K.C. Clifford

Okla. singer-songwriter to perform in Plainfield

Friday, April 16, 2010

By ART EDELSTEIN Arts Correspondent

Barre Montpelier Times Argus

April 16, 2010

The opening track of K.C. Clifford’s CD “Orchid,” the song “Broken Things,” had this writer thinking he’d put a Nanci Griffith album on the player by mistake. Clifford, who hails from Oklahoma, has a southwestern twang in her voice, and is a fine singer-songwriter. She sounds a lot like Griffith and that is not a bad thing. On this her fourth album, Clifford shows herself to be a mature writer. The especially poignant “Blue Bonnets” was a real tear-jerker.

The Occasional Concert series will present Clifford and her guitar-playing husband, David Broyles, on Sunday at 6:30 in Plainfield, and judging from their performance on record, this is one very talented duo.

Clifford plays guitar and mountain dulcimer and displays a wide vocal range. She has a very plastic soprano voice couched in a country style. Besides Griffith, I thought I heard some Shania Twain, Dolly Parton and Eva Cassidy in Clifford’s delivery.

Clifford’s songwriting displays maturity and thoughtfulness, in the style of Mary Chapin Carpenter. While the album could hit the country charts given the right promotion, there is no anti-hero stance in the lyrics, nor “down-on-my-man” side to Clifford. I suspect that she will become a much better known performer in the near future so this house concert may be a rare opportunity to hear a very fine singer in an intimate setting.
Read More…

Share |

CD Review: 3rd Coast Music Magazine

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Reviewer: John Conquest, Editor

Issue: March 2010

You may wonder why being featured on The Biggest Loser is germane to Oklahoma singer-songwriter Clifford’s talents, but she makes no bones about how shedding excess weight—she topped out at 278 pounds—along with the insecurities that addicted her to fattening comfort foods has affected her art. To make the physical changes required major lifestyle changes which, in turn, demanded emotional discipline, so, after losing 100 pounds and more, she didn’t just look like a different person, she was a different person.

To be honest, I haven’t heard her before, but I have it on good authority that Orchid is light years beyond her three previous albums, the biggest single change being that she has developed empathy and broken out of self-imposed boundaries. This is most evident in Raise Your Voice (not on this album) which, written for the Regional Food Bank, brought her to the attention of The Biggest Loser, Redman, about the Trail of Tears, and Blue Bonnets, in which she excerpts Albert Brumley’s I’ll Fly Away to dramatic effect.

Clifford is one of those female singers whose voices are so beautiful that you get mesmerized by the sound without really hearing the words (ever notice that it’s always women? Oh, except Jimmy LaFave), but she’s also a three time Woody Guthrie Award winner as a songwriter and her ten originals soon make their presence known. Greg Johnson got The Blue Door, OKC, rolling by importing Austin artists, but now, with Clifford and John Fullbright, he can feature very competitive homegrown talent. — JC

Share |

CD Review: Americana-UK Magazine

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Reviewer: Sian Claire Owen
Rating: 7 out of 10

Early last year Oklahoma singer/songwriter K.C Clifford appeared on the US TV programme ‘The Biggest Loser’. What is it that she lost? Over 100 lbs. Any dieters out there will realise that this is no mean feat. But this isn’t her greatest achievement.

Maybe winning multiple awards for her talents – including two Woodie Guthrie awards – and producing three wonderful albums, tops mega weight loss. But there is no doubt that this life-changing physical change has influenced her latest album, ‘Orchid’.

Orchid is a beautiful collection of songs that mix calming melodies with powerful, personal lyrics and divine musical arrangements.

Clifford’s vocals are clean and sweet, but don’t be fooled, the words are at times cutting and bitter. There are many twists and turns throughout this album, and it makes it all the more interesting to hear.