Artist: Willie Nelson
Column from web archive February 16, 2009
Swingin’ west with Wills, Willie, the Wheel, and Wexler
I have to make a musical confession: Before I spent ten years in Texas, there were two genres where I had a deaf spot – or whatever you call the aural equivalent of a blind spot. One was jazz-rock fusion. The other was western swing. And though the hybrids were poles apart, I resisted both [...]
Not Fade Away - Reissue Review from Issue #75 May-June 2008
Willie Nelson – One Hell Of A Ride
Someday, somebody with great taste, and no desire to be all things to all markets, is going to put together a Best Of Willie Nelson box. Because nobody’s taste is absolute, fans like me and you will question some of the selections, and complain about what’s been left out. But the box will not contain [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #74 March-April 2008
Willie Nelson – Moment Of Forever
Willie Nelson’s willingness to record anything with anyone at any time can yield stunning results, most notably his recent Last Of The Breed collaboration with Merle Haggard and Ray Price, and similar team efforts with peers. Results on other occasions have been less impressive, among them the awful, Rob Thomas-produced duet album The Great Divide [...]
Miked - Live Reviews from Issue #69 May-June 2007
Ray Price / Willie Nelson / Ray Price – Backyard (Austin, TX)
When they brought his birthday cake onstage, Asleep At The Wheel bandleader Ray Benson couldn’t resist the chance to be disrespectful to his elders. “I’m the youngest guy out here!” he crowed, and, at age 56, he wasn’t kidding. Benson and the rest of the Wheel were serving as the backing band for Ray Price, [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007
Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard / Ray Price – Last Of The Breed Vol 1 & Vol 2
Beyond the accurate (if somewhat pretentious) title of this two-CD set is a fetching homage to Texas music by three icons — two Texans and one Bakersfielder whose music is so steeped in Texas he might as well be a native. The concept’s certainly not new. Haggard and Price each have previously recorded albums with [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #66 Nov-Dec 2006
Willie Nelson – Songbird
Let’s just say Willie Nelson is no stranger to collaboration. His rolodex extends from Bob Dylan to Toby Keith. The 73-year-old troubadour is as active as ever, having released the quietly charming Cindy Walker tribute You Don’t Know Me earlier this year. (And leave him alone, Louisiana, he’s an American hero, for goodness sake.) As [...]
Not Fade Away - Reissue Review from Issue #64 July-Aug 2006
Willie Nelson – The Complete Atlantic Sessions
Willie Nelson had completed eight frustrating, hit-and-miss years with RCA in 1972 when a chance meeting with a longtime fan, Atlantic’s legendary vice-president/producer Jerry Wexler, who loved all things country, changed everything. With Atlantic opening a country division, Willie would become their flagship artist. The creative freedom afforded him there became the launching pad for [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #62 Mar-Apr 2006
Willie Nelson – You Don’t Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker
Nineteen forty-one was Cindy Walker’s year. The 23-year-old Texas singer-songwriter moved to Hollywood, where Bing Crosby recorded one of her songs and Decca Records signed her as a vocalist. Hearing that Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys were in town filming a western, Walker tracked him down and sang him some of her songs. He [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #59 Sept-Oct 2005
Willie Nelson – Countryman
When Willie Nelson dueted with Toots Hibbert on “Still Is Still Moving To Me”, a tune written by Nelson but performed on Toots & the Maytals’ 2004 album True Love, it wasn’t merely an occasion to wonder which singer brought better ganja to the session. The track offered proof that certain Nelson songs could work [...]
Miked - Live Reviews from Issue #54 Nov-Dec 2004
Bob Dylan – Principal Park (Des Moines, IA)
As my boyhood hero Ernie Banks liked to say, “Let’s play two today!” With co-headliners Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson offering the musical equivalent of a doubleheader, and a warmup set by Hot Club Of Cowtown serving as batting practice, this concert was like Rolling Thunder on the Field of Dreams. Starting in Cooperstown, New [...]
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