Customer Reviews

American Classic

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Willie sounds great on this new disc of American song standards. This music puts me in a good mood. The musicians on the disc are so good. I love Mickey Raphael on the bluesy harmonica on the track "Since I Fell You". Joe Sample plays the piano on the "On The Street Where You Live". This song is pleasant to listen to. Joe provides the musical arrangements for these tracks. Every track sounds new and fresh, so Joe does his job well here. Willie duets with Diana Krall on "If I Had You" and Norah Jones on the track "Baby It's Cold Outside". Their vocal talents give these classic tracks a sensual sound that I love. "Angel Eyes" is a song about missing a loved one. This song sounds very romantic. Because Of You is a very pretty song. I like the sax playing on this track. I like the sentimental feeling Willie sings with on the track "Come Rain Or Come Shine". "Always On My Mind" is Willie's original song. I have never heard this song featuring piano playing before, and it sounds beautiful. This is a very enjoyable disc of music from Willie Nelson.

American Classic by Willie Nelson is an attempt to revisit his success from 30 years ago with Stardust. The results are rather mixed. Nelson starts the CD out pretty good with solid takes on "The Nearness Of You" and "Fly Me To The Moon". These seem to work well because they are very laid back and mellow which suits Nelson's style. The same could also be said of "Because Of You". Yet on "Come Rain Or Shine" and "I Miss You So" Nelson seems to strain his voice on the chorus at times. This leaves the songs feeling forced, and he is capable of better. However, American Classic really stumbles on the two duets "If I Had You" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside". Nelson has no chemistry at all with Diana Krall on the former, and the latter is kind of creepy with the 76 year old Nelson paired up with the Norah Jones who is a mere 30. Both of these songs are disappointing because Nelson has had so many wonderful duets over the years. Check out his 2004 CD It Always Will Be (see my review) for an example of good chemistry and great songs - this is notable because he teamed up with Jones with far better results. The closer is a rather uninspired take of his classic "Always On My Mind". Nelson should probably stop going to the well on that one and let the myriad of other good recordings stand in people's memory.

This may sound a little harsh, but Nelson is capable of producing a lot better than this as his body of work over 50 years proves. For other artists American Classic might be good enough, but not Willie. There are some good songs on the CD, but it just doesn't live up to what he's done in the past. I hope he continues to record as he showed on Two Men With The Blues (see my review) that he is still very capable.

Download this: Fly Me To The Moon

Every song here is given a wise and heartfelt (soulful) treatment, and they are great songs. What more could one wish for? I have listened to this album up close and personal on my car's CD player, and I know each song/performance intimately as a result. I do not have time to describe each, but I must say that I do not understand the negative reactions of some of the other reviewers. My love for this album made me want to write this to offset that wrongheaded reaction. This is one of the most consistently endearing and engaging things Willie Nelson has ever recorded. Maybe it helps to be getting old and to love his old but wise vocals. He's laid back, but laid back like a fox. The man knows how to sing and how to interpret, and knows less is more if you know what you are doing. If the samples are not enough, and they may not be, borrow it from your local library and drive around with it for a week or two. If you give it half a chance, this music making crawls into a permanent place in your heart. This is Willie Nelson, and music making, at their very best. Don't be discouraged by the negative reviews some have written. Try it for yourself.

mbazin

This is a pleasing CD to listen to. I was hoping for a blockbuster like STARDUST,but that CD was one of a kind. Still,Willie sings the old standards quite well. I thoroughly enjoyed this effort.

My husband is the real Willie Nelson fan. I bought this for him but I listen, too. I like to hear Willie sing the classics and this CD is ok but not as good as his previous Stardust CD.

I love Willie and I love most of these classic songs. But whoever produced this CD must not have listened to it carefully. Thinking I was getting another "Stardust," or some really cool dinner party music, instead "American Classic" left me scratching my head. . . I played it five times, trying to embrace this CD before setting it on the back shelf. Basically, in nearly each song it seemed as if someone was holding Willie back. As well, the beat and the rhythm was off on the first six songs, slower than it should have been, ( my early childhood years sitting before my piano with the piano teacher's metronome in play told me so) and basically, Willie's heart just wasn't into this record. You know what, Willie's better than this. . . save your money. . .

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

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

Classic Willie Nelson sings some old favorites. A must have for any Willie fan and a good intro for new listeners.

[3 1/2 stars] Willie Nelson must have had so much fun working with Wynton Marsalis that he again decided to create an album of standards with jazz musicians: Joe Sample, Christian McBride Lewis Nash, Jeff Hamilton, and vocalists Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Indeed, the jazz label Blue Note issued this album. (Nelson and Marsalis will again appear together in a forthcoming album.) Nelson made recording history in 1978 with his brilliant album Stardust, his first crossover recording of standards. This album does not reach that level. Some tracks are pleasant, others are painful. It has been 30 years since Stardust, and Nelson is certainly not in his prime. Nonetheless, Nelson seems to be relaxed and enjoying himself, as he has nothing to prove, and I, for one, still enjoyed his singing on a few tracks. The Jazz Singer was the tale of a vocalist who left his traditional roots to sing popular cabaret tunes. Willie Nelson has taken his lumps for such audacity, but his audience grows. For instance, I heard this album on my favorite jazz radio station. If it were not for it being Willie Nelson, the album would be tossed in the oddity bin.