Willie Nelson - Essential Willie Nelson
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Free Music Notes for Essential Willie Nelson
Free Music Review: American Treasure
Hit: 5 Stars
While Willie's 3 disc box-set Revolutions of Time is ultimately a more thorough and "essential" collection, this set definitely hits all of the high (and one or two low) points in Willie's career. Just about every mainstream hit from the late 70s and early 80s is here. While some of this might sound dated and overproduced ("Always On My Mind" would be perfect if it weren't for those backup singers), these songs are as much a part of pop music as any rock and roll collection. In my opinion, Willie is only nominally a country artist anymore, and much more a pop singer, so don't use your dislike of country music as an excuse to ignore Willie. This set, unlike the 3 CD box-set, includes songs from various points in his career- his rendition of "Crazy" and "Hello Walls" are here. While they are more in the mold of traditional late 60s Nashville country (even more overproduced than the early 80s stuff), it's wonderful to hear Willie sing some of his songs that others turned into massive hits. A few of his duets are here, including two with Waylon, the wonderful and haunting "Pancho and Lefty" with Merle, the Highwayman title song, "Faded Love" with Ray Price, and my favorite, "Seven Spanish Angels" with Ray Charles. Again, the box-set includes an entire disc of duets, so this offers only a sample. What a fine sample it is, though.
Willie's late 70s to mid 80s material speaks for itself- a few songs from "Stardust" and his live album, "On the Road Again" (one of my all time favorite songs from any artist), "City of New Orleans"- all essential classics. The collections begins to trail off with his 90s and early 2000 material, and this stuff is hardly Willie's finest- the U2 song is ponderous and pretentious, and some of the duets from this period are just silly- Aerosmith? Willie's rendition of Paul Simon's "Graceland" is the best from this era, and holds up well against the fine original.
I tend to like singers with less traditional voices- Bruce, Dylan, Willie, Lyle Lovett, Jimmie Dale Gilmore. The most frequent complaint you'll hear about these people is that their voices are unpleasant. I just find that to be outright wrong- Willie's reedy, sweet voice is a thing of beauty, and the uniqueness that he brings to both his own songs and his covers is part of his appeal. He's a timeless artist who is both a fine songwriter and an even better interpreter of songs both standards and obscurities. He joins the ranks of a handful of true American musical greats- Louis Armstrong, Elvis, Frank, Dylan, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen. I'm an enormous fan of The Boss, and placing Willie alongside him is my highest form of compliment.
Free Music Review: Forty years of great music
Hit: 5 Stars
Willie Nelson did not make any real impact as a singer until the mid seventies (and it was the eighties before Britain took him seriously) but this compilation attempts to cover the whole of his career to date. Inevitably, this means that a lot of great songs are omitted but if this is your first Willie Nelson album and you want to explore further, you will find plenty to choose from.The set opens with Willie's versions of the four songs that established Willie as a songwriter in the sixties, these being Night life, Hello walls, Crazy and Funny how time slips away. Six further tracks cover the sixties and early seventies, a period during which Willie recorded plenty of interesting music but with only limited success.
In 1975, Willie recorded a cover of Blue eyes crying in the rain, an old Roy Acuff song, which became a major country and pop hit in America. Other hits followed including a lot of duets -so many that you could fill a boxed set with them. Just a few are included here, among them being Good hearted woman, Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys (both with Waylon Jennings), Faded love (with Ray Price - and Crystal Gayle singing backup harmony), To all the girls I've loved before (with Julio Iglesias) and Seven Spanish angels (with Ray Charles). Willie's classic solo country hits (some covers, some originals) are represented by If you've got the money I've got the time, Uncloudy day, Help me make it through the night, My heroes have always been cowboys, On the road again, Always on my mind, City of New Orleans and a few others.
Another aspect of Willie's career was the series of albums he recorded featuring songs from the Great American Songbook. The first and most famous of these albums was Stardust. It is the only songbook album from which tracks are taken and is represented here by Blue skies, Georgia on my mind and All of me. A very different double CD of Willie's music titled All the songs I've loved before was released in Britain and Australia, which was dominated by this aspect of Willie's music and which I've already reviewed.
If you only want one collection of music by Willie Nelson, this is a good one to choose.
Free Music Review: THE TAO...ERR...WOW OF WILLIE
Hit: 5 Stars
This 41-track collection is another remarkable capsule of one of the most prolific entertainers in country and pop music. The arrangers over @ Columbia faced an insurmountable task of summarizing nearly 40 years of albums and productions that would adequately showcase the multifaceted talent of Willie Nelson. After rising to the challenge, they succeeded with an excellent Essential assortment.
By chronologically sequencing the recordings, both studio and live, that were regarded as essential in the development of Nelson the immortalized, country music outlaw, the producers were able to reveal the many personalities and vocal arrangements that made Willie a wonderful, all-around entertainer. Among the tunes are Crazy, Georgia on My Mind, Blue Skies, and Pancho & Lefty. Many co-performers alongside Willie also appear; among them are Leon Russell, Ray Price, Merle Haggard, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings, and, strangely enough, Aerosmith.
For those who are primarily interested in only the FM radio hits, the collection has: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (US Pop #21), Good Hearted Woman (US Pop #25), Georgia on My Mind (US Pop #84), Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys (US Pop #42), My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (US Pop #44), On the Road Again (US Pop #20), Always on My Mind (US Pop #5), and To All the Girls I've Loved Before (w/Julio Iglesias)(US Pop #5)
This is a very nice collection that spans over four decades of country music. The once-Red Headed Stranger has taken on many forms with his music, and thanks to him, we have several different forms of Country genre. Country folk? Check. Country gospel? Check. Outlaw country? Check,check.
For those who want to build a Country music collection, if you need to determine just what style and/or era will be to your liking, then this is a definite must-have, for it will answer many of your questions.
Free Music Review: Why I can't stop playing these 2 CD's
Hit: 5 Stars
If you even remotely like any of the songs of Willie Nelson, then you will love this compiliation. After all, what's not to like: the rock driven Lyrics of the live version of Whiskey River, or One Time Too Many, (with Steven Tyler & Aerosmith). Or the haunting ballads like Georgia on my mind, Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground, Help me make it through the night or To All The Girls I've Loved Before (with Julio Iglesias) among so many others.
Then, there are the strange songs like Pancho and Lefty (with Merle Haggard), and City of New Orleans, that takes you on that train trip we've all wanted to take, or The Highwayman (with the real Highwaymen; Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson), which goes just a little past the edge of reality.
I don't want to review every song, even though it would be easy to do; but too long, and too boring. That's why I've saved my favorite song for last. Even through I have played this CD over and over since I finally got it, there is one song that always affects me deeply. I can not listen to the song Seven Spanish Angels, with a dry eye. There is something about this song that pulls so strong at my heart, that a tear just slips out.
Hey, A great compiliation, a great series of productions, an all star bunch of friends, and Seven Spanish Angels. What's not to like!
Terry Decker
Formerly WVEZ Radio- Louisville, Ky.
Free Music Review: One of Those "Essential" Jobbies, Huh?
Hit: 5 Stars
Willie showed his potential in such a short time in the very early 60s when the songs he had written hit the pop charts AND the country charts. Prolific Rusty Draper of the Vic Damone-Sinatra set had a hit with "Night Life", established (but sometimes underappreciated) country singer Faron Young was on both charts with "Hello Walls", Patsy Cline likewise with "Crazy" and one-hit-wonder Jimmy Elledge with a soulful rendition of "Funny How Time Slips Away". Nobody seemed to be able to fail with a Willie song. These disks cover a lot of the roads that he traveled. He remains one of those artists based in one genre but, for instance like Marty Robbins and Ray Charles, has not limited himself to that genre. (Check out Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" as done by Willie and going back to the 40s, he made a new hit in the 70s of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain"). This package represents a good cross section of Willie's career. But I also want to thank the reviewer who gave a ONE-star review; hilarious!