Willie Nelson – I Don’t Know A Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 32:13 minutes | 638 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings
Averaging a pair of new albums a year, Willie Nelson, who is on the cusp of turning 90, has become a recording engine. In the past decade alone he has made albums that focused on gospel and the music of the Gershwins, followed in Bob Dylan’s footsteps and made a live album at Budokan, assembled a sparkling collection of duets with female singers and cut a pair of tributes to Frank Sinatra. Proving all those who have disparaged his singing wrong, Nelson’s voice, which never fails him here, has become such a sage instrument that he’s able to “Willie-ize” any song by any writer and make them his own. After reimagining well-known tunes by songwriters like The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and Billy Joel, he now turns closer to his roots, to the songwriting legacy of his one-time Nashville Music Row rival, Harlan Howard (the man who coined the phrase “Three Chords and the Truth” to describe country music). Howard, who had a string of big hits like “I Fall to Pieces,” and “Heartaches by the Number,” also had crossover R&B single successes like “The Chokin’ Kind” by Joe Simon and “Busted,” which was a hit for both Johnny Cash and Ray Charles. Nelson opens with Howard’s classic co-write with Buck Owens, “Tiger by The Tail.” Like every tune on the album, the bouncy, iconic “Tiger” gets a straight run-through, forgoing any stylistic liberties to lean on the plain charms of Nelson’s phrasing. Outside a few plucks by Nelson on his famously ramshackle guitar “Trigger,” even instrumental solos have been excised. A version of “Streets Of Baltimore,” recorded by the likes of Gram Parsons, John Prine, and Uncle Tupelo, is convincing in that special Willie way with plenty of pedal steel backing. Amazingly, with the help of background vocals from Melonie Cannon, daughter of his longtime producer Buddy Cannon, Nelson even nails ballads like “Beautiful Annabel Lee.” Nelson and Buddy Cannon clearly have a genius formula for extending his career: bring in pro session players, overdub vocals, and keep everything short with relaxed tempos and easygoing arrangements. It’s a recording groove that’s allowed Nelson to be that rare vocalist who can finish on their own terms. – Robert Baird
Tracklist:
1-1. Willie Nelson – Tiger By The Tail (02:23)
1-2. Willie Nelson – The Chokin’ Kind (03:17)
1-3. Willie Nelson – Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got A Heartache) (02:34)
1-4. Willie Nelson – Life Turned Her That Way (02:53)
1-5. Willie Nelson – I Don’t Know A Thing About Love (02:58)
1-6. Willie Nelson – Streets Of Baltimore (03:01)
1-7. Willie Nelson – Busted (03:28)
1-8. Willie Nelson – She Called Me Baby (03:32)
1-9. Willie Nelson – Too Many Rivers (03:55)
1-10. Willie Nelson – Beautiful Annabel Lee (04:07)
