American Classic

Willie Nelson

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 25, 2009)
• Original Release Date: August 25, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note
• ASIN: B0029F2EVW
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,416 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #11 in	Music > Country > Outlaw Country
  #37 in	Music > Country > Classic Country
  #39 in	Music > Pop > Vocal Pop > Classic

Track Listings

1. The Nearness Of You

2. Fly Me To The Moon

3. Come Rain Or Come Shine

4. If I Had You (feat. Diana Krall)

5. Ain't Misbehavin'

6. I Miss You So

7. Because Of You

8. Baby It's Cold Outside (feat. Norah Jones)

9. Angel Eyes

10. On The Street Where You Live

11. Since I Fell For You

12. Always On My Mind

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2009 release from the Country/Pop icon. American Classic is Willie Nelson's return to the Great American Songbook, a crossover standards album by the man who invented the genre with his landmark, best-selling 1978 album Stardust, which has been certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA. Produced by Tommy LiPuma and featuring guest duet partners Norah Jones on the classic tale of seduction 'Baby It's Cold Outside' and Diana Krall on 'If I Had You.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bow tie, only. Willie like Frank and Tony., September 4, 2009

By	jazzkat - See all my reviews

Willie Nelson is among the few surviving elders from country's rebellious pantheon of artists who blazed a trail out of the saccharine stupefaction of 1960s Nashville and laid down the spirit of rugged individualism that has inspired the alt country/Americana revival of the past decade.
Over the decades, Willie has become an expert in the fine art of song-catching - virtually the whole of the American song book can be found rolling around in his oeuvre. "When you hear a great song you know it", he says simply, of his talent. "You can't explain why they're great, but you know they are and you want to sing them".
He is first and foremost a great songwriter: he wrote "Crazy" - immortalised by Patsy Cline - and "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away".
The formula of 1978 hit "Stardust", pop classics and standards, has been cleverly re-thought, re-formatted and resumed on Willie Nelson's debut for the jazz label Blue Note.
On "American Classic", the country and western iconic crooner "takes another leisurely swim in the vast ocean of popular American song only to find himself becalmed in the sleepy lagoon of smooth (and smoothed-out) jazz classics, 31 years after the agenda-setting survey of popular standards, "Stardust", gave his standing and credibility outside country music circles a considerable boost". BBC
This banishes the traditional image of Willie Nelson, in outlaw bandana, spliff dangling from weathered lip, just one step ahead of the tax man.
The 73-year old Verve Music Group chairman and commercial producer Tony LiPuma and engineer Al Schmitt have mapped out a selection of suppertime classics, wrapped in elegantly supple jazz arrangements, and Willie has evidently popped into the studio, possibly in a tuxedo, and given them his best shot.
If you need a polished, carefree, easy-on-the-ear, relaxed take on "Fly Me to the Moon" or "Ain't Misbehaving", this album is for you.
Unlike Johnny Cash, who garlanded his late recordings with audacious covers, Willie has chosen - or forced to choose - the safest road.
This time around, the formula abandons Nelson's usual backing band in favour of silky-smooth late-night jazz re-workings (stealthily fronted by pianist Joe Sample, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash) and perfectly manicured orchestral arrangements courtesy of the Grammy Award-winning Johnny Mandel, who can boast collaborations with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Peggy Lee on his CV.
To make the album more enjoyable, the venerable LiPuma - only few months after an almost disastrous work with Diana Krall on Quiet Nights - has called up the most famous late-nite, smoothest operators/syrens on the market, the aforementioned, ubiquitous whispering Canadian star and the sweetly perky Norah Jones on the two tracks, "If I Had You" and "Baby, it's Cold Outside", with very little added value.
Overall, this is a good and very pleasant listening.
Willie's interpretations are mellow and laidback, like the sounds of Starbucks, it's a delight to listen to them, they are honest and clear, but they don't show particular emotions or intimacy.
Certainly it is not an album which will impact your world, nor will hand Willie Nelson over to the American Songbook's History.
My highlights: "The Nearness of You", "On the Street Where You Live" and "Angel Eyes".
Stardust
Duets: An American Classic Diana is also on this one, track # 10
The Essential Tony Bennett (Rm) (2CD)
Nothing But The Best

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I Love Willie but This Ain't Why, September 3, 2009

By	Herbert O. Sontz (Fort Lee, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love Willie Nelson.
He is a pure original.
I remember the album that put him on the general map: "Stardust". It was unbelieveably good. I suppose this album was meant to follow in those footsteps but it just isn't there.
Willie is great as always, and his co-artists are superb. But the choice of material is generally not great. There are one or two good tunes but the majority fall flat.
He would have been better served by having someone reach further into the great American Songbag.
For example:Diana Krall and Willie singing "You've got to See Mama Every Night," would have been killer.
I could take 15 minutes and suggest a better album mix for him (probably the majority of his fans could as well). Maybe he ought to have a contest!
Ah well, Excelsior.
Herb Sontz

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not classic Willie, September 17, 2009

By	Dorska "heavy laptop user" (World citizen) - See all my reviews

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I am a huge Willie Nelson fan but this is not one of his better albums.