Red Headed Stranger

Willie Nelson | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: July 4, 2000
• Label: Columbia/Legacy
• Copyright: (P) 1975, 1986, 2000 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
• Total Length: 42:50
• Genres:
• ASIN: B0013DA6DO
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,803 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any music fan, October 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Red Headed Stranger (Audio CD)

A high school english teacher of mine had a saying, "Gentlemen, brevity is art." This album is as fine an example of this as you will find. Willie Nelson is one of the finest musicians/songwriters that I have ever heard. I am not a country fan as such, but I don't consider Willy to be a country musician, rather, his music is a hybrid of the kinds of music that he was exposed to growing up in Texas. I feel that Willie is as important to music as Dylan and Robert Johnson. On The Red Headed Stranger Willie manages to draw from old time ballads, gospel, blues, bluegrass, folk, Spanish-American and of course country. Musically this album is brilliant in its' simplicity. His guitar playing is sparse, but every note that he plays completely captures the feel of the song. The concertina that appears on a few of the tracks is haunting. His singing is perfect, he plays his voice like an instrument to capture every nuance of every song. Lyrically, this concept album is unbelievable. You don't so much listen to an album as live every step of story. Willy has a way of painting word picture with so few words.

"The bright lights of Denver, are shinin' like diamonds, Like ten thousand jewels in the sky, and it's nobodies business, where you're goin' or where you come from, and you're judged by the look in your eye."

If you are a music fan who has pre-judged Willie based on "On The Road Again" or "To All The Girls I've Loved Before", buy this album. I assure you that it won't be the last Willie album that you buy. Also, if you've never seen Willie live, don't miss him the next time he's anywhere near you.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prototypical Progressive Country Concept Album, May 17, 2002

By 

Craig Clarke "Living After Midnight: Hard and... (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Red Headed Stranger (Audio CD)

It takes so many words just to describe this album, how can I give it justice in a review? I suppose to start with saying that music rarely elicits emotion from me. I tend to decide what I like merely by how something sounds on the surface, and with today's music, there isn't much else to go on. Well, on Red Headed Stranger, there is plenty of inherent emotion in every note.

The title song always pains me to hear, especially the moment that the rest of the song foreshadows so well. And when "they dance with smiles on their faces" in "Denver," I want to burst with happiness for our hero. "Hands on the Wheel" is one of the most beautiful love songs I have ever heard.

This story of betrayal, murder, and redemption through re-found love is full of nuance and little touches that are perfect. Nelson uses his voice as another instrument, never taking center stage but always blending in with the minimal guitar and backing, finally letting the piano express its pure joy on "Down Yonder."

These songs, almost all of which were written by different people, come together in an amazingly cohesive package. These choices show an inherent knowledge of storytelling--with its peaks and valleys--that carries throughout the arrangement of the album.

This is one of the great concept albums, and one of the great albums in general, of all time. It belongs in any music fan's library. I am not a country music fan, but I love what has been done with this album. It is a tight, well-told story, told in an inimitable fashion.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Classic, You Really Do Need To Own This One, August 11, 2003

By 

Frank Garon (Breinigsville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Headed Stranger (Audio CD)

I still dig "Phases And Stages" slightly more than this one, but dag nab is it still AWESOME in it's own right.

This is classic, classic music. Willie is an Artist First Class and this is nothing short of genius. Sparse, stripped down, powerful, hauntingly beautiful, these are just a few ways to describe it.

Willie is still putting out relevant music (see 2003's "Run That By Me One More Time" with Ray Price), but Red Headed Stranger is still as good today as it was all those years ago.

One more thought - if you want to see a Concert you'll never forget, go see Willie. Saw him twice in the 1980's, and he still ranks in First Place. Willie Live is Willie at his best!