Willie Nelson is a 91 year old musician, singer/songwriter, actor & activist from Abbott, Texas known for being one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre & being 1/4 of The Highwaymen. Standouts in his vast discography include Shotgun Willie, Phases & Stages, Red Headed Stranger, Stardust, Spirit & Teatro. Looking to celebrate a month after his birthday though, Buddy Cannon is producing the 75th full-length solo LP of material from country music’s favorite stoner.
The title track that starts us off with a decent cover of “The Border” by Rodney Crowell whereas “Once Upon a Yesterday” works in some acoustics, pianos so Willie can passionately sing about getting older reminiscing that we were all children working hard at play at one point in our lives. “What If I’m Out of My Mind” has a peppier country flare to it finding the girl of his dreams & after “When I Wrote This Song for You” covering Larry Cordle, the harmonica/guitar laced “Kiss Me When You’re Through” addressing a woman who told him she wouldn’t want him if he was the last person on Earth.
“Many a Long & Lonesome Highway” covers Rodney Crowell once again to start the 2nd leg of the album, this time the lead single off his 6th album Keys to the Highway leading into “Hank’s Guitar” telling a story from the perspective of the late great Hank Williams’ very own guitar. “Made in Texas” was a solid choice of a lead single paying tribute to his home state, but then the bluesy/country hybrid “Nobody Knows Me Like You” sings about Annie D’Angelo being the only person who knows him best. “How Much Does It Cost” ends the album with a powerful country ballad asking the cost of freedom.
As I stated when I reviewed Beyoncé’s new album Cowboy Carter couple months ago: Country music one of those genres that I’m not the biggest fan of altogether with some exceptions & Willie who did an interlude for B on the 2nd act of her ongoing trilogy is most certainly one of them. Nearly 7 decades in the game & The Border elevates everything that made A Beautiful Time his best album since Teatro to new levels. Buddy improves his production from Blueglass’ to help efficiently tell the inner struggles & outer life stories of a border guard.
Score: 4/5
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