Customer Reviews

Moment Of Forever

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like Willie, you are going to LOVE this latest work. Collaboration with Kenny Chesney seems to have paid off in a big way. Smooth, mellow vocals and an eclectic song selection make this one of the most enjoyable of his works in years.

"Moment Of Forever" is another classic Willie collection with thirteen tracks of country songs infused with rock.
The songs are forceful and edgy, upbeat and delightful to the palate and all 'Willie Nelson'.
Songs like "Over You Again" takes you to Willie Nelson more romantic side, whereas "The Bob Song" is a playful romp with a hint of vaudeville to it, "Gravedigger" is an eerie but intense song.
However, perhaps the cheekiest track is the song "Louisiana" (the Randy Newman classic inspired by a 1927 flood that struck an eerily evocative chord in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) about the recent problems of that state and how the president flew down to take a look with 'a fat guy and his notepad', assessing the situation in as unaffected manner as only a politician could muster.
Willie Nelson managed to pulled off a hit, with Toby Keith in 2002, with a track called "Beer For My Horses" on Toby Keith's album.
Chesney, who shares lead vocals on the amusing booze homage, "Worry B Gone", provides an ear-pleasing, accessible, yet not overly slick sound stage for Nelson's strong, resonant vocals.
The American music legend, who turns 75 this year, sounds like he still has something to prove and, with this effort, he succeeds : he hasn't sounded this committed in years and his distinctive renditions of Dave Matthews' "Gravedigger" and Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" are as revelatory as the work Johnny Cash was doing with producer Rick Rubin up to the time he died.
Produced by Kenny Chesney and Buddy Cannon, the album works so well because the music accommodates Nelson's vocal rather than distracting from it.
Living a full life as Willie Nelson is doing has afforded him some exceptional talent collaborating with him on "Moment Of Forever".
"I'm Alive" is a great tribute song to his own life, and how grateful he is, as Willie puts it, for being "alive and well".
Being one of the two Highwaymen left, Willie Nelson has remained a storyteller, a charismatic singer and "Moment Of Forever" stands just as formidable an album beside any of Willie Nelson's other previous works.
The album finds Willie Nelson in his element, singing quality material with absolute conviction. His distinctive ability to interpret a song that, in turn, gives voice to others, remains his greatest contribution to music
"...This is Nelson's finest recording since 1993's similarly rich Across the Borderline.
The star and his label would do well to treat this like an event record. It's that good. Don't let it go ignored.
Like "Across The Borderline", "Moment of Forever" finds Nelson mixing stronger than usual originals with inspired covers of Kris Kristofferson, Dave Matthews, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan. There isn't a dud, but some of the new compositions stand out"...Miami Herald.
The country-blues "Over You Again", written with sons Lukas and Micah Nelson, recalls U2's ringing guitar style. "Always Now" embraces a certain emotional vulnerability that makes him seem ironically resilient. The reflective ballad "Always Now" could only come from an artist of Nelson's age and experience.
Highlights :"The Bob Song", "Gravedigger" and "Over You Again".

Across the Borderline
Unleashed

(3 & 1/2 stars) Willie Nelson has been SO very prolific, it's just an incredible thing. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of his heavy output of music is that the quality of his albums is generally quite good. So along comes this latest one, a collaborative effort with country star Kenny Chesney. (Mr. Chesney co-produced, wrote or co-wrote a couple of the songs, sings a duet on another, etc.) At its best, Moment of Forever can be compelling. It happens on the title track, an underappreciated Kristofferson gem, and "Keep Me From Blowing Away" with its true classic-country feel, and even on some of the original songs Willie contributed, such as "You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore." The energy and strength of those songs made me want to hear them live. But the CD is mostly a covers album (as with essentially all of Nelson's hundred or so records!), and the covers are sometimes pretty mediocre. A tame version of Dave Matthews' "Gravedigger" pales by comparison to the original, as does Nelson's take on Randy Newman's "Louisiana." (For a better version of the song, try just about any recording from the post-Katrina benefits, especially Aaron Neville's.) The Bob Dylan tune, "Serve Somebody," has a few flashes of glory, particularly Kenny Greenberg's electric guitar solo, but still draws unfavorable comparisons to the original song. Nelson has always been able to personalize the songs he chooses by others, giving them his own unique and often fun spins. But on Moment of Forever, it's a scattershot affair.

This is one of Willie's best album. The title song by Kristofferson is especially moving

I've been an admirer of Willie's music for some years now and this album easily equals anything he's done so far.
I'm not one of those people who rate each track on an album, I prefer to rate an album for overall experience. On that note, this album is easily worth 5 stars.
If you love Willie's music or true country then this album is well worth your money.
Bravo Willie, I hope we have many more albums to come!

One last thing, for all those whingers out there who complain that one track is better than another or this or that track doesn't work, remember this; Willie on his worst day would easily surpass any efforts by 99.9% of the rest of us on our best days. Suck it up you whiny babies!

Willie Nelson's 2008 record 'Moment of Forever' is right up there with records like 'Stardust,' 'Phases and Stages' and 'Red Headed Stranger' as his best album.

Released on Lost Highway in January of this year, it's one of his finest efforts. He's released over 100 studio records during his long career dating back to 1954, so I'll let you do the choosing for his best record.

But anyway, the songs here are incredible. His cover of Bob Dylan's 'Gotta Serve Somebody,' the humorous 'When I Was Young And Grandma Wasn't Old,' and 'Louisiana' (which would fit perfectly on a record like 'Red Headed Stranger,' in my opinion) are songs that any Willie fan should check out.

Overall, if you want to hear one of Willie's finest efforts, check out 'Moment Of Forever.' It's his newest, but one of his best.

Highly recommended for any Willie fan. A classic from Willie. ENJOY!!!

I didn't start out being a Willie Nelson fan. You can't live in Austin and learn from people firsthand what kind of person Nelson is without coming to respect him. Then, I started listening to him and came to like his music, too.

"Louisiana" is Willie's take on Katrina and as usual, he says what he thinks.

"Gravedigger" is another hard listen:

Gravedigger, when you dig my grave
will you make it shallow so I can feel the rain

He touches on the real meaning of the song "Ring around the Rosie", the grief of a parent laying their children to rest, and doesn't pull any punches about the final rest.

"When I was young and Grandma wasn't old" is a retrospective of the old days. He talks about quilting bees, sitting on the front porch in rockers, times when there wasn't air conditioning and television and folks sat around outside and told stories.

"You Gotta Serve Someone" is, of course, a Dylan cover. It's one of my favorite songs, and Nelson does well with it, but it's not my favorite version of the song.

Overall, the CD's good--it's well worth a listen and if you like Willie like I have come go, it's worth investing in.

Willie never ceases to amaze me. The older he gets the better he gets. The entire album is all new music that is great.

No bad songs on this one!! Love the Bob Song and You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore... they are funny and I don't care who you are!

This is one of Willie's best CD's in years. I found his version of Gravedigger masterful and would reccomend this to any Willie fan, old or new.