"We raise up our glasses against evil forces,
Singin', whiskey for my men,
Beer for my horses"

Besides being the centerpiece of this set, the tune is also up for the Best Country Song award, an award songwriters Keith and Scotty Emerick are likely to win against Twain's "Forever and For Always," Brad Paisley's "Celebrity," Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett's "It's Five O' Clock Somewhere," and Pat Green's "Wave On Wave."

Not only is "Horses" an instant classic musically, but it also brings together country's absolute political bookends: Keith, the Dixie Chick baiting pro-war patriot, and the iconoclastic, pot-smoking lefty Nelson, whose quixotic endorsement of Dennis Kucinich for president and release of the anti-war, anti-Bush song "Whatever Happened to Peace On Earth?" puts him squarely at odds politically and culturally with both Keith and the mainstream country music audience. If Keith can get this cozy with Nelson — and why shouldn't he? — one wonders why he hates the Dixie Chicks so much.

There are nice moments the rest of the way, even if it ultimately doesn't all add up: Diana Krall and Elvis Costello on Nelson's most famous composition, "Crazy," a preposterously great rasta version of "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" with Wyclef Jean, and the sublime Norah Jones on "Wurlizter Prize." The record is good but it could have been much more.

Though this album could well win the Grammy on strength of its "event" status, Willie's duet with Ray Price, Run that By Me One More Tme, is actually a better album.

Portions of this story originally appeared here.