Willie Nelson and Friends – Songs For Tsunami Relief

Willie Nelson's given more than most artists ever care to give. In fact, he's remained a humble person in spite of his celebrity. To give of one's self is the ultimate sacrifice, and Willie does it time and time again.

Chances are if you're a fan of Willie Nelson at all you'll know he's no stranger to donating his time to good causes. Willie is the founder of farm aid and has partaken in events to benefit other causes so it's only natural that Willie would spearhead a benefit concert for Tsunami Relief called "Songs for Tsunami Relief." Rather than make it a "country" night, the show was rounded out to include "alternative" artists Alejandro Escovedo, Jon Dee Graham and Spoon in addition to Patty Griffin, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis and Joe Ely. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks also makes a guest appearance.

Leading off the CD (which features the "best songs" from the show) are Patty Griffin's 2 songs. The first one, "Love He Heard" is also one of the best on the CD. Joe Ely's two songs are great (particularly "Boxcars"). The "alternative" artists are all good and interesting but things really pick up steam when Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis join Natalie Maines on "Travelin' Soldier" (Bruce wrote the song) and Bruce gets Mickey Raphael to help out on "What Would Willie Do?". Willie leads off his set of seven songs with the great "Living In The Promised Land."

Featuring 18 tracks, "Songs For Tsunami Relief" is a nice mixture of the best that the Austin music scene has to offer and all of it for a good cause. If you haven't donated to the Tsunami efforts yet, you can fell well in the fact that the proceeds from the purchase of this CD will go to those efforts.