Mojo - The Music Magazine

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• "Stardust" is the one for me.Great selection of covers,superb production from Booker T. & that voice....

  Posted by gautxos at 10:32 AM GMT 30/01/2009 Report Abuse

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• "Stardust" is the one for me.Great covers,superb production from Booker T. and that voice...

  Posted by gautxos at 10:36 AM GMT 30/01/2009 Report Abuse

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• I must but a bid in for 'Across The Borderline'. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this album. It was the first Willie Nelson album I heard. Such a warm, big-hearted record. The arrangements are lush without being kitschy, the guest stars don't overwhelm the main star, and the choice of covers is exceptional. His version of 'Don't Give Up' brings tears to my eyes even today. His reading of the title track alone makes this a lost classic of 90s Americana.

  His follow-up 'Teatro' is also great; but not as great as many seem to think. It features some of Willie's best songs, but he has to fight to rise above the typical Lanois production. Willie's voice is not as suited for the surround-sound digital soup as Emmylou Harris.

  'Spirit' is also my choice for Willie's masterpiece of understatement. As raw and spacious as 'Red Headed Stranger', but more oblique and fascinating.

  Posted by Conor at 10:58 AM GMT 30/01/2009 Report Abuse

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• Have to agree, Across the Borderline and Spirit are both fantastic albums.

  Posted by Dusty Valentino at 11:40 AM GMT 30/01/2009 Report Abuse

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• It's nearly impossible not to stumble across at least one gem on any given Willie record. While his popularity reached fever pitch during the Honeysuckle Rose period, some of his best material came during a time when he was seen as largely unmarketable. Witness his two brilliant Atlantic recordings, Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages (recorded at Muscle Shoals). Those recordings demonstrate Willie's ear for unusual and interesting melodies and are the antithesis latter day slickness such as "To All The Girls I've Loved Before."

  During the same period he recorded a gospel album, The Troublemaker, that later emerged on Columbia. No matter your religious views, it's hard to deny the charms of this chart-topping entry in the Nelson oeuvre. Another religious themed record that has been largely ignored is 1971's Yesterday's Wine. The title cut and "Me and Paul" are perhaps the most recognizable as they were later placed on the Outlaw country cash-in compilation The Outlaws (with Jessie Colter and Waylon Jennings). Yesterday's shows that the concept album was not the sole property of the progressive rock genre while also asking the listener to close distance between seemingly far flung genres such as country and jazz.

  1977's "To Lefty From Willie" ranks among the best as does 1980's collaboration with Ray Price, San Antonio Rose. It's equally hard to resist the charms of Teatro, Willie and Family Live and Across the Borderline. Many will sing the praises of Stardust and Red Headed Stranger but they're hardly worth mentioning in this venue because of their ubiquity.

  Recent entries Moment of Forever and Songbird (produced by Ryan Adams and since disowned by alt rock's favorite pugilist) are among those that are best avoided.

  Posted by Jedd Beaudoin at 7:58 PM GMT 30/01/2009 Report Abuse

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• Morning, "Yesterday's Wine" was the first of Willie's concept albums and the last he did for RCA. The two for Atlantic "Shotgun Willie" and "Phases and Stages" continue and grow in this manner. Next came "Red Headed Stranger" and all the rest on Universal(I believe). That,' Stardust and several in between are fairly solid. Give me the trinity of "WIne", "Shotgun" and "Phases" though.
  There's also a bunch on great Willie cds out the too, but who listens to them anyway?
  Willie's harmonies, pickin' and influence on Waylon's "This Time" is also up there.
  You need it all, but "Phases and Stages" is the motherfucker!

  Posted by angryrandy@cccapply.org at 4:23 PM GMT 01/02/2009 Report Abuse

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• Shotgun Willie is my favorite. It set the blueprint for the rest of Willie's amazing career: Bob Wills covers, A Leon Russell cover, and some of his best songwriting ever. Plus, it includes the definitive, stoney version of Whiskey River.

  Posted by MarkRez at 3:16 PM GMT 08/02/2009 Report Abuse

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• THEATRO IS THE BEST WILLIE NELSON ALBUM.
  IT HAS THE UNITY OF HIS GREAT CONCEPT ALBUMS SUCH AS YESTERDAY's WINE, PHASES AND STAGES AND SPIRIT
  BUT WITH A LATIN ORIENTED DANIEL LANOIS' PRODUCTION WHICH MATCH PERFECTLYWILLIE' GUITAR STYLE and the greatest backing voice of the country music the one of EMMYLOU HARRIS.

  one of the best americana album of all the time for the mix of musics from the entire american continent .

  AVOID A MOMENT OF FOREVER for its horrible production

  Posted by JULIEN Marseille at 1:49 PM GMT 13/02/2009 Report Abuse

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• RE: Jedd Beaudoin

  SONGBIRD is actually pretty good despite Ryan Adams hating it. Ryan lost it after "GOLD" anyway.

  my top five WILLIE ' LP is

  theatro
  phases and stages
  spirit
  yesterday's wine
  stardust

  
  

  Posted by JULIEN Marseille at 1:59 PM GMT 13/02/2009 Report Abuse

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• I think I like "You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker" the best. Though I got started with Willie on "Red Headed Stranger" and "Stardust" way back in college. Willie allowed all of us in the US to get beyond cultural and regional divisions and enjoy good American music. Willie is one of my heroes.

  Posted by Santosh at 4:36 AM GMT 06/06/2009 Report Abuse

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