Willie Nelson & Leon Russell Live in New Jersey 1979


Oh, the joy. It's Willie again, kids. This is the tour he did with Leon Russell that produced the timeless gem 'One For The Road' in 1979. Oh, if only I wasn't a snot-nosed 8 year-old then...sigh. Anyway, this album bears some resemblence to the former but is from the New Jersey show on that tour and broadcast on FM radio in New York WNAW. So, there is the inevitable station identification breaks which are not so bad that they truly interrupt the groove you get into on this one. I ahd to wait until 2006 to finally see Willie live in concert and cannot recommend enough the voice, talent, legend and all the good qualities that he has. A living legend indeed. Every time I listen to the 'Red Headed Stranger' album, my esteem only increases for his gifts. But, I digress. So, please sit back and enjoy the show. I am right now.

1. Whiskey River
2. Stay All Night, Stay a Little Longer
3. Funny How Time Slips Away
4. Crazy
5. If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time
6. Night Life
7. Sweet Memories
8. Gotta Get Drunk
9. Bloody Mary Morning
10. Shotgun Willie
11. Medley - Time Of The Preacher/I Couldn't Believe It Was True/Time of the Preacher Theme/Blue Rock Montana
12. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
13. Red-Headed Stranger + Time of the Preacher Theme
14. Heartbreak Hotel (W&L)
15. Trouble in Mind (W&L)
16. A Song for You (L)
17. Come On in My Kitchen (L)
18. Detour (W&L)
19. Will the Circle Be Unbroken (W&L)
20. Amazing Grace (W&L)
21 Uncloudy Day (W&L)



Link in comments

Willie Nelson - Nite Life: Greatest Hits & Rare Tracks 1959-1971


I had to include Willie in this weeks posts since he was in a dream I had the other night. His music has indeed dug it's way into my heart for years and I really cannot say enough positive things about the man. So, I will let the reviews for this on the internet speak -

"Long before Willie Nelson spearheaded the "outlaw country" movement, he made a go at mainstream country success, which, in the late 1950s and 1960s, meant "the Nashville sound." Nelson wrote songs with jazz and blues progressions, then recorded them with such non-traditional country instrumentation as piano, organ, saxophone, vibes, and lush background choruses. His best efforts from this period are collected on NITE LIFE, an album that spans the years between 1959 and 1971 and includes both hits and overlooked rarities. The hits include "Nite Life," "Hello Walls" (a big hit for Faron Young), "Funny How Time Slips Away," and perhaps the greatest song ever sold outright for $50, "Crazy." Throughout, Willie's love for and deep empathy with great American composers from Hoagy Carmichael to Hank Williams is abundantly evident. The trademark idiosyncratic guitar leads are missing, but Willie's syncopated vocal style is already fully formed. The final track, "Me and Paul," in which Willie lays bare his comfort with outsider status, points clearly toward his mega-star future."



1. Man With the Blues
2. What a Way to Live
3. Night Life
4. Rainy Day Blues
5. You'll Always Have Someone
6. Everything But You
7. Mr. Record Man
8. Hello Walls
9. Crazy
10. Touch Me
11. Funny How Time Slips Away
12. Am I Blue
13. Half a Man
14. Opportunity to Cry
15. San Antonio Rose
16. One in a Row
17. Bring Me Sunshine
18. Me and Paul


link in comments

Willie Nelson - Crazy: The Demo Sessions (1961)


Living proof that there is nothing more truly cool than doing your own thing. I have previously expressed my love and admiration for Willie amongst my earliest posts, as evidenced by my inclusion of my favorite album of his (possibly favorite album of any genre) 'The Red Headed Stranger'. I enjoy the idea of just sitting around listening to a genius pluck his guitar while finding ideas for songs and these laid back demos of Willie's area bout as close as I will ever get, sadly. Of course, for most, the highlight of this set would be 'Crazy' a song that was a hit for Patsy Cline (and one that many people never knew Willie wrote) but I appreciate the entire disc and hope you will as well. I saw him in concert this year and cannot truly express how awesome and experience it was, even with his age and years on the road, that the man has lost none of his prowess. We should all be so lucky. Let's also give a big round of applause for at the wonderful priorities of law enforcement in the good ole U.S of A. when they can discover that Willie has a whole bunch of herb on his bus but they can't make a dent in other much more pertinent issues concerning our safety. Bravo, gentlemen, bravo indeed. So roll one up and smoke it for Willie - have one for DaddyRich.


1. Opportunity To Cry - (previously unreleased)
2. Three Days
3. Undo The Right
4. What Do You Think Of Her Now - (previously unreleased)
5. I've Just Destroyed The World
6. Permanently Lonely - (previously unreleased)
7. Are You Sure - (previously unreleased)
8. Darkness On The Face Of The Earth - (previously unreleased)
9. Things To Remember
10. Moment Isn't Very Long, A
11. Crazy
12. Local Memory, The - (previously unreleased)
13. I Gotta Get Drunk
14. Something To Think About - (previously unreleased)
15. I'm Still Here - (previously unreleased)
16. (untitled) - (hidden track)

link in comments