| The Great Divide - Willie Nelson | |
|
Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
Willie Nelson is one of those rare artists who have produced well-made CDs for many years. Want to hear Willie sing the Blues, Country, Rock, Jazz or even Children's Music? Well all you need to do is take a look at his discography and you'll see that he's done it all. With The Great Divide, Willie is mixing a few of the genres together with wonderful results. Willie has worked with many great producers over the years that include Don Was, Chet Akins, Booker T. Jones, Daniel Lanois and now veteran rock producer Matt Serletic. Serletic has produced rock stars Matchbox Twenty and Santana.
Featuring some guests that are some of the best from Rock, Pop and Country, Willie has made a decidedly contemporary record that some have compared to the groundbreaking CD Supernatural, by Santana. The guests are Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty), Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt, Brian McKnight, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow. In an unusual move, Willie only wrote the title track to the CD. Some of the guest writers, on this CD, are Serletic, Rob Thomas, Mickey Newbury, Bernie Taupin, Cyndi Lauper and Leslie Satcher.
The CD opens up with the Texas Blues styled "Maria (Shut Up And Kiss Me)." Featuring Rob Thomas on background vocals, this song is as contemporary as any other Country Music song. The theme of the song deals with Maria being a beauty that Willie admires.
The first single of the CD, "Mendocino County Line," features Lee Ann Womack and is the most contemporary of anything Willie has released to radio recently. This Bernie Taupin/Matt Serletic co-written song talks about a couple that is in a relationship, which doesn't fit their lives anymore yet, they both want to stay in it.
"Last Stand In Open Country" is the song that features Rock Star Kid Rock. For those that don't know Kid Rock has always loved the "outlaws" of Country Music and also has appeared on Hank Williams Jr's new CD, The Almeria Club. This song is about "outlaws" who know their time has come. Kid Rock actually sings on this song as well, He usually is a "Rapping-Rocker."
"The Great Divide" is a beautiful song that finds Willie playing his well-known guitar "Trigger." A mid-tempo ballad about life, there is an acoustic laden instrumental halfway through the song.
With "This Face," Willie is singing about being comfortable with your life and body because it's all you got. A great ballad. Allison Krauss sings the harmonic backgrounds on this track. This song also features a full orchestral arrangement in the background.
With one the more odd songs on the CD, we find Willie covering pop music star Cyndi Lauper's '80s classic single "Time After Time." I liked her song and I really like this song even better. It is more up-tempo but it is in a style that fits Willie Nelson. This could be a big hit at Country Radio if given a chance since it is a wedding classic about always being by your loved one.
If you want a very enjoyable CD and curious to see how Willie sounds's with some of the best that the pop music world has to give, pick up this CD.
Song List:
Album cover, used with permission of Lost Highway .
Click on the button below to find the best price for this CD and purchase it from a retailer on the Internet.
| More to do on this site |
|---|
| [ Country Photo Index | Garth Photo Index ] [ Content Index | Trivia Central | CD Releases ] [ Country Music Lyrics Trivia Index ] [ Country Audio/Video Index ] [ Guitar Tabs, Chords & Lyrics Index ] [ Top 500 Country Songs ] [ Top 100 Country Songs of the 1990s ] [ Top 100 Country Albums of the 1990s ] [ Top 200 Most Influential Country Albums ] [ Top 100 Country Artists of All Time ] [ Top 10 Country Artists of the 1990s ] FREE Country Music Courses [ Country 101 | Dose-a-Day Country Trivia ] [ Planning a Trip to Fan Fair ] [ Country Artist of the Day | Country Photo of the Day ] |