2018

Gatefold.

180 gram vinyl.<br/><br/>Willie Nelson came to musical fame relatively late in life, but grabbed it and followed it with a successful film career. Nelson first became known in Nashville for writing hit songs for established country artists such as Patsy Cline. 'Crazy', was Cline's biggest hit in 1961 although her version is very different from the original. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. When he turned 80 in mid 2013, four generations of his family played together at New York City's Hard Rock Café to raise<br/>money for his animal rights and biodiesel ventures. His career may have been slow starting, but Willie Nelson's musical legacy is huge. The tracks here showcase just how good he was back in the long-ago pre-fame days.

Last Man Standing, comprised entirely of songs newly-penned by Willie Nelson (and longtime collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon), is the worthy successor to Willie's God's Problem Child, which showcased seven Nelson-Cannon compositions and debuted at #1 on the Country charts. <br/>Willie and Buddy have been working together since 2008 with Cannon producing more than a dozen of Willie's albums.<br/><br/>The songwriting duo deploys a unique strategy of shared composition, beginning with back-and-forth text messaging of lyrics with the melodies. On Last Man Standing, Nelson and Cannon's unorthodox approach generated eleven original songs, "Willie's a jazz singer and jazz player. He's an improvisational musician. It's different every time. Get a good take and go with it," says Cannon, <br/> <br/>With Last Man Standing, Nelson has added 11 essential new songs to his classic catalog. One of Willie's most personal and introspective albums to-date, Last Man Standing reveals the emotional range of Willie's concerns, from the deeply reflective ("Something You Get Through," to the rollicking and playful ("Me and You," "Ready to Roar")<br/> <br/>An album that acknowledges the transience of time while marveling at the joy, beauty and surprise the world has to offer, Last Man Standing finds Willie Nelson rolling at a creative peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.

Harris J P: Sometimes dogs bark at nothing [Vinyl LP]