Let me start by saying I am a huge Willie Nelson fan and I am also a fan of Ryan Adams, so this sounded, to me and many others, like one of those dream team pairings. But, unfortunately, the end result isn�t all it could have been.
From the press release that came with the album: ��It�s a different sound than any other album I�ve ever made,� says Willie Nelson. �It�s more electric, there�s more rhythm and more production. That�s all because of Ryan, his band, and his ideas.�
�I knew our coming together was going to be something different,� Nelson continues. �We came from extremely different places, and we didn�t always agree. But it was an experiment, and now it�s done, I think it�s real strong.��
And therein lies the problem. The songs on the album sound more, a lot more, like Ryan Adams than Willie Nelson. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, aside from the fact that this is a Willie Nelson record to be bought by Willie Nelson fans.
But I don�t want to give the impression that this is an entirely bad record. There are bright spots, things done right, in with the misses. The only way I can think to do it justice is song by song.
�Rainy Day Blues�: For me, this typifies what is wrong with this album. This is a song recorded by Willie six years ago on his album Me and the Drummer. When recorded there it was with the same stripped down kind of feel we have come to recognize as Willie�s style, including his trademark acoustic guitar lead work. Here, that acoustic trademark is buried while it sounds as if Willie�s voice is just laid on top of a prefab instrumental track.
�Songbird�: Originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac, Willie admits that this was a vocal stretch for him; I think he does an admirable job. Musically it sounds like the track could have been lifted directly from a Ryan Adams record.
�Blue Hotel�: This is one of the two original tracks written specifically for the album, this one by Adams. This track shows another of the problems in the production. The music begins beautifully, then recedes to allow Willie�s voice room to move in and take over, but when it comes time for the chorus, the band and the vocal choir behind him bury his distinctive voice. The track never quite regains the balance it began with.
�Back to Earth�: Willie wrote this track specifically for this album and is an example of what works on the album. Starting with only Willies� voice and guitar, the band softly swells into place, but unlike other songs on the album, they stay beneath Willie providing a showcase for his words.
�Stella Blue�: It is tricky business choosing cover songs for an album, even if you are a legend like Willie Nelson. While his voice sounds as strong as ever on the tune, the arrangement does little to lift it to the forefront.
�Hallelujah�: There have been a lot of versions of this classic Leonard Cohen song and this version is a worthy addition to the catalog. The production does a good job of keeping things in place and the Jon Graboffs� steel guitar gracefully plays with Mickey Raphaels� harmonica giving just the right tone to the song.
�$1000 Wedding�: It starts out similar to the Gram Parsons classic, but Willie is quickly buried by the band and background vocals.
�We Don�t Run�: Originally from Nelson�s Spirit album this version takes the sparse acoustic arrangement and throws it out the window in favor of a slightly more up tempo electric number. But it works. The band doesn�t play over Willie voice as it does other places and the new arrangement lends a new urgency to the lyrics.
�Yours Love�: Willie and the Cardinals turn in a great version of the Harlan Howard classic. While he may be a fan of Willie�s steel player Jimmy Day, Graboff turns in a performance that sounds more like classic Ralph Mooney in both tone and technique.
�Sad Songs And Waltzes�: A nice rendition, but doesn�t rival the original. It does follow the production of the original quite closely and perhaps Adams could have duplicated this feel throughout.
�Amazing Grace�: Arranged by Adams, this is a darker take on the venerable hymn that reminds me of one I used to sing at Church functions put to the tune of �House of the Rising Sun.�
As you can see, there are some decent cuts on the album. The main problem as I see it isn�t unique to Adams production. The same problem crops up on Willie�s 2004 It Always Will Be � the production style of current Country music overpowers and buries Willie�s voice. His thin vocal timbre is his trademark and it doesn�t show up when surrounded by too much production work.
Willie says: �It�ll always be the Ryan Adams project, as far as I�m concerned. He put together the songs and the sound, it was his band � he was really the main guy here.�
I�m sure he means that as a compliment, maybe even a pass of the torch, so to speak, but I for one would welcome an album where Willie takes control of the reins again. All in all, Songbird is a good album, just not one I will return to over and over like many other classic Willie records.
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