Willie Nelson

The title of Willie Nelson's solo debut on Blue Note Records, American Classic, refers as much to the man himself.  As a Nashville artist in the 60s, Nelson himself penned more than a few tunes that have arguably become American classics themselves, including "Crazy," "Night Life" and the sublime "Funny How Time Slips Away." But that was just the prologue for the iconoclastic singer-songwriter, who would redraw the borders of country music in the 70s after moving back to Texas and settling in the musical melting pot of Austin. Along with fellow traveler Waylon Jennings, Nelson was labeled the outlaw of the genre, but he was more visionary than rebel, especially with the way he attracted rock fans to take a closer look at country. He was celebrated for his work with buddies like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, but scaled even greater chart heights by singing, improbably enough, with Julio Iglesias ("To All the Girls I Loved Before"). Along with Marsalis, recent cohorts have included Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel and reggae icon Ziggy Marley. Nelson ends the album with a re-interpretation of "You Were Always On My Mind," the one-time Elvis Presley hit that Nelson took to #1 on the country chart and to Top Five on the pop chart in the early eighties. Looking back for a moment, Nelson decides, "Hopefully, Im a better singer. Hopefully, Im a better guitar player you're either going to get better or worse, you can't stay in one spot. I like to think that the band and I have progressed a lot and learned a lot from doing these songs. There is truth in the statement that you learn by doing, so the more you do em, the better you get." American Classic, then, is clearly Nelson at his best.

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