Heroes

Willie Nelson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 15, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 2012
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B0077PHOR8
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,185 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. A Horse Called Music

2. Roll Me Up

3. That's All There Is To This Song

4. No Place To Fly

5. Every Time He Drinks He Thinks of Her

6. Come On Up To The House

7. Hero

8. My Window Faces The South

9. The Sound Of Your Memory

10. Cold War With You

11. Just Breathe

12. Home In San Antone

13. Come On Back Jesus

14. The Scientist

Editorial Reviews

Willie Nelson delivers his first new album, Heroes, as part of his homecoming to Legacy Recordings. No themes or gimmicks to this album, just 13 brand new recordings produced by Buddy Cannon (Academy of Country Music' producer of the year 2006).

Scheduled for release on May 15th, just in time for Willie's 79th birthday, the songs take on a reflective, emotional tone and move from heartfelt (a stunning rendition of Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe") to humor (on "Roll Me Up" with guest vocalist Snoop Dogg). Other guest vocalists on the album include Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Jamey Johnston, Billy Joe Shaver and Sheryl Crow. Sons Lukas and Micah Nelson also feature prominently, making this a real family affair.

This beautiful album, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, should have broad appeal among Nelson's core fans and followers and beyond.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars New songs, western swing classics and contemporary pop covers May 15, 2012

By hyperbolium

Format:Audio CD

Willie Nelson spent nearly two decades with Columbia, starting with his 1975 breakthrough (and first chart topper), Red Headed Stranger. He bounced around a number of majors and indies through the `90s and `00s, and now returns to the Sony fold via the company's Legacy division, an imprint known more for its vast array of catalog reissues than for new music. But as a heritage artist, it's a good fit, as Nelson revisits material from his catalog, chestnuts from the `30s and `40s, covers of recent pop songs, and new titles from his pen and that of his son, Lukas. The results are vital, and surprisingly coherent, if perhaps not always tightly focused. Covers of Pearl Jam ("Just Breathe") and Coldplay ("The Scientist") intermingle with Western Swing ("My Home in San Antone" and a terrifically jazzy "My Window Faces South"), `40s weepers ("Cold War with You"), and newly written originals.

The album's guests include Merle Haggard, Jamey Johnson, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Price, and in a bit of stunt-casting, Snoop Dogg. Nelson's voice is more lined with frailty than in his prime, but his idiosyncratic phrasing plays well with the cracks in his tone. He's joined by his son Lukas on eight of the album's tracks, which is a bit much of the junior Nelson's higher, more nasal voice. More impressive are Lukas Nelson's original songs, including the father-son duet "No Place to Fly" and the painful memories continually resurfacing in "Every Time He Drinks He Thinks of Her." The elder Nelson's two new originals include the honky-tonk "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" and the western gospel "Come on Back Jesus," each describing an element of Willie's faith.... Nelson's still raising hell, albeit in a quieter, more personal way, and drawing on more than fifty years of writing and singing, his music is aging gracefully. 3-3/4 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2012 Hyperbolium] Read more ›

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars INSTA-Classic May 21, 2012

By AltaBrig

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Right up there with Stardust and Red Headed Stranger - Beautiful Songwriting, arrangements and musicianship. Snoop isn't rapping and his country interpretation on Roll Me Up is great! One review stated that Willie's vocals were breaking a bit with age, so I was amazed to hear him belting them out with abandon. Like the title of the review saysv-Insta-Classic. A must listen, must own album for a lover of Willie. Great songs all the way through.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Relaxin Willie May 17, 2012

By Deeno

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Classic Willie; a relaxing concert just right for sitting down at night with a favorite beverage and dim lights. Roll Me Up will make you chuckle, Heros will make you wonder what's wrong with our world, and Come On Up to the House, with Sheryl Crow reminds me of the simple neighborhoods where we value our friends at the end of the day. Who doesn't like the smooth mellow voice of Ray Price? Easy on the ears and full of images that keep our life simple. Pour another glass, sit down on the porch, and relax with your Heros.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Like It June 1, 2012

By gobirds2

Format:Audio CD

I like Heroes by Willie Nelson. It is as simple as that. It's good to hear Willie's voice again and somewhere it's good to know that he still in there. It's hard to say why I like it. It kind of just flows and does not seem repetitious or a rehashing of his previous work. It is refreshing and very much welcome.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Willie still has it! May 27, 2012

By Sam

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I preordered this as soon as I saw the ad online and checked out a concert clip featuring a few of the songs. Great songs and sound quality, and a variety of guest artists. My wife also loves it, so much so that she snagged it and put in her car untill I found it and reclaimed it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars old fogeys. humorous, deep, disarming May 26, 2012

By Matt Z.

Format:Audio CD

I've been a fan of Willie's at least 8 years (sometimes it takes a while to span and scan all styles of music) and he's by far the best man to interpret others songs, stewing em down to their hearty dew.

Enough of the flourishes. This album was best described for content by reviewer: M. Mariba "the teacher" in terms of content.

There's a lot of reflection going on on this album. Songs of songmen grown old and weary, some nearly metaphysical country reality of a song's disolution in "That's all there is to this song" (when your dearly loved lady has gone)
There's some earnest sadness on "Everytime He Drinks He Thinks of Her", reflection on old songsters who don't come around much anymore on "Hero".

"No Place To Fly" is an incredible ode to love lost; Lukas Nelson's voice sounds incredibly similar to ol pops'...I've heard great things about his live shows. Here, some old fashioned stylings dominate, and the blend is wonderful

There are some incredible jams on this album, skiffle, twang, lap steel, incredible chicken pickin swinging solos and swinging drumming...all refreshingly organic and devoid of "contrivance". Reviving "Cold War" somehow seems fine when given another treatment. The band is great, the song order allows for many listens without an urge to blink. "Come On Up To the House" written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan has some stark imagery, a rhythm and tone like that of old school down south R&B gospel. "My Window Faces South" and "Home in San Antone" are rife with that sort of swing, maybe because they harken back to the Classic Country era... I found myself saying "damn! That was some hot ****" just at the songs conclusion, only to hear a studio feed catching Willie saying something similar....

That said, I'm incredibly thrilled with the album, it spans all kinds of emotions like any great album should do... The most fun being on those two cuts and "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die". The only downside I see is the references throughout to aging (it happens c'mon) and the photo op that has Willie near some swans in a pond/stream... I certainly hope its not a swan song. Where else can you find a countrified songman who lives the spirit of the "everybody"... I've always admired that in the man. God forbid the day comes when there's no new Willie Nelson albums, should they rake out a "hologram" of the man, I'm certain he'll defy logic, science and reason...walk on stage, call out the audience for gawking at him while he follows up with a "you all came here for a show, didn't u?..well so did I. So where's the talent, someone grab me a beer, I wanna see this"... Till he steps out of the light and vanishes.

Things like that happen when you're larger than life onstage, but a humble guy.

I could go on and on, but if you're a fan of Willie Nelson, the odds are in favor of you buying it. One day it will be looked back on with a reflective nod to "classic Willie", if only I could get my hands on "The IRS tapes"...if ur listening, Willie..I'll toss u back a 10 :) Read more ›