Album Review – Don Williams “Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes”
Is it only a coincidence that after the death of the great Don Williams in 2017, everything seemed to begin unraveling in society? Is it just by chance that when they struck Don Williams from radio in the ’90s, and after he released his final original album in 2014, these events were followed by periods of malaise in country music? Maybe.
But there’s just something about the music of Don Williams that sets the human soul at ease in a manner no other artistic expressions or medical prescriptions ever could. The world was a better place because of the music of Don Williams, and everyone who sat in audience of his music were better people for it. You’re incapable of cussing out the driver beside you in traffic, or responding to someone in ALL CAPS on the internet after spending your afternoon with The Gentle Giant.
All the more reason to strongly anticipate the release of his posthumous archive album Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes. Captured between 1979 and 1984 when Williams was at the height of his powers, the album includes never-before-heard recordings discovered in the cellar of the Williams family’s rural Tennessee home on multi-track tapes. The tapes were in workable shape, with Don’s vocal tracks intact across the recordings. Some of the instrumental tracks had deteriorated over time, so they solicited Don’s long-time producer Garth Fundis to help restore the recordings.
The results sound like a Don Williams album no different from any other in his storied catalog, sliding right between landmark releases like Country Boy and Expressions. Can you expect to hear songs that became legendary standards like “I’m Just a Country Boy” and “Tulsa Time”? Of course not. There’s a reason these songs were left to the side when albums from the era were released. But all of these songs sound like Don Williams, and despite their orphaned history, still present a really strong effort, and one you’re more than happy to receive since it’s a Don Williams gift from beyond.
Even though these song were taken for various sessions, they all work together surprisingly well. Along with “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight” made famous by The Oak Ridge Boys and written by Rodney Crowell, you have a strong selection of love songs that look at the emotion from a host of different angles. The opening song “Try Me Again” is about second chances. “I’m The One” is about evolving beyond a walled heart when you find the right person. “I’m In Love For My Last Time” and “How Can I Miss What I Never Had” also explore perspectives and experiences in love like only a song delivered by Don Williams can.
This album might not include any super hits for today or even yesteryear, but you do feel like “I’m The One” presented in two separate versions on the album could emerge as an all-timer from the Don Williams discography. It really captures the essence of makes Don Williams so great. One of the reasons Don’s legacy remains so strong here nearly a decade after his death is he didn’t really release any bad songs. And even after sweeping up all the leavings on the studio floor and cobbling them together for a posthumous release, he still hasn’t.
Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes might not set the world on fire like we saw with the Waylon Jennings posthumous release last year, Songbird, which charted on Billboard, and had some calling it an Album of the Year. But it’s far from a rag tag collection of odds and sods. Similar to Waylon (who covered some Don Williams songs in his day), Don just didn’t do anything that wasn’t quality. Even his worst stuff is better than some of what is labeled as great today.
If Don Williams were resurrected or still around today, it might not change the world. But he had the unique ability to smooth the edges off of life, to soothe the frayed nerves of everyday occurrences, and to make moments feel more vibrant. The music of Don Williams just made life easier and more enjoyable to live. The Cellar Tapes lend to that legacy.
8/10
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Stream/Purchase Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes
June 1, 2026 @ 7:11 am
I own this record. Proud to have my third Don Williams vinyl. Side note: everyone also check out “And So It Goes”.
June 1, 2026 @ 7:14 am
The last two albums of Don’s career including “And So It Goes” are as good as any from his catalog. Can’t say I own every record, but every record I’ve heard cover to cover is great.
June 1, 2026 @ 7:31 am
After hearing Waylon’s album and now these tracks, every relative of a deceased country star should be sprinting to their cellars to see if there are any unreleased recordings tucked away down there.
June 1, 2026 @ 7:55 am
Scooter Jennings will already be down there.
June 1, 2026 @ 8:30 am
Yes, now if we can just get the Haggard family to get to work and release Merle’s unreleased music from his archives and also his last album produced by Buddy Cannon. These are long overdue.
June 1, 2026 @ 7:44 am
Not sure I’ve ever heard his voice sound better than on “I’m the One”. Immediately became one of his favorite tracks of mine. I do feel that one would have been a hit.
June 1, 2026 @ 7:51 am
…an album that may – or may not – get some of the new neo-traditonalists thinking, whether they should have stayed on till the next stop on their return trip. dated perhaps, but undeniably classy.
June 1, 2026 @ 8:11 am
There’s something about Don’s voice that puts the heart at ease. When listening to him, the words “senior statesman” always came to mind, that’s the way I always thought of him when listening to his music.