Customer Reviews

Shotgun Willie

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

 

 

Having broken free of RCA Nashville, Nelson spent a two album stint on Atlantic. This 1973 debut for the label covers a lot of ground, blending Nelson originals with covers (including a pair of Bob Wills titles and a pair from Leon Russell, including "A Song For You") across country, jazz and Texas storytelling tradition. As fruitfully as Nelson has conquered the charts over the years, album-styled music such as this is clearly his first love.

Highlights include the (then) newly-penned autobiographical title track, a soulful version of "Whiskey River" that greatly changes mood from the live hit single, the tearful (and perhaps ironically self-fulfilling) original "Sad Songs and Waltzes," and a family take of Bob Wills' "Say All Night (Stay a Little Longer)."

This is complex, thoughtful music with the sophistication of its country musical roots and its New York City recording location. Those familiar only with the more readily digestible hits will find a fuller philosophical and musical meal here.

There have been better voices in country music, but never a better vocalist than Willie Nelson. I consider him on par with Frank Sinatra or Sam Cooke in terms of singing skill. He knows exactly what he wants out of each line to maximize the effect of the lyric, and his phrasing is inventive and unique. Although he is widely lauded for his song-writing ability, it is his delivery that makes the songs stand out. Shotgun Willie is no exception.

Unlike Red-Headed Stranger or Phases and Stages, there is no unifying concept to hold the album together. This is just Willie being Willie. He's so relaxed and comfortable with the material that the tempo never really makes it above a laid back toe-tapper. And who cares? I could sit back and tap my toe to music of this caliber much longer than the 40 minute running time. Another difference from his string of concept albums is the variety of songs here. Tougher than Leather, for instance, seems to run together a little bit, and even his finest conceptual efforts repeat musical themes throughout, making them more of an overall experience. On Shotgun Willie, every track can stand alone. There is no filler. The title track is wry and amusing with an accompanying horn section that sounds just at home as the strings backing Willie on "Slow Down Old World", or the honky-tonk piano and fiddle on "Bubbles in My Beer". "Whiskey River" is worlds apart from his raucous live version, but none-the-less effective. By the time he chuckles on the second verse of the track, you are so engrossed that you chuckle along with him, even though you're not sure what's so funny.

That's not to say that the songs aren't cohesive, because they are. The arrangements are lovely and uncluttered regardless of what instruments are utilized. Willie's humor is evident on many tracks (particularly on one of my favorites, "You Look Like the Devil in the Morning"). And the covers stand along side the originals in seamless harmony. These are all Willie's songs now. Despite the sad lyrical content (these are by and large break-up songs), this is a joyous album to behold. The only song that breaks the playful mood is the final track, a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You". This one may have you spilling tears in your beer, but only because the stark vocal performance is truly affecting.

Shotgun Willie may be Nelson's finest hour (Stranger provides the strongest argument otherwise). There isn't a superfluous moment on this album, and you might find yourself leaving it on repeat throughout the day. In fact, I'm going to start it up again, right now.

The album is worth $12 for the first line alone--"Shotgun Willie sits around in his underwear." Hard to believe, but the album only gets better after that--the next two songs are country classics: "Whiskey River" and "Sad Songs and Waltzes." And it keeps getting better still--with covers of two Bob Wills songs and guest appearances by Waylon Jennings and the legendary Doug Sahm. Definitely an essential album if you're at all interested in country music.

This is one of the best Willie cd's. There really
isn't a bad track on the disc. The now Willie Standards
Stay All Night and Whiskey River (a more mellow version)
are included which are both great. Other great
songs would be Sad Songs and Waltzes + Devil in a Sleepin
Bag.

This one is worth the money...

Cake is one of my favorite bands, and on Cake's "Fashion Nugget" album, there's a fine song called "Sad Songs and Waltzes". I did a search on the internet and found that the Cake song I love was written by Willie Nelson. Needless to say, I bought Shotgun Willie the same day, and I'm so glad I did! When I was a kid, my parents were huge Willie Nelson fans, but I never game him much thought. I really wish I had now that I understand what he's saying and how great his songs are. This album is fantastic. If you're like me, and you dislike all the current country music (Shania, Randy Travis, Tim McGraw, etc..) because it's nothing but pop music, and no different than anything Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand are doing, then you'll definitely love Shotgun Willie. Buy it!, you won't be sorry.

In "est."1974 I was 22 yrs. young,I went to a concert at the stadium in Houston,Tx.to see ZZ TOP& other bands like the Doobie Bros.It was out doors & typical to Houston it started raining hard.ZZ Top performed "Rio Grande Mud" but lots of bands were packing up and leaving.My girlfriend & I stuck it out soaked to the bone.This guy stepped out on stage with a flat top guitar,tennis shoes,no shirt,wearing cut-off jeans and a bandanna tied around his hair.Willie Nelson (who I had never heard of)started out with Shotgun Willie and played like tere was no tomorrow.I have been a diehard Willie fan ever since."Rock on Willie"I love ya man.

I remember the first time I listened to this album and heard Willie sing Leon Russell's "A Song For You". I cried. I still do. Every time. Willie's performance is genuinely sublime. He elevates the lyric and turns it into a devastating moment of human vulnerability. Every phrase is perfectly delivered; every nuanced idiosyncracy of Willie's voice is absolutely right on. Even his deceptively simple guitar accompaniment contributes essentially to the song's emotional impact. Nothing is forced, nothing is contrived, and nothing rings false. The album as a whole floats along effortlessly and is a lot of fun - a true classic - but "A Song For You" ends the experience on such an unexpectedly intense note that you can't help but be moved deeply by it all.

Shotgun Willie sits around in his underwear . . . Bitin' on a bullet and pulling out all of his hair . . . Shotgun Willie got all of his family there . . . What else can I say? A lot. In my dreams, this album played in my parents' house constantly. I dream that I can remember singing "Shotgun Willie" at some point in the month, every month, since I was 5. I'm 31 now. That's the affinity I share with this album. If my parents would have had any musical sense, I could have lived that dream. Instead, I got Neil Sedaka and Kenny Rogers. The "whatever it is" this album has going for it just grows. From "Bubbles in My Beer" to the warped version of "Whiskey River," it is obvious that this album, now a disc, is not an essential effort of Willie's hit machine career. However, and moreso, it is definitely essential Willie. It will grab you, and it will endear you to Willie Nelson like only one other Nelson album critics might call subpar: Phases and Stages. As for the worth of this review, who knows. As for the worth of the disc, I know. Buy it; try it. After you unload 12 measly one dollar bills from your pocket you might have just bought a treasure. Whiskey River take my mind . . .

good price, great shipping and customer service. If you are a Willie Nelson fan you'll want to add this one to your record collection.

Willie was still slightly under the radar in some parts when this record was released in 1973, though today the listener can get a sense that he was aware of his burgeoning star-power as he cut these undeniably classic tracks.
He had all ready recorded over a dozen albums, charted a slew of singles and wrote many hits for other artists such as "Crazy" for Patsy Cline, "Hello Walls" by Faron Young and "Night Life", which has been recorded by...well, by just about everyone.
The lyrics to his original compositions seem informed with the fact that this was a success on the rise, with the wry irony of Sad Songs and Waltzes declaring "...it's a good thing I'm not a star...you don't know how lucky you are..." because he has written a song about his lover's infidelity, "...you have no need to fear it... 'cause no one will hear it...sad songs and waltzes ain't sellin' this year..."
Through out this recording, Willie directs the ensemble and guides the listener deftly on an odyssey of musical adventure that shifts from full Texas swing to bluesy bar songs to the sparse intimacy of Willie alone with his guitar, sometimes all in one song ("Local Memory" comes to mind).
Though the sessions for Shotgun Willie were split between New York City, Nashville and Memphis the Lone Star flag is flyin' high with the inclusion of two Bob Wills numbers and the song "Whiskey River", which was written by fellow Texan Johnny Bush. Thanks to a couple of Leon Russell songs, a bit of the Tulsa Sound is also represented.
Do yourself a favor and grab one of those funny discs that eat lasers or better yet, snag a warm vinyl copy of Shotgun Willie. You will not be disappointed.