Matthew Houck didn’t just cover Willie Nelson tunes in his live act, he recorded a complete album of songs that Willie Nelson has performed. “To Willie With Love” is a throwback to the album Willie Nelson recorded to honor someone he respected, Lefty Frizzell, with “To Lefty, with Love”.
Paste Magazine named ‘To Willie’ their favorite Americana Album of 2009.
By Noah W. Bailey
Paste Magazine
Year in ReviewWe spent 2009 sorting through piles of folk and Americana releases, revising this list in our heads till the bitter end and failing repeatedly to understand the hype behind the Avett Brothers in the process. While a year of listening brought no shortage of pleasant surprises, our hands-down favorite release of the year was still an album of classic Willie Nelson tunes. Go figure.
Phosphorescent To Willie (Dead Oceans)
It’s rare that a tribute album approaches the quality of the source material, rarer still when the source is Willie Nelson. Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck proves himself a master stylist on To Willie, however, probing the depths of the Red Headed Stranger’s catalogue and breathing new life into classic songs like “Walkin’” and “The Party’s Over.” In the case of “Reasons to Quit” and Houck’s beautiful space-gospel treatment of “Can I Sleep in Your Arms,” it’s safe to say he even one-upped the originals. No wonder Willie himself invited the band to play Farm Aid and join him for a little puff-puff-pass on the Honeysuckle Rose
