kind words about 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...You will not be able to get enough of Baby You Win, and it will continue to impress you at every turn."
- Saving Country Music, 9/10 review
“In the current country landscape, Cliff Westfall’s music is a refreshing breeze. Drawing influence from the timeless hooks and unmatched wit of artists like Roger Miller and Chuck Berry, Westfall incorporates a dose of old-school know-how into his art. The broad scope of his retro roots ingenuity can be felt on his new album, Baby You Win, set to be released on 13 July. As it were, some of the most cunning and richly melodic country to grace us in the genre’s contemporary era comes from a singer-songwriter who hails from the Big Apple.”
- PopMatters
“He writes songs that partake of the clever wordplay and sharp romantic wit that were the stock in trade of country songwriters 60 years ago, and he plays and sings them (accompanied by the cream of New York City’s Americana session-player crop) in a sweet, clear voice that you could listen to all day. What this is, is country music. The very best kind of country music.”
- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
"The joint will be jumpin’ when you play this album from Kentucky-born, New York-based country artist Cliff Westfall, whose strong ensemble includes Bruce Springsteen keyboardist Charlie Giordano. Westfall combines witty lyrics with a back-to-basics approach that variously recalls such artists as the Flatlanders, Dwight Yoakam, and Gram Parsons. His skillfully crafted songs—a mix of up tempo toe-tappers and weepy ballads—are loaded with addictive hooks and evidence of the artist’s love of wordplay."
- No Depression
“We are lucky today to be in a world where quality independent country music is the strongest it has been for decades, possibly ever…You can add Cliff Westfall’s album, Baby You Win, to that list. Packed with classic honky tonk sounds, with a production that manages to feel fresh and bygone at the same time, Baby You Win is reverential without falling into the trap of pastiche. Westfall’s lyrics are finely honed, at times wonderfully humorous, at others heart breaking, as only real a country songs can be.”
- Whiskey Preachin’
"This is a stylish release, right down to the artwork which is just made for vinyl, and is a fine example of honky tonk that rocks in all the right ways. The guitar work is impressive and yet does exactly what it needs to do. This is the sort of thing I found really exciting when I was first getting into country music and it's the kind of thing I always enjoy in a live setting."
- Country Music People Magazine, "Album of the Month," 5 star review
“If a man is known by the company he keeps, then Cliff Westfall is a saint. Albeit in a country/rock sinner sort of way. The New York-based, Kentucky-bred singer/songwriter surrounded himself with a who’s-who of musicians’ musicians for new album Baby You Win...Recorded in just nine days, Baby You Win showcases Westfall’s keen ability to take the best bits of country and rock past and modernize (but not sterilize) them.”
- Magnet
“If Elvis Costello had made an album of original country songs, it would have sounded something like this. The country crooner and songwriter writes period-perfect, aphoristic honkytonk and Nashville gothic tunes…”
- New York Music Daily
Baby You win has been featured in:
Saving Country Music, 9/10 album review + article on Brooklyn's independent country music scene
Country Music People Magazine (UK), "Album of the Month," 5 star review
American Standard Time (video premiere)
No Depression New Releases + album review + featured in “Gold Standards” (online) and “Standards & Stanzas” (print)
Roots Music Report, 5 star review
Lonesome Highway review + feature interview
Alt Country (NL), 4/5 star review
Baby You Win best of 2018:
Saving Country Music’s “2018 Essential Albums List”
Country Music People “Best Songs of 2018” Spotify list for ‘It Hurt Her to Hurt Me’
Country Music People “Best Use of Bakersfield-Inspired Twang in 2018”
Americana Boogie “Top 15 Albums of 2018”
Gravel Road Radio “Best of 2018” with the track ‘Baby You Win’ placing 2nd
‘Baby You Win’ was placed on multiple Lonesome Highway “Best of 2018 Lists” + the track ‘More & More’ was featured on their “Best of 2018” show
New York Music Daily “The Best 50 Albums of 2018”
Lost Highway (WMBR) featured the track ‘I’ll Play the Fool’ on its “Best of 2018” show
JeannieB Country Radio “One of the finest albums of 2018”
Gary Hayes Country “Top 50 of 2018” with ‘Off the Wagon’ listed among the top 10
Boots and Saddle CKUW “Favorite Tracks of the Year” radio broadcast for the track ‘Baby You Win’
Taff Martin with Abbey 104 “Short List for Best Male Country Album of the Year”
Boudin Barndance (WRIU) “Favorite Songs of 2018” for the track ‘More and More’
Americana und so weiter named Baby You Win #5 on its “2018 Top 20”
Hurtin For Real “2018 Hurts of the Year” for the track ‘Till the Right One Comes Along’