Willie along with friend Waylon Jennings became the faces of Outlaw Country, musicians that rejected the sound and look of Nashville. No studio polish or rhinestones on these fellows, yet they still crossed over into the pop charts with their duets “Good Hearted Woman” and “Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” Remaining true to himself and the outlaw spirit, Willie continued to follow his own path when everyone expected more of the same. He gave them an album of Lefty Frizzell songs as well as Stardust, a collaboration with Booker T. Jones that had Willie covering popular standards that remains his best-selling album, going platinum five times.
Disc Two showcases the rise of Willie but for some reason the disc isn’t organized chronologically, which is too bad. It opens with a mix of his work with Waylon and his Nashville days. Sure, it all sounds good, but the contrast is stark and the listener doesn’t get to hear Willie’s progression as an artist. The remainder of tracks showcases hits like “Bloody Mary Morning,” his first #1 Country single “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” and his rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.”
Into the 1980s, Willie’s crossed over into the mainstream. He appeared in movies like Electric Horseman and Honeysuckle Rose, and scored big on the pop charts with his only top-ten hits, “Always on My Mind” and his duet with Julio Iglesias “To All the Girls I've Loved Before.” Success didn’t go to Willie’s head. He remembered his roots and continued to work with friends, mentors and idols.
Disc Three opens with three tracks from Willie and Family Live. You can hear the electric energy of his band in their prime. Willie performs with Ray Price, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard, and Faron Young. He and Leon Russell cover “Heartbreak Hotel” and later joins Webb Pierce for Jimmie Rodgers’ “In The Jailhouse Now.”
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Fellow Blogcritics take note, because at the risk of further inflating Mr. Bicho's already over inflated ego, I'm gonna put quite a shine on this piece.
This is everything a great review on a retrospective set covering the career of a legend like Nelson should be. It is part history lesson, part critique, and part analysis. Most importantly, it really makes me to buy the record, expensive as I'm sure it is. There are so many Nelson retrospectives out there, one doesn't really know to begin (I've got Sony's "Essential" set, and it barely scratches the surface).
With this review, Bicho not only pointed me in a good general direction, he gave me several reasons to consider seeking this out.
So well done, Bicho. Just don't let it go to your head okay?
-Glen
2 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.
3 - Matt Wardlaw
I haven't met a Willie set, studio, retrospective or otherwise, that I didn't like.
My only beef with this set, is that Beer For My Horses isn't on it. That's cool though, because I've got it elsewhere. 100 tracks, and it's priced really nice everywhere I've seen it - heck of a value!
4 - El Bicho
Thanks, Glen