Classic Willie Nelson with his album “The Willie Way”. The album starts with "You Left Me a Long, Long Time Ago" a pure, classic Willie Nelson and I dare you not to stop and listen, it has such a strong story and message. The songwriting fills this album (except for two covers) with performances as only he knows how. The first cover is from Kris Kristofferson’s "Help Me Make It Through the Night". Also, Willie's new uptempo version of "Undo the Right" is easily as good as Johnny Bush's 1968 hit. For the first time reissued on CD.
‘Willie And Family Live’ was recorded at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and features Willie Nelson at the peak of his career. The album opens (as most Willie Nelson concerts do) with a rocking version of “Whiskey River”. Most of Willie's pre-1978 biggies are here. “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”, “Good Hearted Woman”, “Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”, “If You've Got The Money (I've Got The Time).” Willie does gospel, “Amazing Grace”, “Uncloudy Day”, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” with help from Emmylou Harris and Johnny Paycheck. The “Redheaded Stranger's” vocals are strong and confident all the way through, and his late-70s backing band was among the best in the business at the time.
Until 2023 never released on CD, ‘The Words Don’t Fit The Picture’ is something of a forgotten item in the Willie Nelson catalog. This is a divorce record (personally and from RCA after 14 albums), with Willie sounding dark and alone, pressing to stay above bitterness, singing about heart break and how much women hate him. It has elements of the Nashville sound, but also plenty of moments that foreshadow the ways Willie Nelson would breakthrough to superstardom. He wrote or co-wrote everything here. Among guest appearances are James Burton on guitar and the fabulous blues harmonica player Charlie McCoy. The album is most notable for containing Nelson's first solo recording of "Good Hearted Woman", a song he composed with his friend Waylon Jennings.
Arguably the most important figure in country music Willie Nelson is set to release his next studio album, which is a tribute to one of his best friends and long-time musical fellow travellers Merle Haggard. It features Willie doing 11 Hag classics including 'Mama Tried', 'Okie From Muskogee' and 'I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink' and also features the final recordings that Willie did with longtime band members Sister Bobbie and Paul English.