Compilation · 2006
The Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is a compilation by Willie Nelson, released in 2006 on Columbia, with 14 tracks.
- 14
- Tracks
- 46 min
- Runtime
Not yet rated — be the first
Compilation · 2006
The Great American Songbook is a compilation by Willie Nelson, released in 2006 on Columbia, with 14 tracks.
Not yet rated — be the first
14 tracks · 46 min
Willie Nelson's volume in the Columbia/Legacy series The Great American Songbook is a charming oddity, since he's not only the sole contemporary artist represented, but also the sole country singer. Unfortunately, Nelson's volume is also one of the weakest entries in the series, more interesting to consider than to experience. That's because it draws fairly evenly from Nelson's several traditional pop albums, which are generally dull, with the major exception of Stardust, his 1978 blockbuster that has lost absolutely none of its charm over the years and remains a landmark. Other exceptions here are "One for My Baby" and "Tenderly," two of the better songs from One for the Road, Nelson's 1979 double-album collaboration with Leon Russell. The remaining songs here are drawn from Nelson's progressively over-produced and overly refined '80s albums Somewhere Over the Rainbow (1981), Without a Song (1983), and What a Wonderful World (1988). On their own, these '80s performances are fine, characterized by well-known songs and mannered deliveries; sequence them alongside the '70s performances from Stardust and One for the Road, however, and they become off-putting. In retrospect, the spare …