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Country Music –  2010 (Rounder)
Willie Nelson

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by realrockergirl

Willie Nelson’s latest release, “Country Music”, is, indeed, very aptly titled. This is good old-fashioned country music at its best, presented in that distinctively smooth way that only Willie can manage. Right off the bat, the first song, “Man With The Blues” hits you with that beautiful bluegrass combination of upbeat rhythms and hard luck lyrics. It’s a kind of schizophrenic feel, but it makes sense that the music should be an uplifting counterbalance to the sadness of the lyrics. That’s what bluegrass is all about, after all.

The level of the musicianship throughout this album is excellent. But I’m not at all surprised. All of the Rounder Records CD’s in my collection have this same quality and the musicians all have the virtuosity that bluegrass music demands. It shines through on all the songs on this album, but of course, most particularly in “Man With The Blues”. Willie Nelson on gut string acoustic guitar, Buddy Miller on electric guitar, Chris Sharp on acoustic guitar, and Dennis Crouch on acoustic bass all keep that bottom and middle together, giving free reign to Riley Baugus on banjo, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Russell Pahl on pedal steel, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Mickey Raphael on harmonica to show off their talents on their axes. It was a very fun song, and very satisfying, especially with Jim Lauderdale doing vocal harmonies with Willie.

I knew that Mr. Nelson tends to cover lots of songs, but when I saw that the first track, “Man With The Blues”, was the ONLY one of the 15 tracks that was an original, and that the others were covers or traditional spiritual-type songs, I have to admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed. But that feeling quickly disappeared when I started listening to the second track. The Billy Talmadge/Ernest Tubb song “Seaman’s Blues” certainly has a somewhat Country & Western feel to it, with traditional lyrics about missing home and being out at sea for extended periods of time. But overall, it is not a Country & Western song, it’s a country song, and it had a very soothing effect which left me with a feeling of comfort. Of course, Willie Nelson’s mellifluous voice could make any song be soothing, no matter what the musical genre or lyrical content. He just has that effect of making everything seem mellow, and somehow alright.

On Merle Travis’ “Dark As A Dungeon”, a song about the horrors of coal mining, Willie injects into it that Celtic-feel that so many traditional American songs have. It’s really heart-wrenching material, and those Celtic musical accents make it even more so. But it makes sense for Mr. Nelson to cover this song, as in his private life he is actively involved in many humanitarian causes. That generous heart is so well-reflected in his voice and vocal stylings. It felt like he truly cared about the subject matter of the song.

The three traditional spirituals on this album, “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down”, “I Am A Pilgrim”, and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” were artfully arranged by Mr. Nelson and his producer T Bone Burnett, putting their own distinctive touches to the songs. And Willie performs them with a rather plaintive, yet comforting voice, that makes you feel OK after listening to these sad lyrics.

There was some exquisitely sweet steel pedal guitar playing by Russell Pahl and fiddle playing by Stuart Duncan on Hazel Houser’s “My Baby’s Gone”, a very heartfelt, sad bluegrass ballad. At times, Willie’s version of it reminded me a tiny bit of Neil Young’s country-ish releases, and also of some of Jesse Colter’s material. It was really a lovely rendition of this song.

From Doc Watson’s “Freight Train Boogie”, to the Weldon Allard/John Hathcock tune “Gotta Walk Alone”, the feel of each song on this album is a bit different. That’s what keeps it interesting to listen to, and I think the fans will be getting their money’s worth if they buy “Country Music”.

I was honored to be able to listen to and review this album by an American living legend and great humanitarian.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Albums, News and Reviews, You Tube, Vimeo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.