Country
Published:
3. mars 2023
Record label:
Legacy Recordings / Sony Music
«Celebrating 90 with a new album!»
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What a year!
2023 has so far been a top year for Willie. Recently, he received two Grammy awards – for the album “A Beautiful Time” and for the best solo performance in the country genre (the title song of “Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver”). A new documentary series, “Willie Nelson & Family,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. He has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and will embark on a new US tour tomorrow. On the same day, the album “I Don’t Know A Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard” will be released. In connection with his 90th birthday, he is also honored by over 35 artists in the Hollywood Bowl itself on 29 and 30 April.
The interpreter
Are you curious about how to write a country song and tell a story about life in three minutes, preferably with large doses of “heart and pain”? Go to the best!
Only one thing can stop Willie Nelson
Willie himself is one of country music’s most respected songwriters, with immortal songs such as “Crazy”, “Night Life” and “On The Road Again” and well over 100 studio albums on his CV. But he is also a rare skilled interpreter of other people’s songs. Willie is more than happy to pay tribute to his fellow songwriters. There have been several albums of it, with songs by Lefty Frizzell (1977), Kris Kristofferson (1979), Cindy Walker (2006), George Gershwin (2016) and Ray Price (2016).
Hitmaker
Now it’s the turn of one of the leading songwriters in the country class. Harlan Howard (1929-2002) gave Willie his first job as a professional songwriter. He is also the man behind the definition of a country song as “three chords and the truth”.
Howard wrote over 4,000 songs, and has membership in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1961 alone, he had 15 in the country charts. Willie and his regular producer in recent years, Buddy Cannon, have selected ten previously recorded by greats such as Ray Charles, George Jones, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty and Waylon Jennings.
Buck Owens
They start with the most famous – co-written with Buck Owens. Oddly enough, “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail”, or «Tiger By The Tail» as it is called here, the least interesting song on this album. This is probably mainly due to the fact that it is so closely associated with Buck Owens & the Buckaroos’ big hit from 1965.
Signaturlyd
The two also wrote «Excuse Me (I think I’ve Got a Heartache)» together. The and «The Chokin’ Kind»which Joe Simon recorded in soul version in 1969, Howard himself the following year and Waylon on the album “Sings Ol’ Harlan” in 1967, are among the highlights here. «I’ve given you my heart, and now you want my mind / your love scares me to death, girl, cause it’s a chokin’ kind»Willie sings as softly and hurtfully as only he can, with Mickey Raphael’s lyrical and sensitive harmonica, Jim “Moose” Brown’s gentle piano and Willie’s famous “Trigger” in important supporting roles.
Willie Nelson celebrates 85th birthday with great album
The old pierced Martin guitar has a distinct signature sound. Nobody plays guitar like him, either. The phrasing takes on a life of its own, often at its own pace.
High level
You’d think a 90-year-old’s voice would start to rust, but Willie still maintains a high level, at least in the studio. The voice vibrates and sets in motion the entire range of emotions. Another who does it is Raphael (71), who has followed Willie like a shadow for 50 years and is always presentably present in the soundscape.
Classic country / honkytonk
“I Don’t Know A Thing About Love” is a classic country / honkytonk album, with Mike Johnson’s steel guitar as a premise provider. Among the highlights are catchy «The Streets of Baltimore»which Bobby Bare recorded in 1966 and Gram Parsons 24 years later and «Life Turned Her That Way»first recorded by Little Jimmy Dickens in 1965 and later by Mel Tillis, Charley Pride and George Jones among others.
Two birthdays
It is also no coincidence that the birthday party lasts two days. Willie was born in Abbott, Texas just before midnight on April 29th, but the birth certificate shows April 30th. Willie thought it was his date of birth until he was 18 years old, when he was told the truth by his cousin Mildred. Since then, the family has equally celebrated both days!
PS! The cover is designed by Willie’s youngest son, Micah Nelson, himself an artist under the name Particle Kid. He and his brother Lukas Nelson have performed a lot with their father in recent years, when they have not been in Neil Young’s band!
