| Willie Nelson & Friends: Live & Kickin' - Willie Nelson | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
Willie Nelson has been recording music for many years but never before has he seen the release (or re-release) of so many albums. The occasion? His record labels and friends are celebrating his 70th year on the planet. On April 9th of 2003, 17 of Willie's musical comrades joined together with Willie to celebrate his birthday (seen on the cable outlet USA on Memorial Day 2003). Among the guests, Eric Clapton, Kenny Chesney, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Norah Jones, Shelby Lynne, Shania Twain and Toby Keith.
The opening track is the only one in which Willie sings by himself. "I Didn't Come Here (And I Ain't Leavin')" is a fun song written by Toby Keith's buddy (and DreamWorks Nashville label mate) Scotty Emerick. it's a horn and fiddle filled tongue-in-cheek honky tonker.
Shania Twain joins Willie on the Fred Rose gem "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain." While traditionalists would call that sacrilege, Shania shows that she does have a good country voice that blends well with Willie's distinct vocals and guitar playing.
Paul Simon is a master songwriter who has had his songs "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Graceland" recorded previously by Willie. Willie teams up with Paul on Paul's classic Simon and Garfunkel "Homeward Bound." Willie takes the place of Garfunkel and does a very good job with it. The duo here sounds so natural together it's like they've been singing together for many years. Willie has a stunning guitar solo with his one of a kind guitar "Trigger."
It has been a while since Willie's had a huge country hit and Toby Keith wrote a song, "Beer For My Horses," that not only got the duo to No. 1 on both country charts but also made Willie sound like he is years younger than he truly is. I think that a complete Toby and Willie duet CD would be a great thing to hear and hopefully someday they get the chance to do so. Scotty Emerick co-wrote this fun modern day cowboy tale with Toby.
I'm sure there are some people who don't know that Willie is the man behind the classic ballad "Crazy." Diana Krall and Elvis Costello join with Willie to cut a stunning version of this timeless Patsy Cline song.
There are some who would say that Norah Jones is more "country" than most of the female country artists who are on the charts and after hearing her great version of "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want To Get Over You)." Norah first recorded the track for a Waylon Jennings tribute and she and Willie eulogize the great Waylon with this track.
Next to "Crazy" I think "Angel Flying To Close To The Ground" is the best song Willie ever wrote. It's a tender ballad about a guy who lucks into meeting a wonderful lady and Shelby Lynne twists the lyrics around and takes the song and makes it her own. Willie doesn't duet with her instead he plays trigger during the instrumental break.
Kenny Chesney is one of Country's most popular artists recording today and he teams up with Willie on "The Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning." For those who've never heard this somber ballad, it's about a guy who wakes up to realize that his love of his life has left him.
This CD also serves as a primer to Willie's all new duet record with Ray Price. The title track from that CD is the honky tonker "Run That By Me One More Time." It's a nice song that will remind fans of the duo's great duets from years ago.
Willie Nelson is a man who's recorded more duets than probably any other artist and each time he proves what a great legacy he's leaving behind him. This album proves how much he is adored by his fellow artists and vocally he proves that he's like fine wine, he gets better with age.
Song List:
Album cover used with permission of Lost Highway.
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