As with previous projects in the acclaimed Legacy re-issue series, each of the four Nelson classics will feature original cover artwork, complete personnel listings, extensive new liner notes, one or more previously-unreleased tracks from the respective sessions, and--best of all-- the brilliant, full-range digital re-mastering that has become a Legacy hallmark.
Originally recorded in Lake Tahoe in the spring of 1978, the two-disc Willie and Family Live caught Nelson in the full flush of his twenty-years-in-coming "overnight success." Backed by a sprawling, loose-limbed aggregation that included two drummers and two bassists along with Willie's sister Bonnie on piano, Mickey Raphael on harmonica, and Jody Payne joining Willie on guitars, Nelson & Co. ramble with casual intensity through a whopping 31 songs which embrace the ol' Redhead's landmark originals as well as time-worn classics which helped shape his ever-expanding legend.
In his 1978 Rolling Stone review of the set, Chet Flippo noted that the album "resembles a church meeting, albeit one led by a very fiery, skilled and tuneful preacher." Amen to that. Miss Emmylou Harris chimes in with her typically breathtaking harmonies, and bad hombre Johnny Paycheck (whose job as bassist in Ray Price's Cherokee Cowboys was taken by Nelson in 1961) drops by to caterwaul with Willie on David Allan Coe's red-neck anthem "Take This Job And Shove It."
Speaking of Ray Price, Willie teamed up again with one of the finest vocalists of country's Golden Era on the sublime San Antonio Rose in 1980. Out of all of the superstar duet albums Nelson racked up during this extremely prolific period in his career, this cozy sweetheart of a recording may have been the very best in terms of sustained conviction, extraordinary track selection and the way in which the voices of these two Country Music Hall Of Famers intertwine with almost sibling closeness. Certified Gold the year of its release, San Antonio Rose SE peaked at #3 on the country charts.
The late, great Lefty Frizzell's vocal and writing styles were absolutely essential in the development of post-WWII country music, and--like many artists before and since--Willie made a point of paying his respects with the wonderful To Lefty From Willie in 1977. Backed once again by his intrepid, seemingly eternal gang of road warriors, Nelson makes no attempt to copy Frizzell--instead, he wraps some of Lefty's more memorable tunes in his own languid, slipped-rhythm delivery, making To Lefty one-part tribute and one-part alchemy. As John Morthland rightly mentions in his liner notes, this little beauty didn't attract much attention in its time, but in retrospect, it stands with Nelson's finest and most heart-felt offerings.
The decade of the '70s saw Willie Nelson go from respected, if obscure songwriter to one of America's biggest stars. Red Headed Stranger and [i/Stardust (both previously re-issued in the Legacy series) had gone platinum, his folksy, inclusive tours were crossover wonders, and in 1980, he starred in the major motion picture, Honeysuckle Rose. The tale of a Texas country star who strays into trouble on the road (now where'd that come from?), Honeysuckle Rose co-starred Dyan Cannon, Amy Irving and Slim Pickens.
In addition to introducing the Nelson evergreen "On The Road Again," the 26-song soundtrack includes 16 more Willie cuts (either solo or in various duets with Irving, Cannon and Emmylou Harris) plus stellar offerings from fiddle king Johnny Gimble, and Nashville vets Hank Cochran and Jeannie Seely.
Read our reviews of each of these albums in the links to the right.
