s sparkling accompaniment and the evocative arrangements that render this album both traditional and timeless in scope. As fine an album as he’s ever done, REAL COUNTRY MUSIC is certainly the real deal.
genewatsonmusic.com