Tag: Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson – Ride Me Back Home (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 43:20 minutes | 866 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings

Remarkably, this is Willie Nelson’s 69th album release! The Third album in the Trilogy about mortality, that began with “Gods Problem Child” (2017) & was followed by “Last Man Standing” (2018). The final release in this Trilogy, “Ride Me Back Home” see’s Willie Nelson on a more empathic, reflective & upbeat journey. An 11 song album, co-written & produced by Buddy Cannon.

Willie Nelson – Last Man Standing (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz  | Time – 33:34 minutes | 689 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings

‘Last Man Standing,’ comprised entirely of songs newly-penned by Willie Nelson (and longtime collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon), is the worthy successor to Willie’s ‘God’s Problem Child,’ which showcased seven Nelson-Cannon compositions and debuted at #1 on the Country charts. Willie and Buddy have been working together since 2008 with Cannon producing more than a dozen of Willie’s albums.

Willie Nelson – First Rose of Spring (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:21 minutes | 858 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings

For his 70th album, the unshakeable Willie Nelson (now 87 years of age) shows us his softer side. He may be the King of the outlaws, sitting comfortably atop his marijuana mountain, but the Texan has never hidden the super-sensitive and borderline romantic side of his personality. First Rose of Spring was produced by his old partner Buddy Cannon with whom he co-wrote two of its original songs. It also includes compositions by Chris Stapleton, Toby Keith and Pete Graves, as well as one by another 5-star outlaw, Billy Joe Shaver, with whom he covers We Are the Cow-Boys. This exquisite album primarily made up of love songs is drawn to a close with Yesterday When I Was Young (a cover of Charles Aznavour’s famous Hier Encore), which gives a sense of finality to the album as a whole, but not in a weak, languishing way. The production is understated, never flashy and accentuates the violins – when they’re there – with skill. There are also some beautiful acoustic guitar moments (played on a Martin N-20 Trigger) and vocals that are more fluid than usual. First Rose of Spring truly stands out from the many (perhaps too many) recent releases of Willie Nelson, who seems to be writing a never-ending will but doing so with as much class as ever. – Marc Zisman

Willie Nelson – My Way (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 35:25 minutes | 744 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download  | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings

My Way, Willie Nelson’s new studio album, explores his admiration and connection to Frank Sinatra’s art and artistry across 11 fresh, intoxicating takes on songs made famous by the Chairman of the Board. Recorded in the tradition of 1978s legendary Stardust and 2016s Grammy Award-winning Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin, My Way is a warm and personal nod from one icon to another. Included are Willie’s takes on timeless tunes like “Summer Wind,” “It Was A Very Good Year,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Fly Me To The Moon,” “What Is This Thing Called Love” (cast as a duet with fellow Grammy winner Norah Jones) and, of course, the anthemic “My Way.” Add Willie’s stalwart backing band plus lush arrangements for full string and horn sections – all produced by Grammy winners Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings – and you’ve got an album that’s as cool as it gets.

Willie Nelson – Country Music (2010)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 54:53 minutes | 1,15 GB | Genre: Country
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital booklet | © Rounder Records

Willie Nelson goes back to his roots with a songbook of classic Americana. Country Music was recorded in Nashville, TN and produced by T Bone Burnett. Nelson wrote one track on the album, “Man With The Blues” and, with T Bone Burnett, co-arranged three traditional songs, “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” “I Am A Pilgrim,” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.” The album also features many popular old-time/bluegrass/folk songs including Ernest Tubb’s “Seaman’s Blues, Merle Travis’ “Dark As A Dungeon,” and The Delmore Brothers “Freight Train Boogie”. Willie Nelson collaborated with many musicians on Country Music including old-time banjo master Riley Baugus, double bassist Dennis Crouch, and T Bone himself, all musicians featured on Raising Sand, the 2009 Grammy award-winning Album of the Year by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Willie Nelson – To All The Girls… (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44.1 kHz | Time – 1:05:55 minutes | 652 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Digital Booklet | © Legacy Recordings

To All the Girls… is Willie Nelson’s newest album, consisting of a series of duets recorded with many famous female names in country music. The guest singers featured on the album include Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Carrie Underwood, Sheryl Crow, Mavis Staples, Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, and Willie Nelson’s daughter, Paula Nelson. Hailed as “a wonderful album” by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, this record will certainly please both old and new fans of Willie Nelson.

Willie Nelson – God’s Problem Child (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:33 minutes | 925 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Front cover | © Legacy Recordings

Mortality hangs over God’s Problem Child, Willie Nelson’s first solo album of original songs since 2014’s Band of Brothers. Since that record, Willie lost several friends and he’s also been the subject of several death hoaxes, a subject he tackles with a grin on “Still Not Dead,” one of seven originals Nelson co-wrote with his longtime producer, Buddy Cannon. “Still Not Dead” provides a gateway to the rest of God’s Problem Child, where Willie looks at the world with a blend of bemusement and melancholy suiting a road warrior who is still going strong in his eighties. Nelson is in better voice than he was in 2016, when he released two tribute LPs, and his band has a relaxed gait that harks back to his classic outlaw records of the ’70s but feels mellowed with age. Not that the album moves slowly. “Little House on the Hill” gets things off with a skip and the record regularly returns to a laid-back groove that’s often punctuated by blues, honky tonk ballads, and lazy laments. Whenever Nelson looks at his twilight years, it’s either with clear eyes or bemusement: he salutes his friends who have crossed over on the lovely “Old Timer” and admits that “It Gets Easier” when you get older because you can let your feelings fade, but he gets a kick that he’s still around to experience it all. His sense of humor remains sharp — “Delete and Fast Forward” is one of the best expressions of exasperation at the state of the world in the late 2010s — and his sentiment isn’t sticky; he salutes the late Leon Russell by leaving in his old friend’s guest vocal on the title track and pays tribute to Merle Haggard with “He Won’t Ever Be Gone.” All these songs hang together — they’re songs about love, loss, memory, and mistakes — but God’s Problem Child isn’t a song cycle, nor is it a major statement. It’s simply an uncommonly strong latter-day record from Willie Nelson: there isn’t a hint of fussiness and the songs and the performances are so understated, they only seem richer with repeated spins. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Willie Nelson – Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 36:31 minutes | 750 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Artwork: Front cover | © Legacy Recordings

Willie Nelson’s new album of pop standards, penned by America’s legendary songwriting duo George and Ira Gershwin, follows the selection of Willie as the 2015 recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Among the 11 Gershwin classics recorded by Willie Nelson for his new album are two duets: “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” with Cyndi Lauper (the song was originally introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the 1937 film Shall We Dance) and “Embraceable You” with Sheryl Crow (the song was performed by Ginger Rogers in Girl Crazy, recorded by Billie Holiday in 1944 and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005). Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin hearkens back to Stardust, the 1978 blockbuster album of pop standards that secured Willie’s reputation as pop balladeer, in addition to his status as one of the architects of outlaw country music.

Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger (1975/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 33:55 minutes | 637 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | © Columbia Nashville Legacy

Red Headed Stranger was a blockbuster among both country music and mainstream audiences, going multi-platinum and making Nelson one of the biggest stars in country. The album’s title would become a lasting nickname for Nelson. The album was ranked #184 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was ranked #1 on CMT’s 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music in 2006.

Album Chart Position in 1975:
Billboard Top Country Albums – 1
Billboard Top LPs & Tapes – 28

Singles Peak Position:
1975 – “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” – Billboard Hot Country Singles – 1
1975 – “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” – Billboard Hot 100 – 21
1976 – “Remember Me” – Billboard Hot Country Singles – 2
1976 – “Remember Me” – Billboard Hot 100 – 67