Album Review – Willie Nelson’s “Oh What A Beautiful World”

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#510 (Traditional Country) and #570 (Americana) on the Country DDS.

Why in the world is Willie Nelson still recording and performing music at the age of 91? Or even more perplexing, how is he even still alive, especially after the life he’s lived? It turns out the question and the answer are probably one in the same. Willie Nelson has said he wants to die on the stage. But still getting up on the stage every week, and recording albums at a two-per-year clip continue to give purpose to the country legend, and help keep him alive.

One of the things that has kept Willie Nelson and his music so vital over the years is that he remains a fan of music himself. On his opus Red Headed Stranger, he covered songs from Eddy Arnold and Fred Rose. On Stardust, he reprised pop standards. And throughout the latter part of his career, Willie Nelson has paid tribute to some of his favorite artists, from Frank Sinatra, to Django Reinhardt, to songwriter Hank Cochran.

On his latest album, Willie Nelson centers the attention on the work of his fellow Texan and music legend Rodney Crowell. From a behind-the-scenes songwriter for a host of performers, to a musician backing folks like Emmylou Harris, to a producer for Rosanne Cash, to a performer himself with multiple #1 singles, to a founding father of alt-country/Americana, Rodney Crowell is one of the most accomplished souls in country music through an extensive legacy.

Willie Nelson and producer Buddy Cannon didn’t just go for the obvious picks from the Crowell catalog, avoiding the five #1 singles Crowell minted on his 1988 album Diamonds & Dirt. Aside from the opening song “What Kind of Love” that Crowell took to #11 in 1992, many of the songs featured here are either more contemporary Rodney Crowell compositions, or more famous as someone else’s recordings.

The latter category includes “Shame on the Moon,” which became a big hit for Bob Seger in 1982, including a Top 15 hit in country. Though not a big hit, “Banks of the Old Bandera” is better known through Jerry Jeff Walker who recorded it in 1978. And in the more modern era, Keith Urban had a #1 pop country hit with “Making Memories Of Us” in 2007. If nothing else, this speaks to the breadth of the Rodney Crowell songwriting legacy.


Willie Nelson is probably not going to turn in the definitive version of any of these Rodney Crowell songs. But what he can do is sing and perform them as Willie Nelson, which is something nobody else can do, and happens to impart all of these songs with a loved and lived-in feel. At this point, with the familiar contours of Willie’s voice, along with the woody tones of Trigger, Willie recordings are like their own subgenre of country.

As always seems to be said with these late career records, Willie’s voice might show age, but it still comes through with a warmth and confidence that makes each song and moment endearing, and belies his advanced years. Some of the arrangements on this album feel a little too … well, arranged. They don’t always breathe along with Willie’s unconventional singing pentameter. But the recordings of “What Kind of Love,” “Shame The Moon,” and “Still Learning How To Fly” are still strong contributions to the Willie Nelson canon.

One issue with Willie releasing two albums per year is that it comes to the point where there is a rhythm, and maybe a predictability to the releases. Though a Willie album is always pleasant, it’s never particularly profound, especially if it doesn’t include original songs. But as Willie sings in “Still Learning How To Fly,” “Life’s been good I said. I’m 10,000 miles ahead. The day I rest is the day I die…”

If continuing to record and perform is what keeps Willie Nelson with us on this mortal coil for a while longer, it’s hard to not give your blessing to whatever Willie wants to do. And if a few folks get turned onto the Rodney Crowell legacy in the process, even better.

7.9/10

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