FEATURED REVIEW.............................................................30 OCT 2006
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Artist:
WILLIE NELSON |
Goddamn we're prescient. Lambasting Willie's lamentable 2005 release Countryman, we suggested he hire Rick Rubin as a producer and get the Drive-By Truckers to sit in as his backing band. Now Ryan Adams isn't exactly Rick Rubin, and the Cardinals aren't the Truckers, but somebody in Willie's camp had the good sense to shake things up a bit.
Songbird drops--as the kids say--on Halloween, and mostly it's a treat. Ryan Adams does a more-than-adequate job as producer, avoiding, by and large, the kind of excesses that usually mar such cross-pollinations. That isn't to say Mr. Adams is perfect. His unhealthy fascination with the Grateful Dead continues, and here he's coerced Willie into an unnecessary six-and-a-half minute rendition of "Stella Blue." A few of the album's other covers seem equally misguided, including a plodding take on Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and a version of Harlan Howard's schmaltzy "Yours Love." Clearly Adams is self-consciously playing Rick Rubin, trying to pair the Red-Headed Stranger with an unlikely hit as Rubin did repeatedly for the Man in Black.
The Gram Parson's cover "1000 Dollar Wedding" works a bit better in this respect (though the Cardinals still sound like they're exorcising their inner Deadheads). Pity Adams didn't suggest something like Blaze Foley's "Oval Room" or a Howlin'-Wolf-style "Sittin' on Top of the World," but we'd wager he's so busy being prolific that he doesn't have time to listen to other people's music.
Ultimately, on this disc Willie sounds best when he's covering himself. His re-take on "We Don't Run" is a joy, and the opening track--a superb rendition of "Rainy Day Blues"--may be the highlight of the album. Another standout--quite surprisingly--is the tired spiritual "Amazing Grace," which Adams has recast in a minor key and given a swirling moody weather.
In summation: Key changes, backing singers, and a few dubious selections notwithstanding, this is Willie's sveltest effort in some time. We have to give him two cheezeballs, but Willie won't be making the annual "worst of" list this year.
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A NOTE ON THE RATING SYSTEM:
5 CHEEZEBALLS = UNLISTENABLE SCHLOCK
3 CHEEZEBALLS = A DIFFICULT SLOG
1 CHEEZEBALL = THE ODD FORGIVABLE MISSTEP
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