The most respected country music artist alive, Willie Nelson - performer, songwriter, musician, author, poet and activist - remains the real deal: a rootsy, authentic and unique representative of that now too often tame and plastic genre. And with well over 50 years in the game, Austin Texas’ favourite son still rarely puts a foot wrong.
It was back in 1979 that Willie joined up with legendary singer-songwriter Leon Russell to record an album’s worth of country and blues favourites from the catalogues of the performers themselves and from a diverse range of other composers. When the guys recorded this superb television special a few months later in front of a specially invited studio audience to promote the album, the results were staggering.
1. HEARTBREAK HOTEL
2. CRAZY
3. AIN’T IT FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY
4. WHITE LIGHTNING
5. LIFE AND LOVE
6. MY CRICKET & ME
7. TROUBLE IN MIND
8. WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN
9. ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY
10. WABASH CANNONBALL 11. SOUTH OF THE BORDER
12. ALWAYS
13. HE TAUGHT ME HOW
14. ONE FOR MY BABY AND ONE FOR THE ROAD
15. MYSTERY TRAIN
16. ROLL IN MY SWEET BABY’S ARMS
17. FINAL JAM