As one of the few artists included in the Setlist series still writing and recording material in the present day, Willie Nelson's entry into the collection creates a very different impression from the rest. Now clean-shaven and occasionally photographed wearing tuxedos (check out the cover of American Classic), this Setlist album represents an excellent stitch in time; back to that period when Nelson's backing band was small, the songs were just North of vintage hill country (Nelson had drums – that didn't happen at the Opry back then) and the singer represented the best possible combination of country heart and inspired songwriting chops that captured the pinnacle of country music and all the values inherent to it.
It sounds so simple and, really, it is; some have tried, but no one has ever captured it so well as Willie Nelson does in concert.
Combining tracks from Nelson's live albums recorded between 1966 and 1980 (there are five of them), Setlist provides listeners with a sampling of songs that remain staples in country music including “Crazy,” “Georgia On My Mind,” “Funny How Time Slips Away” and “Good Hearted Woman” from a time when they were all still brand new and audiences devoured them because they were the best of the country breed and, while many of them have been covered endlessly since, they all started out as Willie Nelson compositions – even if they may have been made famous by someone else.
Listeners will be surprised at just how captivating Nelson was live back then. While there's no doubt that the cuts collected for Setlist are live, the crowd is so quiet as each song plays that one might have been able to hear a pin drop in the crowd or (as happens on songs like the medley of “The Last Letter” and “Half A Man” here) the one concertgoer in the room fool enough to speak during one; audiences simply stood captivated, not wanting to miss a note usually.
It's easy to understand the crowd's silence – each of the dozen songs included here is beautiful – but it's also incredible when one realizes that these songs were pulled from five albums over a thirteen-year span (between 1966 and 1979); Nelson was able to hold the attention, respect and command of each audience like that, each time. Because of that, each song sparkles and listeners previously uninitiated to Willie Nelson will be locked in awe when they hear it now. True, each song on Willie Nelson's Setlist is a classic, but that people even seemed to know that then and so paid such close attention is just incredible.
Artist:
www.willienelson.com/
www.myspace.com/willienelson
Album:
Setlist: The Very Best Of Willie Nelson Live is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
Over the last few years, Willie Nelson seems to have gone out of his way to flex the muscles that about five decades as a celebrated songwriter and performer have earned him. In the last five years alone, Nelson has done an in-depth examination of Cindy Walker's music, done a series of sessions that ultimately bore the plainly reggae-inspired Countryman, actually covered some countrymen (including Dave Matthews, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan and Kris Kristopherson) on Moment Of Forever and cleaned up his back catalogue on Naked Willie, to say nothing of the other (at least) thirteen albums that have been graced by his name. Simply said, Willie Nelson has been productive, done what he damn well pleases and done it in the sounds and forms of his choosing – whether it looks like it'll work on paper or not.
Even with that track record in mind, it's guaranteed that no one saw American Classic coming. Even with such a recent tradition of change in mind, the notion of Willie Nelson cleaning up, taking down his braids and abandoning his denim for a nicely tailored suit and some classic (and classically arranged) standards will make the minds of fans recoil.
That's just what the singer's newest effort does though.
Willie Nelson obviously took the title 'American Classic' to heart as he began picking through the American songbook to choose the songs that appear here because, track-for-track and number-for-number, not a hint of Nelson's trademark sound – other than his own voice – registers in this album's run-time. Raiding the repertoires (the singers that made these songs famous, if not their writers) of Frank Sinatra, Harold Arlen, Harry Brooks and Hank Crawford, Nelson develops a set that shouldn't work for him – these are trained performers and Nelson is, while certainly a revered songwriter, a fairly unremarkable singer. Even so, with some able production and re-arrangement, he shines here.
With Nelson steering the ship, songs that need no introduction like “Fly Me To The Moon,” “Come Rain Or Come Shine,” “Ain't Misbehavin'” and “Angel Eyes” all find their way safely into port with the unlikely inclusions (in a Nelson album) of jazz piano, brushed drums and light strings adding uptown distinction while simultaneously not casting the singer as out of place. Guest singers Diana Krall and Norah Jones don't overshadow him either – in spite of being better singers on a platform more their forté – because, in each track, Nelson makes sure to take his spot at center as the soul of the proceedings with all other sounds orbiting around him.
With that approach and aesthetic in place, Willie Nelson manages to strike a balance with the songs so that the performer and pieces compliment each other rather than make every micro-tone seem like an uphill success over staggering odds. Listening to the results, it becomes apparent that all the old clichés might fit – anything is possible, old dogs can learn new tricks and the soul of the musician can dominate over any material – but one cliche in particular seems appropriate for American Classic: as a farm boy wins over a bunch of classically adorned songs, he proves that sometimes a silk purse can indeed be made from a sow's ear.
Artist:
Willie Nelson online
Willie Nelson myspace
Album:
American Classic comes out through EMI/Bluenote on August 25, 2009. Pre-order it here on Amazon .
