01. Bright Lights, Big City 
02. Night Life 
03. Caldonia 
04. Stardust 
05. Basin Street Blues 
06. Georgia On My Mind 
07. Rainy Day Blues 
08. My Bucket’s Got a Hole In it 
09. Ain’t Nobody’s Business 
10. That’s All

Walter Blanding 	Saxophone
Carlos Henríquez 	Bass, Bass (Upright)
Ali Muhammed Jackson 	Drums
Wynton Marsalis 	Trumpet, Vocals
Willie Nelson 	Guitar, Vocals
Dan Nimmer 	Piano
Mickey Raphael 	Harmonica

History has proven that Willie Nelson will duet with pretty much anybody who comes along, and while this open-hearted open mind sometimes backfires, more often than not it results in some of his most sublime recordings. Two Men with the Blues, his album with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis recorded over a two-night stand at Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 12 and 13, 2007, belongs in the latter category, standing as truly one of the most special records in either Nelson's or Marsalis' catalog. If the pair initially seem like an odd match, it's only because Wynton long carried the reputation of a purist, somebody who was adamant against expanding the definition of jazz, which cast him as the opposite of Willie, who never found a border he couldn't blur. Marsalis mellowed over the years, but it's also true that he and Nelson share a common background in jazz and the Great American Songbook, so this pairing plays naturally, providing equal measures of comfort and surprise. The engine for this music is Marsalis' band -- pianist Dan Nimmer, drummer Ali Jackson, bassist Carlos Henríquez, and saxophonist Walter Blanding -- with Nelson bringing his harmonica player Mickey Raphael along, which is enough to give this a flavor that's quite distinct from a typical Marsalis session without being foreign. Similarly, this isn't quite alien territory for Nelson either, as the repertoire relies heavily on blues standards, including a pair of tunes he cut on his jazzy breakthrough, Stardust (the title track and "Georgia on My Mind"), plus he's always veered close to jazz in his vocal and guitar phrasings. All this means that Two Men with the Blues has the warm comfort of a reunion and the freshness of a new collaboration, feelings that are palpable as soon as the album kicks off with a loose yet nimble reading of Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big City." It's a subtle arrangement that doesn't draw attention to its unique touches, something that's also true of the flashier take on Hank Williams' "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It," which lurches and careens like a New Orleans marching band, coming to a highlight when Marsalis throws in a few lines from "Keep on Knockin'" for good measure. These sly spins on standards, along with a jump blues reworking of Merle Travis' "That's All" (first heard on a Willie Nelson record back in 1969), are balanced by numbers that are perhaps a bit more expected but are no less delightful, as "Night Life" is turned into a showcase for Wynton and the bandmembers sound as good skipping through "Caldonia" as they do laying back on "Basin Street Blues." It's music that flows so easily it's perhaps easy to take for granted, but Two Men with the Blues is truly something special, as it captures two masters enjoying their common ground while spurring each other to hear old sounds in new ways. It's a flat-out joy. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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1 American Tune (4:20)
2 Getting over You (4:04)
3 Most Unoriginal Sin (4:49)
4 Don't Give Up (6:59)
5 Heartland (4:34)
6 Across the Borderline (4:40)
7 Graceland (4:45)
8 Farther Down the Line (3:14)
9 Valentine (3:38)
10 What Was It You Wanted? (5:24)
11 I Love the Life I Live (3:09)
12 If I Were the Man You Wanted (3:38)
13 She's Not for You (3:15)
14 Still Is Still Moving to Me (3:30)

Across the Borderline was produced in 1993 by Don Was, then flush with work following his helming of Bonnie Raitt's commercial breakthrough, Nick of Time. In fact, his celebrated clients at the time included everyone from Iggy Pop to Neil Diamond. Here he surrounds Willie Nelson with a vast cast of superstar admirers that includes Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Lyle Lovett. If the thought of Nelson and Lyle Lovett dueting on Peter Gabriel "Don't Give Up" with Mark Isham blowing dulcet trumpet lines above it all gives you the willies, surprisingly, it shouldn't. In fact, it's a highlight of this very successful all-star album. Nelson, coming off a dry spell, sounds invigorated, the material is strong, and the musicianship sparkles. --Steven Stolder, amazon.com

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01. Man With The Blues
02. Seaman’s Blues
03. Dark As A Dungeon
04. Gotta Walk Alone
05. Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
06. My Baby’s Gone
07. Freight Train Boogie
08. Satisfied Mind
09. You Done Me Wrong
10. Pistol Packin’ Mama
11. Ocean Of Diamonds
12. Drinking Champagne
13. I Am A Pilgrim
14. House Of Gold
15. Nobody’s Fault But Mine

Riley Baugus 	Banjo
Shad Cobb 	Fiddle
Mike Compton 	Mandolin
Dennis Crouch 	Bass (Acoustic)
Stuart Duncan 	Fiddle
Jim Lauderdale 	Vocal Harmony
Ronnie McCoury 	Mandolin
Buddy Miller 	Guitar (Electric), Vocal Harmony
Willie Nelson 	Vocals
Russell Pahl 	Pedal Steel
Mickey Raphael 	Harmonica
Chris Sharp 	Guitar (Acoustic) 

Naturally, the not-so-unspoken joke behind the title of Willie Nelson’s 2010 album is that it’s been so long since he’s played straight country music, Nelson needs to clearly label it when he does. Of course, that’s not strictly true: just as recently as 2009 he was ripping it up with Asleep at the Wheel, turning out a straight-ahead western swing record that is every bit as country as Country Music, although it is true that he’s never quite cut a collection of country music as hushed and muted as this. The soft-plucked string bass and strummed acoustic guitars are are trademarks of T-Bone Burnett, the roots music producer whose well-tailored analog impressionism fetishizes authenticity, prizing every piece of pristinely preserved vintage equipment and then recording them immaculately -- often with appealing results, but with a mannered ritualization that’s somewhat distancing for those who don’t share his obsessions. All this makes Country Music a curious experience: seemingly, this should be well within Nelson’s wheelhouse, but he never truly inhabits the songs, partially due to the tasteful remove of Burnett’s spare, hazy production. Warm and supple it may be, the production puts a layer of gauze between the listener and the singer, but the singer isn’t at his most dynamic, either. To be sure, there’s a nicely weathered assurance to Nelson’s performance -- his voice never strains, he throws off licks with a casual virtuosity -- but there’s no immediacy, either, not the way there was on that duet with Asleep at the Wheel or on his stellar tribute to Cindy Walker in 2006. Most of the time, Nelson just sounds like an old pro happy to play with whoever is in the studio, happy to sing whatever the producer puts in front of him -- and that’s what makes Country Music not all that different from Songbird or Countryman, which were also driven by their respective producers to places that don’t seem as classically country as this purports to be. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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01. Remember Me					play
02. Sixteen Tons
03. Why Baby Why
04. Today I Started Loving You Again
05. Movin’ On
06. That Just About Does It
07. This Old House
08. Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down
09. Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette
10. Slowly
11. Satisfied Mind
12. Roly Poly					play
13. Release Me
14. Ramblin’ Fever

Willie Nelson wraps his unmistakable vocal cords around 14 country hits spanning 1946 to 1989, serving up mainstream yang to last year’s collector yin, the T Bone Burnett-produced “Country Music” album. In that outing, equally dedicated to high points from country music’s past, the Red Headed Stranger focused on more obscure gems that he and Burnett plucked from the country archives.

This time around, producer James Stroud envelops Nelson’s elastic voice in tasty, staunchly traditional arrangements of George Jones’ first hit (“Why Baby Why”), Tennessee Ernie Ford’s signature No. 1 single (“Sixteen Tons”) and Hank Snow’s theme song (“I’m Movin’ On”). Nelson and Stroud take a surprisingly jaunty stroll through Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” then get things hot and swinging in Tex Williams’ classic condemnation of the evils of nicotine, “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette).”

Nelson reaches deepest, however, when the tempo slows for Webb Pierce’s “Slowly,” Vern Gosdin’s aching “That Just About Does It” and Merle Haggard’s exquisite essay on the wounds love can leave, “Today I Started Loving You Again.” At 78, Nelson reminds us that his deceptively effortless vocal style can still touch the heart. Volume II is due next year. --- Randy Lewis, latimesblogs.latimes.com

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01 Matador 
02 She Is Gone 
03 Your Memory Won't Die In My Grave 
04 I'm Not Trying To Forget You Anymore 
05 Too Sick To Pray 
06 Mariachi 
07 I'm Waiting Forever 
08 We Don't Run 
09 I Guess I've Come To Live Here In Your Eyes 
10 It's A Dream Come True 
11 I Thought About You, Lord 
12 Spirit Of E9 
13 Matador

Fiddle – Johnny Gimble 
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Willie Nelson
Piano – Bobbie Nelson
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Jody Payne

Of all the records Willie Nelson made in the 1990s and since that time, none is more misunderstood or ignored than Spirit. Coming as it did so quietly and unobtrusively in 1996, a year and a half before the celebrated Teatro, Spirit is Willie's most focused album of that decade. Self-produced and featuring the sparest of instrumental settings -- Willie and Jody Payne play guitars, Bobbie Nelson plays piano, and Johnny Gimble plays fiddle on certain tracks -- Nelson weaves a tapestry, a song cycle about brokenness, loneliness, heartbreak, spiritual destitution, and emerging on the other side. The set begins with the instrumental "Matador," which seems to usher in the atmospheric texture for this album. "She's Gone" tells its heartbreak story with as much lilt and pastoral grace as is possible without being sentimental. Willie's guitar soloing is gorgeous; he's deep in the groove of the washes of Bobbie's chords. Hearing a steel-string guitar play rhythm and a nylon-string guitar play lead is an interesting twist as well. But Nelson digs the notion of "She's Gone" deeper into the listener's consciousness with "Your Memory Won't Die in My Grave": "Been feelin' kinda free/But I'd rather feel your arms around me/Because you're takin' away/Everything I ever wanted..../It's a memory today, it'll be a memory tomorrow/I hope you're happy someday/"Your memory won't die in my grave...." And when Nelson moves to the full acceptance issue as he does on "I'm Not Trying to Forget You," the music is slightly off-kilter in the intro, as if the singer cannot come to grips with the song. Payne plays just behind Willie, stretching time, making it slip and shimmer all the way into "Too Sick to Pray," the most devastating country waltz to be recorded since Johnny Paycheck's Little Darlin' albums. On "I'm Waiting Forever" and "We Don't Run," the sun begins to rise out of the heart's bleak night and comes to the dawn of a new day in the life of love and spiritual connection. This is Nelson writing conceptually as he did early on with Phases and Stages and Red Headed Stranger, but he is at his understated best here, moving deeply into the skeleton of the song itself and what it chooses to reveal through the singer. And while Spirit is quiet, it's a tough, big record that makes you confront the roar of silence in your own heart. ---Thom Jurek, AllMusic Review

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01. I Gotta Get Drunk 2:52
02. Medley: Mr. Record Man/hello Walls/one Day At A Time 5:21
03. Medley: The Last Letter/Half Man 4:28
04. Touch Me 2:21
05. Good Hearted Woman (Duet With Waylon Jennings) 2:57
06. Funny How Time Slips Away 2:44
07. Crazy 1:48
08. Night Life 3:55
09. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain 2:48
10. Georgia On My Mind 4:15
11. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground 4:27
12. On The Road Again 2:33

Sony’s Setlist series isn’t a standard budget-line compilation: these discs bypass hits in favor of live tracks cut throughout the years, mixing up highlights from classic live albums with a handful of rarities, including some unreleased cuts. In the case of Willie Nelson’s entry, there are highlights from throughout the decades beginning with 1966’s Live Country Music Concert and Willie Nelson Live, extending to 1975’s Wanted! The Outlaws, and 1978’s jam-tastic Willie & Family Live, and concluding with 1980’s music from the original soundtrack, Honeysuckle Rose. By covering so much ground, the disc winds up being a little inconsistent tonally, but every cut here is terrific, turning this into a worthwhile sampler of live Willie. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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